Jo Buick

As we wrap 2024 programming, I’m feeling deeply proud of the work we do at , and as always, the incredible people who make up our organisation. One of the things that I love most about our work is that it’s practical, whilst also being nuanced and humble. On the surface, we run body-based programs for mental health, but within that offering, we are working with the magic of our bodies, the potency of therapeutic group settings, and the applied framework of trauma-informed practice.

I like to think of our programs as an antidote to the dominant modern wellbeing narrative of hyper-individualism, gains and hacks. Personally I don’t mind a gain or a hack at times, but not at the expense of my capacity to be with nuance, mystery, or the discomfort of the unfamiliar, the unknown or the painful. In our programs, we focus on working with the wisdom of our bodies, minds and spirits, so that we can experience and be with more nuance, mystery and not-knowing. There’s a creativity as well as a science to it.

We don’t take photos of our actual programs, so here are some other images that for me, celebrate our year - movement, gatherings, celebrations, music and the people who weave it all together ♥️

Three months ago I shared these resources in my newsletter, with the intention of following up with related resources a week later. But time is slippery and somehow it is October already… A very belated follow-up newsletter will be landing soon(ish), and I hope that these practices provide some support in the meantime. We need deep and wide practices of care more than ever right now 🩵

7 years ago when was dreamt into existence, I could never have imagined where we are today.

I founded CB when I was 32, fresh out of a job in the social justice sector that had worn me down and out. The vision for CB was anchored in somatic and mindfulness practices, but also in the desire to create the kind of workplace I craved, but never quite experienced elsewhere.

As a young founder with no idea how to run a non-profit, the first five years were hard. I worked full-time and ran CB as a volunteer-led organisation on the side. The workload was immense, and much to my own shame and frustration, four years in, I burnt out and almost closed the whole thing down.

What has always kept me going, is not only the genuine and consistent need for our programs, but also the genuine and consistent joy I feel when working alongside some of my favourite people in the world. I am so grateful now to call this work my vocation, and to support others to do the same.

On Sunday we celebrated our 7th birthday, and I could not be prouder of who we are (collectively) and what we do together. It’s a relieving feeling of congruence to know that we are embodying what we value.

So much love for our team and to all who joined us in the celebrations. Thank you to and for their intuitive magic, for hosting us, and for these gorgeous photos.

🩷🩵🩷

If you’ll be in Narrm on Sunday 29th September, we would love for you to join us as we celebrate our 7th birthday (!) with an afternoon of sound, movement and meditation. Tickets are selling fast, all funds raised will support the continuation of our accessible community wellbeing programs.

Tickets via the link in profile ♥️

Some classic somatic insights for anyone who might be feeling stressed or overwhelmed 🩵

Finding resources that support the transition from stress to rest can be a big process. Sometimes I feel like I’m in a gentle but long negotiation with my body, trying things out and seeing what supports down-regulation. For anyone needing inspiration, my current favourite regulation tools are ~ splashing cold water on my face, breath retention on the exhale, making tea on the stove, lateral (side body) stretches, and a weighted blanket to support sleep.

It’s a process, and I’m sending love, care and solidarity to anyone in it right now 🩵

15 months of joyful, tired, silly selfies with Edie 💘

It’s important to us that we find ways to support our community that are responsive to the current context. Recognising cost-of-living pressures, our revised monthly drop-in class is now free. For those who have the capacity to donate, we recommend directly giving to .foundation ♥️

These monthly classes will always be mental health aware, trauma-informed, and welcoming of all bodies and experiences.

Sign-up for the first class in this series, with Shannon and Isy on Monday next week. Booking link is in the bio.

Introducing our newly revised children’s program - Soma Play ✨

Designed for children aged 5-12 years, Soma Play integrates all that we have learned over the past seven years of service delivery. A fun, engaging and gentle introduction to body-based mindfulness, this program is trauma-informed and mental health aware.

We are grateful to the children and staff of Stonnington Youth Services, Cubbies Fitzroy, the ASRC, FaPMI Eastern Health, and FaPMI Peninsula Health, who informed the design of Soma Play through their engagement in previous and current Collective Being children programs.

Format:

We generally begin Soma Play as an eight week pilot program with your service. Each week, we cover a different wellbeing theme. Each session is 60 minutes in duration.

We also run Soma Play as an ongoing program, synchronised to the school terms.

Want to learn more?

If you are interested in piloting Soma Play with your service or client group, reach out to our Programs Coordinator Alexia ~ [email protected]

I wanted to make these t-shirts because I believe in the power of specificity. I wanted to be clear that meditation practice (especially in nondual traditions) teaches us that all life is sacred and interconnected. It is impossible to meditate on sacredness and believe that Palestinians should be occupied, oppressed, and annihilated. It is also impossible to meditate on the interconnectedness of life and believe that we are disconnected from the genocide unfolding.

Spiritual teachers, including Thich Nhat Hanh, Joanna Macy, and Krishnamurti have provided so many provocations and supports for us to lean on as we collectively move through the violence, injustices and trauma of this time. Their teachings remind us that it is ok to feel pain, anger, grief and overwhelm. They encourage us to turn towards the discomfort instead of bypassing and disconnecting. Most importantly, these teachings also welcome context, politics, history, and justice into practice. Our practices can both scaffold our pain and steward change.

And so, these t-shirts are here. All proceeds from their sales go towards .foundation to support Palestinians arriving in Australia. So far, around 330 Palestinians have arrived from Gaza, but their visas do not allow them to work or access healthcare. Support is needed, and .foundation is providing it.

Link is in bio for t-shirts ♥️🇵🇸

(If you don’t want a t-shirt, you can also just donate to PARA).

*thank you .angela_ and for designing these t-shirts x

Celebrating in my favourite way - by the wild ocean of the back beach with family 🩵

I didn’t expect it, but I’ve been feeling a huge shift internally since turning 40 last week. The words aren’t really here yet, but it’s something about steadfastness, congruence, and cohesion - sensations that I adore and have engaged in so much spiritual, somatic, and political work around for decades. It feels like a testament to practice and slowly chipping away quietly that these embodiments are just now starting to settle within me. Like a portal to the next phase is opening and I don’t know where it goes, but that I am surrounded by the wisdom of my parents, ancestors, and all the many teachers and guides in my life. So strange and surreal and wonderful.

I’m also feeling a new level of confidence in and all that we have built over the past seven years. The quality of facilitation, the skills of our team, and the feedback coming back from participants is extraordinary. We’ve been working hard for such a long time to get here, and I feel proud of our collective resilience, offerings and care.

And more than anything, I feel grateful for Edie Mar, and Quique. For our family and friends who have wrapped around me and us in such a supportive way as we traversed some really hard territory over the past year.

I guess in summary, there are a lot of feelings (always!) but mainly surprising and grounding ones. So far, 40 feels good 🩵

Beautiful lutruwita (Tasmania) back in Jan 🩵

Join us this Sunday for a pre-action grounding and meditation. I’ll be facilitating alongside .house, and then we’ll walk down to the rally together. The practices will be gentle, trauma-informed and designed to settle us in our bodies and on Country before we walk. Hope to see you there 💚