January Newsletter
Good winter season and Happy New Year,
We hope you are all staying warm, safe, and healthy this January. Despite it seeming slow and unsteady at times, 2021 was Karuna’s biggest year thus far. In terms of growth as an organization and expanding our mission, we continue to take strides in the right direction.
In March of 2021, I (Lauren) became the first employee of Karuna Community MN. As we all know, the volunteer model is so hard to sustain with the ebbs and flows of life! Having some consistency regarding communications, outreach, and general momentum has been huge.
In 2021, we led thirty-one yoga classes to women in the Hennepin County Jail and twenty-two in the men's facility. We launched a new pilot program providing yoga to a re-entry facility with Volunteers of America. The program will continue and expand to a new location upon Covid protocols this year. We provided presentations to the Department of Corrections and the Transition Coalition regarding the benefits of mindfulness and yoga especially for individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. In addition, we expanded our online meditation presence and we’re able to hold two virtual meditations per week! These sessions still exist: Tuesdays at noon and Saturdays at 8:30am more info here.
Last but certainly not least, Karuna Community’s Mike Millios and myself, were awarded a Commendation Award from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office for our programming in the jails. We have worked very hard to keep our relationship going with Hennepin County and we appreciate their partnership in such difficult times. We had to cancel more times than we would have liked due to the pandemic but we are thankful for the protocols in place to keep everyone healthy and safe. Thank you again to Sgt. Adam Hernke and staff at the Hennepin County Jail.
A few news bites for the new year:I feel very fortunate and grateful to have made a connection and partnership with Prison Yoga Project (PYP) this past year. Through the help of PYP, I am able to attend a twelve week certificate program in Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies with Linda Thai. Linda is a trauma therapist and educator who specializes in brain and body based modalities for addressing complex developmental trauma. She has worked and presented with psychiatrist and trauma expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. I started the Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies program this week and look forward to gaining insight and bringing more tools and resources to the Karuna team and community.
“Being trauma-informed, trauma-sensitive or trauma-driven without conversations about oppression and social justice is impossible. Trauma is political.” - Linda Thai
Our friend and community member, Dallas Rising, is teaching a meditation drawing class next Thursday. More information and tickets (sliding scale) available HERE.
Have any news or events to share? Let us know. We are happy to pass it along to our community via social media or newsletter.
With compassion and love,
Lauren Kvasnicka and the Karuna Team
