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This space held me when the world wouldn’t.

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@TEAO_CANADA

Educational Corner & Resource Sharing: The world may be inadvertently or at times advertently teaching us (as a collective, individuals create systems, systems don’t create systems) to fear the oppressed, and perhaps not the power that crushes them. At TEAO Canada, we don’t just speak about justice — we embody it. Through collective healing, facilitation, and grounded advocacy, we’re shifting systems from the inside out. This is what it means to #DoBetter — now patented and Canadian-approved. 🇨🇦💫 📸 Repost from posts from: 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾@myvoicemychoiceorg👏🏾 @projectyourecapable 👏🏾 @wetheurban 👏🏾 @chasemycreations —“Imagine condemning protesters but not the injustice that made them rise up in the first place.” 👏🏾 ——— #TEAOCanada #TraumaInformedCare #socialadvocacy #SystemicTrauma #PrivilegeAndPower #HealingJustice #EmbodiedEducation #TraumaTraining #SomaticHealing #CollectiveLiberation

Educational Corner & Resource Sharing: You don’t need to know everything —— “are you sure they are your feelings” Repost from @femalepoetssociety : Are you sure they are your feelings? ♥️ Speaker: Arundhati Roy Full interview can be watched on YouTube: ”2022 St. Louis Literary Award Winner Arundhati Roy” at SLULibraries ——— #TEAOCanada #TraumaInformedCare #SystemicTrauma #PrivilegeAndPower #HealingJustice #EmbodiedEducation #TraumaTraining #SomaticHealing #CollectiveLiberation

This Week in Community: Come Find Us. & Join Us. 🫶🏾&hearts;️

In a world that may often teaches us to isolate in pain, we gather to heal in connection.

✨ Through our Collective Care Series and Trauma-Informed Circles, we’re building spac

This Week in Community: Come Find Us. & Join Us. 🫶🏾♥️ In a world that may often teaches us to isolate in pain, we gather to heal in connection. ✨ Through our Collective Care Series and Trauma-Informed Circles, we’re building spaces where racialized bodies can rest, process, and remember that care is a birthright — not a luxury. 📍Whether you’re holding grief, burnout, numbness, or hope — there’s room for you here. Come breathe, move, reflect, and be held in community. 🌀 Because healing doesn’t have to happen alone. ♥️ Because care is a collective practice. Join us this week. You belong here. #TEAOCanada #CollectiveCare #TraumaInformedCircles #HealingJustice #CommunityCare #EmbodiedEquity #RestIsResistance #TraumaResponsive #MentalHealthMatters #ComeFindUs

🌿 Collective Pause Retreat Recap: A Sacred Return 🌿Food as Medicine — (Some More lil’Snippets of our Community Retreat.) 🥗“Silent Lunch Ceremony & Grazing– A nourishing practice of presence and stillness—rest as ritual, and ‘food as medicine’.” Hosted by TEAO Canada | Facilitated by Nicole Brown Faulknor and held @somersetrecovery This past weekend, 19 racialized leaders, healers, and community members gathered in Port Dover for a transformational experience rooted in somatic healing, self-reclamation, and embodied leadership. The body doesn’t fear healing—it fears unfamiliarity. But this weekend, we softened that fear. Stay tuned for our next retreat dates #collectivepauseretreat2025 💫♥️ #CollectivePause #HealingIsFamiliar #RestIsResistance #SoftLeadership #RacializedHealing #EmbodiedCommunity #WeCameHome #SacredRest #HealingTogether #TEAOCanada #PauseBreatheCelebrate #HealingForRacializedBodies #SomaticWisdom #ReturnToYourself #ComeRestWithUs #HealingIsNotLinear #CommunityIsMedicine #RootedInRest #LiberationInPractice

🌿 Collective Pause Retreat Recap: A Sacred Return (in a glimpse) Hosted by TEAO Canada | Facilitated by Nicole Brown Faulknor (@wounds2wings) and held at @somersetrecovery This past weekend, 19 racialized leaders, healers, and community members gathered in Port Dover for a transformational experience rooted in somatic healing, self-reclamation, and embodied leadership, for either the day on Saturday or for the full 3 days, Friday to Sunday option to this healing experience. The body doesn’t fear healing—it fears unfamiliarity. Together, we made healing familiar. We made leadership soft. We made community sacred. This retreat wasn’t just rest. It was resistance. It was home. ✨ With deep gratitude, TEAO Canada Moments we held, shared, and carried forward: 🌀 Grounding in Grace – Breathwork, movement, and a blazing bonfire ceremony welcomed us. We honored the selves that survived and cleared space for those still emerging. 🧘🏾 Embodied Healing – Trauma-informed yoga and somatic practices reminded us: healing is not a line, but a sacred spiral, guiding us back to our bodies, our truth, our power. 🎶 Drumming with Babarinde Williams – Rhythm became story, soul, and ancestral fire. Babarinde’s presence ignited celebration, resistance, and connection. 💛 Silent Lunch Ritual – Stillness as ceremony, nourishment as medicine. We savored presence in every bite. 🗣️ Leadership Rooted in Truth – A dance workshop to claim our voice and shine—grounded in lived experience and collective care. 🌅 Sunrise & Closing Circle – We named our intentions, honored our breakthroughs, and stepped forward with clarity, rest, and purpose. This was our sacred return. This is our revolution. #CollectivePause #SomaticHealing #EmbodiedLeadership #TEAOCanada #RacializedLeaders #RestIsResistance song credit for reel 🎶: Kendrick Lamar, Not Like Us.

🌿 This Weekend: Collective Pause Retreat! 🌿 #weareready 💫 A sacred space for racialized bodies to rest, reconnect, and rise. We’re just a day away from stepping into our healing container—and we can’t wait to welcome you. ✨ 3 Days of Grounding, Movement, and Community-Love 🌀 Somatic healing 🔥 Bonfire + breathwork 🎶 Drumming + embodiment with the incredible @babari6216 ♥️ Silent lunch, stories, softness & collective strength Saturday’s DAY RETREAT filled in beautifully and might be still open for a few—come for yourself, or bring a friend (or both)! 💫 📍 Port Dover 🗓️ Saturday, June 7 | 8am–6pm 🎟️ Free spots + 2-for-1 available #ThisIsForYou “The body doesn’t fear healing—it fears unfamiliarity.” — Nicole Brown Faulknor Let’s return to what we’ve always known: our power, our rest, our joy. See you soon, beautiful community. With love, @teao.canada ✨

🌿 Join Our Board of Directors Treasurer Position Open Be a part of a movement that centers healing, equity, and community care. TEAO Canada (Trauma and Embodiment Association of Ontario) is seeking a committed and detail-oriented individual to join our Board of Directors as Treasurer. This is an opportunity to support trauma-informed, community-based mental health work while using your financial skills to make real impact. 🧾 Your Role as Treasurer: Oversee the financial health of TEAO Canada Ensure transparent and accountable financial practices Collaborate on budget development, funding proposals, and reporting Support strategic planning through financial insight Attend quarterly board meetings and contribute to governance decisions ♥️ We’re Looking For Someone Who: ✔ Has experience in bookkeeping, accounting, or financial management ✔ Aligns with our mission of healing justice and embodied care ✔ Values equity, transparency, and trauma-informed leadership ✔ Is committed to supporting the sustainability of grassroots mental health initiatives 🌱 Why Join Us? Be part of a passionate, values-aligned team Support accessible healing in racialized and underserved communities Grow your leadership in a grassroots nonprofit organization Help shape the future of trauma-responsive care in Ontario 📬 Apply or Express Interest: wounds2wingsoffice@gmail.com 📧 Questions? Contact us at nicole@teaocanada.com This is more than a role — it’s a responsibility to our collective healing. Help us steward it well. #governance #treasurer #boardofdirectors #customized #changemakers #team #teaocanada

💫 Because Rest is Leadership. 💫 Day Retreat | Saturday, June 7 | 8am–6pm | Port Dover We often forget how vital rest, reflection, and reconnection are—until we’re offered a space to return to ourselves. The Collective Pause Retreat for racialized bodies in leadership—facilitated by Nicole Brown Faulknor and hosted by TEAO Canada—is that space. While our overnight spots are fully booked, we still have a few Day Retreat passes available for this Saturday, June 7 in Port Dover. If you’ve experienced the power of this retreat before, you know what a difference one day can make. We’re inviting you to: ✨ Come again for yourself ✨ Bring someone with you ✨ Or gift this space to someone who needs it You’re welcome to join us for free, bring a friend, or both—because community care is collective healing. registration link here: https://lnkd.in/enSUn8H9 (feel free to use the 2-for1 tickets at checkout to donate and bring a friend OR ask about our free spots). and LINK IN BIO #ThisIsForYou Let us know if you’d like to reserve a spot. With love and rest, TEAO Canada on behalf of, TEAO Canada Team

COMMUNITY IN MOTION – IN THE RURALS ✨ What a night! 💫 on May 29th, & day on May 31st we gathered in Ayr & Elmira for both an evening & afternoon of movement, connection, and care. From art and healing circles to music, food, and family fun — we came together to remind each other what it means to be seen, to belong, and to be held in community. 🦋 We danced. 🎨 We created. 🍵 We shared food. 🎶 We reconnected to joy. 🌱 We moved with care. Thank you to every heart that showed up and made this space feel like home. We see you. We value you. We’re growing together. Big love to our community collaborators @rhythmandbluescambridge @adventure_4_change e @wounds2wings @a.deckerart — and to our sponsors @kiacanada & @north_dumfries for making these moment spossible. @engagerural @woolwichchc @woolwichcounsellingcentre @wcs_thehub

Educational Awareness: Neuroscientist Explains #education #awareness Repost @drnasneuro ♥️🫶🏾 Next video will be on some science-backed suggestions on how to navigate grief a little bit easier. Please let me know your questions down below ❤️

“PRIVILEGE ISN’T ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE GONE THROUGH. IT’S ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVEN’T HAD TO GO THROUGH.” — Janaya Khan At TEAO Canada, we name this truth in every trauma training we offer. Because trauma doesn’t happen in a vacuum — it happens in systems that privilege some while placing the burden of survival on others. Our Trauma-Responsive & Systemic Impact Awareness course isn’t just about understanding trauma — it’s about unlearning the ways it’s been normalized and invisibilized in certain communities. 🧠 Learn the language of the nervous system. ❤️ Unpack the weight of systemic oppression. 🌍 Reframe healing as collective and justice-rooted. This is training that doesn’t just inform — it transforms. ♥️ Join us. Link in bio or visit teaocanada.com #TEAOCanada #TraumaInformedCare #SystemicTrauma #JanayaKhan #PrivilegeAndPower #HealingJustice #EmbodiedEducation #TraumaTraining #SomaticHealing #CollectiveLiberation

Educational Resource Sharing: Root of Auto-Immune Awareness 🫶🏾♥️ Repost by @jake_whan Dis-ease is created from instability within your nervous system. It sends your body into fight or flight and when you’re in constant fight or flight, your body’s way of surviving is to create a sickness, disease or #autoimmune condition. If you want to be able to heal from this nervous system dysfunction, you have to allow yourself to create safety within your nervous system and ultimately feel your stored emotions. When you do this, your body can return to a parasympathetic state and will start to heal from your auto-immune condition or disease. _______ #intergenerationaltrauma #complextrauma #trauma #traumainformed #traumahealing #ancestraltrauma #mentalhealth #traumarecovery #traumainformedembodiment #childhoodtrauma #collectiverelationaltrauma #traumatherapy #emotionalwork #emotionalregulation #somaticexperiencing #somatichealing #mindbodyconnection #therapist #nervoussystemreset

Middle of Everything. 🫶🏾 In the middle of everything-whether it’s work, caregiving, burnout, or simply trying to stay afloat— how often do we truly get the chance to breathe? That’s what the Collective Pause Day Retreat is offering on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Facilitated by Nicole @wounds2wings and hosted by @teao_canada at @somersetrecovery retreat home in Port Dover. 💫 Just one day. ✨ Surrounded by nature. Grounding workshops, nourishing food, and gentle community. This is not a luxury. It’s care. It’s space. It’s yours. We designed this retreat for those who give endlessly, who feel stretched thin, and who rarely ask for time to simply be. The 3-day retreat is fully booked, but we saved space for you-with two ways to make it easier: 1. Bring a friend with our 2-for-1 day ticket offer. 2. Refer someone else and receive a free ticket for yourself. If your spirit has been whispering that it’s time to pause, this is your sign to listen. Get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/teao-canadas-collective-pause-retreat-tickets-1247384794499?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios or ➡️ #linkinbio #CollectivePause #Retreat #CommunityCare #Healing #MentalHealth #TEAOCanada

♥️ When we heal together, we rise together. ✨ At TEAO Canada, May is a month of collective momentum into June —grounded in trauma-responsive care, embodied healing, and community-rooted connection. Whether you’re a youth worker, healer, community leader, or simply someone seeking space to pause and be seen—this month holds space for you. Here’s what’s unfolding this May across the communities we serve: 🌀 Trauma & Systemic Impact Training & Mental Health First Aid Training – June & July 2025 (online workshop) A powerful, two-day certification grounded in relational safety, nervous system science, and systems accountability. 🧠 Tomorrow!: Friday May 23rd Collective Care Circle. 7-8pm, The Branches, Kitchener-Waterloo Join us for an evening of community care, somatic healing, and trauma processing through group dialogue, body-based education, and guided breathwork. This space is for you—to feel, to slow down, to be held. Learn more or register: Link in bio 🎨 Community in Motion: Rural Tour – AYR Edition – May 29 & May 31st Elmira From art and dance to healing circles and shared meals—this free event brings families, friends, and neighbors together through joy, movement, and belonging. 📍 North Dumfries Community Complex – 5pm to 8pm & 📅 Saturday, May 31st 🕚 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM 📍 Woolwich Memorial Centre – 24 Snyder Ave. S. 🌿 Collective Pause Retreat for Racialized Bodies – June 6–8 (Spots filling fast!) An immersive weekend of rest, reflection, and restoration—designed by and for racialized communities. 🛏️ Day-Only options available. Info: Linktr.ee/TEAOCanada 💻 And stay tuned for our upcoming Fall initiative bridging digital literacy & mental health equity. We’re planting seeds today for long-term community transformation. Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in circles, in movement, in breath, in bold truth-telling—and in the spaces we create together. If you’re ready to learn, reconnect, or support, we invite you to join us this May. #TEAOCanada #TraumaInformedCare #CommunityHealing #MentalHealthMatters #CollectiveCare #Neurodiversity #RacialWellness #EmbodiedHealing #HealingJustice #TrainingThatTransforms

Educational Resource & Awareness Sharing: Did you Know? 🧠 ✨ What if the struggles we face as adults aren’t random? What if they’re patterned, systemic, and rooted in what we didn’t receive in childhood? Repost from @anamarialifecoach 🧠 Did you know? The original Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study was conducted between 1995 and 1997—and its findings continue to shape how we understand adult health today. So many of us walk through life carrying unexplained symptoms—chronic stress, anxiety, fatigue, health issues—without ever being offered a root-cause explanation. I spent years trying to fix things with temporary solutions that never really addressed the why. And I know I’m not alone. From the womb onward, we’re wired for connection. We need to be held, attuned to, and shown how to regulate, love, and live by the adults who raise us. These early relational experiences—or lack thereof—lay the groundwork for how we cope, trust, relate, and thrive later in life. When children grow up without consistent safety, emotional nourishment, or healthy models of resilience, the ripple effects often follow them into adulthood. 🌱 The question is: Now that we know this—how do we heal, pivot, and build something different? Because healing is possible. And it begins with understanding. — #chronicfatiguesyndrome #chronicallyill #chronicmigraine #chronicillnesslife #chronicpainmanagement #chronicbackpain #chronicpainlife #polyvagaltheory #polyvagal #somatictherapy #somatichealing #somaticexperiencing #mindbodymedicine #mindbodyhealth #somaticmovement #somaticpractices

“PRIVILEGE ISN’T ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE GONE THROUGH. IT’S ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVEN’T HAD TO GO THROUGH.”
— Janaya Khan

At TEAO Canada, we name this truth in every trauma training we offer.

Because trauma doesn&rsqu

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THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND IN-KIND DONATIONS.

Where Community Becomes the Medicine