The topic of Conversation:

Reclaiming Our Lineage: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This conversation goes vulnerably deep into How we build a deeper connection to our land, culture, people, practices, and rituals. How do we sustain and grow this connection?

Let us unpack what blocks us from healing and what propels us forward as a collective.

Schedule:

6:00 PM Come in and Connect with the Community

6:30 PM Breathwork Journey (this is optional)

7:10 PM Conversation Begins

8:10 PM Q&A

Ceremonial Chai-Cacao will be served as well as Tea & Refreshments

MEET YOUR SPEAKERS

Fariha Roisin

@fariha_roisin

Fariha Róisín is a multidisciplinary artist, born in Ontario, Canada. She was raised in Sydney, Australia, and is based in Los Angeles, California. As a Muslim queer Bangladeshi, she is interested in the margins, liminality, otherness, and the mercurial nature of being. Her work has pioneered a refreshing and renewed conversation about wellness, contemporary Islam, Degrowth, and queer identities and has appeared in The New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Vice, Village Voice, and others. 

In 2015, she co-wrote a self-care column for The Hairpin, an astrology column for Them in 2017, and in 2019 was the writer-at-large and culture editor for The Juggernaut. From 2012 to 2016 she co-hosted the podcast Two Brown Girls with writer and friend Zeba Blay. In 2020 she also founded Studio Ānanda, a social art practice and archive for radical, anti-colonial wellness.

She is currently the deputy editor of Violet Book, sits on the advisory board of Slow Factory, and frequently writes essays on her Substack from everything about comparing yourself to others, schadenfreude, and the deeply profound film, Saint-Omer.

Róisín has published a book of poetry entitled How To Cure A Ghost (Abrams), a journal called Being In Your Body (Abrams), and a novel named Like A Bird (Unnamed Press) which was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by NPR, Globe and Mail, Harper’s Bazaar, a must-read by Buzzfeed News and received a starred review by the Library Journal. Upon the book’s release, she was also profiled in The New York Times. Her first work of non-fiction Who Is Wellness For? An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who it Leaves Behind (HarperWave) was released in 2022, and her second book of poetry is Survival Takes A Wild Imagination is out Fall of 2023.

Harpinder Mann

@harpindermannyoga

Harpinder Mann, RYT-500 (she/her) is a yoga teacher, mindfulness educator, speaker, and community builder currently living on Tongva Land (LA). Her practice is rooted in her spiritual background of Sikhism and Buddhism and ancestral roots in Panjab, India - this informs her desire to teach yoga authentically as a spiritual practice. Teaching since 2018 and practicing since 2013, she teaches in a way to help people mindfully connect to their bodies with curious awareness, to bring a sense of healing peace and stillness, and create more meaning in their lives.

As the co-founder of the Womxn of Color Summit, Harpinder is actively working to decolonize wellness by creating community and providing accessibility to healing spaces for BI&POC. Her work sits at the intersection between social justice and healing. She works 1:1 with folks on reclaiming their power & intuition to be free, is passionate about working with folks of color,  pregnant people, teaches at recovery centers, and led events and speaks at organizations such as Tulane University, Grindr, Expectful, Ogden Museum, Decolonize Birth Conference, Lightning in a Bottle, and many more. 

Her upcoming book "Liberating Yoga" is set to be published in Fall 2024. You can learn more at harpindermann.com. 

Saleha Bhatti

@saleha111

Saleha is a Women’s Freedom Activist, Goddess Embodiment Coach, Spiritual Teacher, and Sacred Space Holder. Her mission is to educate and liberate 1 billion women on Earth. She empowers and guides women to embody their highest selves, heal from the past, and cultivate freedom within which then creates freedom in all areas of their lives. Saleha works from a deep understanding of how oppressive systems can entrap women and sees them as a threat to our global well-being. She is an Earth Ally and believes that women’s liberation is the golden key to the liberation of our collective consciousness.

Saleha is a certified NLP Practitioner, with an extensive study of Neuroscience and Trauma Treatments with globally renowned Psychiatrists like Dr. Gabor Maté & Dr. Van der Kolk. She is trained in EMDR and EFT. As a breathwork facilitator, her certifications include Pranayama, Holotropic Breathwork, and Wim Hof. She has acquired over 550 hours of ceremonial space-holding. Her methods are an effective culmination and combination of the wisdom of Buddhism, Taoism, Ayurveda, Vedas, Quantum Physics, Somatic Therapy, and her unique oracle abilities.

Earlier in her life, Saleha’s curiosity & courage helped her become the first woman in her big Punjabi-Saraiki family to have higher education and be financially free. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Economics and holds an MSc in Finance from CEU. In her previous career, Saleha built her first tech company at age 22, and her second (a luxury-vehicle marketplace) company at age 25. She worked as a CFO and consulted as a Finance Director for nearly a decade. Until she finally decided to devote her life to her mission of gathering and activating sisters into goddesses.

Melissa Shah

@findyourbreath

Melissa Shah (she/they is a certified yoga therapist and first gen Indian American, skilled at adapting yogic practices to the individual. She works to decolonize how we practice yoga in the West by helping people connect to their inner knowing, bringing to light the long-standing disparities in wellness spaces, and reclaiming representation. Melissa firmly believes in adapting the practice to the individual as they move through human experiences. Since she has had asthma since the age of 2, she's experienced firsthand the positive effects that yoga and pranayama can have not only on chronic illness but how we perceive the world. 

Currently, Melissa works 1:1 offering yoga therapy in the Viniyoga tradition and Ayurveda tools that empower the person to adapt sacred teachings to their unique self. She also regularly guest lectures in teacher training, facilitates retreats, teaches in schools, and leads immersion-style learning for those committed to deepening their yogic studies through a holistic lens. She offers weekly classes that invite students to explore the intersection between yoga and social justice, and how to tune into your true self and dharma (calling, purpose) when it comes to taking action toward what you believe in. 

She has been practicing yoga since she was a child, thanks to their mother, and has been a devoted student since the age of 18. Melissa has had the privilege of having over 2000 hrs of training in yoga, Ayurveda, and yoga therapy with certifications from SVYASA, Yoga Works, Integral Yoga Institute (Prenatal), Ritam Healing Arts, and the Yoga Well Institute, where she completed their 1000-hour Professional Yoga Therapist Program. She also holds a Master's in Public Health, with a focus on health policy from Columbia University. Their work has been featured in NBC Asian-America, Yoga Journal, Anti-Racism Daily, and SHAPE magazine. When Melissa isn't teaching, she loves to practice singing, swim, and experiment with Ayurvedic cooking! Click here to see their current live offerings and connect with them on IG at @findyourbreath.

Location: Riverbank

5259 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90019