Kapwa is Medicine / August 2026

A movement arts practice shaped and embodied by way of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as the foundation for grounding for self- and spatial- awareness alongside community care. Paired with a poetry workshop as a form of release, reflection, and creative expression.

We will explore and blend together basic self defense techniques along with shared Filipina/x/o concepts as part of routine and ritual. Sprinkling in reflection and writing: “Rhyme and Reason.” Look forward to discovering, remembering, building on strengths you already have access to from within. All levels of experience welcome!

About Your Facilitator: Jyn Rose is a pinay, Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, co-founder, instructor

and (aspiring) coach at Excelsior Martial Arts Academy, located in the San Francisco, Bay Area, on Yelamu, Ohlone land. She is a mother of one, a devoted life partner, poet at heart, student, human be-ing. Honoring her ancestors through daily nourishment of mind, body, and spirit.

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KAPWA is MEDICINE is an offering grounded in love, mutual learning, and Kapwa.

Pilipinx ancestral ways of being is centered in Kapwa - the concept of community that we are deeply and integrally connected to one another. The more we are in Kapwa in our lives, the healthier & more vibrant we are as Pilipinx and Pilipinx Americans.

KAPWA is MEDICINE is a monthly gathering as part of the Adua Counseling Scholarship Program of Filipino Mental Health Initiative. KAPWA is MEDICINE is offered on select weekends through the year with guest facilitators focusing on different wellness themes and practices informed by ancestral ways of being and can be incorporated into your life, that include mental health provider/s or peer counselors in attendance. While we engage in different healing practices, Kapwa and community is built along the way. The conversations and connections before-during-and-after events tend to be the most powerful, impactful, and healing elements of KAPWA is MEDICINE. We hope you join us. Gatherings open to all and offered at no cost. Invite friends and family!

KAPWA is MEDICINE comes from 17 years of experience and prayer of exploring the following questions: What does healing and wellness look like for the Pilipinx community? How can mental health work be sustainable and lifeaffirming for mental health practitioners? How can we offer care towards our caregivers? KAPWA is MEDICINE continues to explore these questions in practice and hopes to offer a space that is life-affirming, inspiring, and grounded in shared principles.

KAPWA is MEDICINE is an ongoing program part of ADUA, sponsored & nurtured by Filipino Mental Health Initiative of San Francisco.