Mindfulness & Empowered Self Defense

Empowerment Self-Defense is a 50+ year evidence and research based violence prevention strategy. It focuses on offering tips, tools, strategies and choices surrounding how to navigate challenging situations, adverse or violent events and come out on top.

Empowerment goes beyond physical self-defense strategies. It is about understanding your voice and knowing that voice has power. Learn how to use it!

This trauma-informed, holistic empowerment workshops support violence prevention, wellness, anti-bullying, and so much more.

It uses simple but very effective step-by-step approaches where students practice their techniques against trained instructors in age-appropriate scenarios. This 3 part, 7-hour empowering class teaches students to be aware of their surroundings, their emotions, and to assess who they may have to deal with.

Participants learn to:

-Project confidence

-Set boundaries

-Use their voices

-And trust in their intuition.

These are reinforced with repetitive training. Participants go through scenario-based learning to deal with bullying, stranger danger, and how to address uncomfortable situation regardless of who it is, while being coached by a certified and accredited Empowerment Self-Defense Instructor and licensed clinical psycholoigst.

Participants walk away understanding:

-The 5-Principles of Self-Defense

-What Red-Flags are and How to Navigate Them

-Awarenesses (Environmental, Social, Personal)

-Trigger Inventory

-Basic Physical Moves for Preventing Violence

-Verbal Self-Defense Skills

-How to build and nurture Self and Other Trust

-Mindful Self-Compassion

Session 1

-The 5-Principles of Self-Defense

-What Red-Flags are and How to Navigate Them

-Awarenesses (Environmental, Social, Personal)

-Trigger Inventory

-How to build and nurture Self and Other Trust

-Mindful Self-Compassion

Session 2

-Being assertive & Remaining Safe & Alert vs Trauma Response

-Boundary Setting for Emotional and Physical Safety

-Basic Physical Moves for Preventing Violence

-Verbal Self-Defense Skills

-Applications of Mindfulness to Self-Protection and Self-Advocacy

Session 3

-Advanced Physical Moves in Challenging Situations (i.e how to fall, ground fighting, hair grabs, choke holds)

-Integration of the learned skills into varied real life scenarios

-Board Breaking as culmination and symbol of empowered capacity

-Celebration, group meal and workshop reflections & intentions

Participants who attend all three sessions will have the opportunity to break a wooden board and will receive a Beginner level certificate in Empowerment Self-Defense

Host or Publisher Dr. Gaby Toloza