What It Means to be Resilient

What we're witnessing in Gaza, across Palestine, and numerous other colonized areas in the world is a form of survival forced on people who should not have to prove their strength through relentless adversity. Resilience is often described as the ability to bend without breaking, to adapt and endure through hardship. Yet resilience is not meant to be the endless capacity to withstand suffering. 

Resilience should serve in reclaiming well-being and possibility, not reinforce colonial narratives that mistake forced survival for resilient living. 

For those of us in the diaspora, resilience takes on a different shape. It isn’t about surviving bombardment or displacement in the way our people back home are forced to. To be resilient is to cultivate inner resources and the ability to recover and build capacity, not to normalize oppression or glorify endurance under conditions no one should bear. For those of us living outside our homeland, it’s about carrying memory, refusing erasure, and nurturing spaces where our culture, stories, and humanity remain alive and unbroken. 

Resilience means protecting our hearts from numbness.

Resilience means staying connected to truth in a world that distorts it.

Resilience means sustaining our clarity and energy to advocate, create, and imagine futures beyond colonial narratives.

What You'll Find in Our Circle

Validation & Belonging

Your experiences matter. This space acknowledges the weight you carry and offers validation for what you’ve been holding.

Body-Based Practices

Gentle somatic tools to release tension and move through stress at your own pace, without pressure or rush.

Clarity For Action

Embodied strategies, anchored in your values, to ease the “what can I do?” burden and guide you toward intentional contribution.

This is for Students

Who are ready to move beyond overwhelm, reclaim their focus, and find the courage to connect and engage in a world that feels uncertain.

This is for Activists

Who are committed to directing their drive and energy to creating meaningful impact guided by clarity, vision, and grounded presence.

This is for Professionals

Who are determined to build resilience and maintain impact while juggling multiple responsibilities and witnessing abhorrent injustice.

Why the Body Matters

Stress Lives in the Body

Rapid heartbeat, tight shoulders, shallow breathing. These are all signs that the nervous system is under strain, affecting focus, sleep, and overall well-being.

Unprocessed Energy Gets Stuck in the Body

When fight, flight, or freeze responses aren’t released, this trapped energy can accumulate over time, showing up as tension, exhaustion, digestive issues, or a sense of numbness.

Regulation Starts with the Body

Simple body-based practices help the nervous system regulate, fostering a greater sense of safety in the body and creating space for clarity, presence, and connection.

Why the Heart?

The heart is more than a pump. It’s a center of intelligence that communicates continuously with the brain and body. When we bring the heart into a coherent state, our nervous system regulates, our mind and body align, and we create the foundation for greater clarity and presence. This alignment isn’t just a feeling. It translates into practical benefits: ✦ Sharper focus and clearer decision-making ✦ Improved communication and social connection ✦ Greater emotional resilience and empathy ✦ A stronger sense of inner ease and stability By learning to work with the heart, we can access this powerful, integrative resource to navigate stress, engage meaningfully, and act from a place of grounded clarity.

What You'll Learn

The science of stress and trauma: Understand how the nervous system carries the weight of ongoing violence and grief, and how it impacts focus, sleep, and your ability to connect with others.

Finding strength in regulation: Gentle practices to regulate your body, ease tension, and restore moments of safety and resilience, even in the face of heartbreak.

Reclaiming inner resources: Learn to shift from survival mode into states where presence, clarity, and hope become possible.

Healing in community: Connect with others who are carrying the same weight, and find strength in shared humanity and solidarity.

Meet the Speakers

Nadia Qasmieh

Somatic Practitioner & Mind-Body Coach | Embodiverse Inc.

Tala Sammur

Your Job Title | Business Name

Rafiq Qutub [Moderator]

Environmental Consultant & Advocate | Embodiverse Inc.

Participant Guidelines & Disclaimer

Due to the content and nature of the sessions, this group is intended for participants who are on a second- or third-degree of separation from genocide and ecocide, such as members of the diaspora, rather than individuals experiencing these events on the ground. By joining this session, participants acknowledge that the speakers are not licensed therapists and that this program is for educational and skill-building purposes only, not a substitute for professional mental health care. Participants agree to respect the privacy and confidentiality of others, follow community guidelines, and understand that all content is for personal learning only and may not be shared publicly without permission.  The sessions will NOT be recorded. The practices will be made available to participants post-event to support ongoing daily practice.

Reserve Your Spot

No experience needed.

Join us online for free and leave with practical mind-body tools to release tension, regain presence, and reconnect with your grounded, resilient self.