Blog Archives

Narcan skillshare - Replay now available

3/28/2023

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this month’s skillshare:

Narcan Training for Birthworkers
with Nickie Tilsner @Cornerstone.Birthwork

The live training was a pay what you like training where folks learned how to identify the signs of an opioid overdose and how to administer naloxone. Nickie also covered the principles of harm reduction, how we can better support our clients and community by eliminating the stigma of substance use and why this is for everyone! Our Q&A time was robust and I’m grateful we had a chance to get into some specific scenarios.

The replay of this training is now available for purchase, so if you’d like to learn more about harm reduction, how we can show up for community members who are also substance users and how this will enable you to better support your clients, you can sign up for it here and access it instantly. Your purchase funds our ability to continue offering our skillshare and other programs - so thank you for your support!

RLBC Skillshares are a monthly offering from collective and community members alike, centering BIQTPOC and uplifting all the many ways that we learn, explore and share our wisdom, skills and experience. To learn more, visit rootsoflaborbc.com/skillshares

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Cultivating a practice of Rest - Doula Circle follow up

3/23/2023

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This week’s Doula Circle topic was ‘Cultivating a practice of rest’. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, check out our last Doula Circle follow up post to learn more about the new structure we’re using in this space.

A summary of what we discussed last Tuesday:

What does your rest practice look like currently?

When you consider these forms of rest, what feels easy and accessible to you? Which feel more challenging to access?

Physical Rest
Mental Rest
Spiritual Rest
Emotional Rest
Sensory Rest
Social Rest
Creative Rest

When you’re overwhelmed, what’s the first/primary form of rest that you focus on or ground in?

What are some ways that you call on folks in your life to support your rest practice?

How could you be better supported in your rest practice?

Some other topics that were discussed:

Placenta encapsulation

If you have a recommendation for a training that you loved, please share below.

Supporting folks that are incarcerated

If you’d like to support RLBC as we begin reinstating services at Santa Rita Jail, please consider becoming a patron. We’ll be sharing a gofundme soon!

There’s no self-care without community care

Ajira wrote this post for her Missives from the Birthlines newsletter. Check it out with a free trial.

Resources:
The Nap Ministry 1-833-LUV-NAPS (588-6277)
Call this number to have some love and restful encouragement poured into you from the Nap Bishop herself, Tricia Hersey. Visit the website to explore other resources like her book, Rest is Resistance and more.

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Ramadan Mubarak and Happy World Doula Week!

3/22/2023

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How fortuitous to have both Ramadan and World Doula Week beginning right at Spring Equinox! I know it’s not accidental, and it makes my heart happy. Celebrating you all as we move through these markers of intention, celebration and devotion.

Thank you for all the ways you show up in the world!

World Doula Week is from March 22 - 28.

We intentionally seek to uplift and center the work of BIQTPOC birthworkers and doulas in particular, because we are too often dismissed, overlooked and invisibilized.

We know that our work is critical and offering support to folks whose lived experiences we reflect has an indelible impact on their experiences as well as their outcomes. We believe that everyone deserves a doula and we all deserve to thrive.

You can learn more about:

the collective here
how you can get involved here
supporting our doulas by contributing to the collective here
World Doula Week here.

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Happy spring equinox!

3/20/2023

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Happy Spring Equinox to you! The spring equinox is when day and night are as close to equal as they typically get. Many view this as a time of rebirth and renewal, and a good time to check in with yourself about balance, self-care and where you may need to make some adjustments.

Many births happen at this time, fresh out of winter.. It’s considered a time of awakening and new growth and it’s a beautiful time to set new intentions for the upcoming season. And a good time, as always, to root deeper into your rest practice. However you move in this time, I hope you’re centering your needs and offering yourself care.

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March Skillshare: Narcan Training for Birthworkers

3/14/2023

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Join us for our March Skillshare: Narcan Training for Birthworkers!

Join this month’s presenter, Nickie Tilsner of @Cornerstone.Birthwork for this free/pay what you like offering where you’ll be learning how to identify the signs of an opioid overdose and how to administer naloxone. Nickie will also cover the principles of harm reduction, how you can better support your clients and our community by eliminating the stigma of substance use and why everyone should know this. And of course, we’ll have time for a Q&A as well.

RLBC Skillshares are a monthly offering from collective and community members alike, centering BIQTPOC and uplifting all the many ways that we learn, explore and share our wisdom, skills and experience

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Open forum - Doula Circle Follow-up

3/8/2023

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First off, we’d like to share some shifts with Doula Circle that we hope you’ll find supportive. Nothing too drastic, we’ve just added a little more structure to our gatherings. 🎉

On the 1st Tuesday of the month, we’ll continue to have a free flowing open forum formed by the folks who come and what’s needed in the space. This has sometimes looked like: debriefing recent experiences; sharing birth stories, tips, advice or feedback; connecting for backups, referrals or mentoring and more.

On the 3rd Tuesday of the month, we’ll have a topic to guide the conversation. We’ll still make space for what’s needed/wanted by the folks who attend, so join us to share your experiences and connect with community. If you have a topic you’d like to suggest, please let us know in the comments.

On the 5th Tuesday of the month, we’ll have a guest speaker talking about a particular aspect of community birthwork. If you have a speaker or topic you’d like to see highlighted, please let us know in the comments.

We’ll keep the website updated with details for the month ahead and make sure to let you know what’s coming up in email reminders as well. You can sign up here to get those. Additionally, you can come back here to the blog following Doula Circle to see any resources that were shared!

So... last night was the 1st Tuesday of March so we had an open forum and the discussion was varied and rich. Thank you to everyone who came through and all the contributions folks made to the conversation.

We discussed:

family expectations and how they can impact pregnant and postpartum experiences.
How challenging it can be when folks expect you to hold space for them always and in all ways
The importance of setting and holding loving boundaries to support ourselves
How it’s okay to say no when we need/want to
Remembering that we are each at different stages of our healing journeys and meeting people where they are is important for our own as well as their wellbeing. Folks can’t be dragged through a healing journey. They need to travel through their own path.
How good naps are! Lol. The Nap Ministry is a great source of encouragement to rest.

Resources shared:
The Nap Ministry
Mutual Morris
The Yoni Day Spa

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The Collective

We are Roots of Labor - a collective of BIQTPOC birthworkers, healers and support care advocates who believe everyone deserves to have the support they want & need as they move through transitions & transformations.

Narcan skillshare - Replay now available

Cultivating a practice of Rest - Doula Circle follow up

Ramadan Mubarak and Happy World Doula Week!

Happy spring equinox!

March Skillshare: Narcan Training for Birthworkers

Open forum - Doula Circle Follow-up

The Collective

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