A six month intensive meditation course on Zoom led by Singhashri and Balajit. For those with at least six months meditation experience.
Course Description
I am because we are is a traditional saying from the African Ubuntu tradition invoking the truth of interconnectedness and the promise of beloved community.
“We will not end…any form of human evil…by trying to tear it to pieces. Instead, we can offer people better ways to belong and better things to belong to.”
- Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts
We all yearn to find and engage with others in spaces of deep meaning and heart-felt belonging, where we are each doing our own work in authentic connection with one another.
This is the ideal of Beloved Community.
Our dharma practice provides a crucible where we hold the tension between our ideals and what is happening now, which sometimes feels very far from our ideals.
How do we show up for ourselves and others with an attitude of openness and curiosity, willing to see clearly the parts of us that are both longing for freedom and those still in the shadows, confused, or actively resisting change?
This question is relevant to both how we work internally and also how we engage in beloved community. It is the ground from which true inclusivity can take root, grow and flourish, creating beloved community from the inside out.
Over this six months we’ll explore:
Our vision for liberation for ourselves and others and our intentions for practicing
How our unique conditioning shows up in the space of meditation and how we relate to what’s happening now
Embodiment as a radical act
The role of joy and pleasure in opening to ourselves, one another and the world
How a creative response to fear, grief, shame and anger can support our efforts towards collective liberation
The co-created and interconnected nature of experience and reality
For those with at least six months meditation experience interested in deepening their personal and collective practice at the intersection of Dharma, somatics, and social and environmental justice.
Course Dates
Please note: The course starts with a two hour orientation from 7-9pm GMT on Monday, Sept 28th.
We will meet on Zoom every 4-5 weeks from 10:30am-4:30pm GMT (with breaks). Please note there are two sessions in November and none session in December.
4th October 2026
1st November 2026
29th November 2026
3rd January 2027
31st January 2027
28th February 2027
In addition to scheduled Zoom sessions, the course will also include:
A two hour orientation from 7-9pm GMT on Monday, Sept 28th
Monthly 20 minute one-to-one practice reviews with Singhashri or Balajit (five reviews in total)
Reading material excerpted from a draft of the forthcoming publication - The Radical Embrace, by Singhashri
Audio recordings of each session, with additional resources
Option to join a Signal group for those on the course to connect with and support one another on our collective journey
Invitation to join the Radical Embracers Facebook group for all those who have been or are currently on retreat or a course with us
Dana
This course is offered on a dana (donations) basis. Please give what you can and only if you can. Those who give the maximum amount (or more!) make it possible for others with less financial resources to attend.
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Suggested donation amounts depending on your circumstances:
Waged - £550
Student/benefits - £375
Unwaged - £200
We’re also happy to receive donations in installments over time, in amounts and over time periods that work for you. Please reach out to us to arrange.
We ask for a non-refunable £25-50 deposit donation to reserve your space on the course. Once your registration has been approved, you’ll be sent a link to pay your deposit. When this has been received, you’ll receive confirmation of your place on the course and the bank details for the account to pay your remaining dana into.
When giving, please use reference: IABWA26
If you are unable to make an initial donation because of financial hardship, please reach out. We really don’t want a lack of resources to inhibit your ability to participate on the course.
To book
Spaces are limited to 24 to ensure we can build a strong sense of connection and safety as a group and meaningfully support each participant. Therefore, please reflect on whether this is the right time to commit to a course like this and ensure you can attend all sessions before booking.
If you have any questions about whether this is the right course for you or challenges with any of the dates, please do write to us and we can explore together.
Please email our Operations Manager for more information or with any questions at natalie@radicalembrace.org
Who we are
Singhashri
Singhashri (she/her and they/them) is a queer, Chilean-American-British dharma teacher, writer, and somatic practitioner. They teach an embodied and relational approach to mindfulness and compassion as means to awakening to love, beauty, and truth and have committed their life to supporting collective liberation for all.
Singhashri has a background in youth work, training design and delivery, strategic planning, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. They are an ordained member of the Triratna Buddhist Community, an accredited Breathworks Mindfulness teacher, trainer and supervisor, and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP™).
In 2024 they founded Radical Embrace CIC, a community-interest company providing embodied and relational healing and transformation at the intersection of dharma, somatics, and social and environmental justice. Singhashri weaves spirituality, embodiment, and deep care for each other and the planet into their writing, teaching, and one-to-one client work.
They teach at various retreat and urban centers across the UK, Europe, and the USA and support projects aimed at creating greater diversity and inclusion within Buddhist communities and the secular mindfulness field. They currently live in London with their partner.
Balajit
Balajit (he/him) has been leading retreats and events across the UK for around 15 years. For several years he lived and worked at Vajraloka Retreat Centre in North Wales.
Currently based in Birmingham, he mixes Buddhist teaching responsibilities with work as a trauma therapist. He has studied the newly emerging psycho-biological approaches to trauma work and nervous system well being- and is qualified in Somatic Experiencing, NARM therapy and SHEN Therapy.
In the past few years, Balajit has been exploring correspondences between these emerging approaches and the canonical Dharma. In particular, how transforming trauma can weaken forces that cloud the heart-mind, allowing a deepening of meditation and supporting the dawning of embodied wisdom.
Justin
Justin (he/they) is a Black queer practitioner who has been involved with I Am Because We Are since Fall 2021—first as a student, and now as a co-facilitator of this space. For him, this course has been a journey of heartfelt connection and collective practice, where beloved community is realized through bold visioning, ritual, and shared vulnerability. He is grateful for all previous participants who have shared this path of showing up with openness and curiosity, especially Singhashri, Balajit and Gurnam, whose wisdom and deptful loving practice have been foundational.
He trains in the Sōtō Zen lineage with Rev. Liên Shutt as a member of Access to Zen Sangha, currently undertaking the three-year Access to Zen Practice Training (APT) program—a cohort that weaves together Zen training, Theravadan insight meditation, and anti-racist awareness practices. In 2022, they received certification as a Mindfulness Teacher through Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams and David Perrins' MNDFL program.
Working professionally at The Embodiment Institute, Justin draws inspiration from the teachings of queer Black feminists, the natural world, and somatics as a guide. His work aligns with the belief that healing happens through relationship—that we are transformed through our connections with ourselves, others, and the natural world. And that the promise of that transformation is an ability to act from choice rather than reaction, an embodied freedom.
Gurnam
Gurnam Bubber (he/him) has been involved with the I Am Because We Arecourses since their inception, initially as a participant and now as a co-facilitator. This ongoing journey has been a rich, connecting, and meaningful experience that Gurnam is committed to continuing and sharing with others.
He has been practising meditation and exploring the Buddha’s teachings for over 20 years within the Triratna Buddhist Community. As a Going For Refuge Mitra - training for ordination - Gurnam supports and teaches meditation and Buddhism for the Croydon Buddhist Centre, the Croydon people of colour group, and on LGBTQ+ days and retreats at the London Buddhist Centre.
Gurnam is particularly inspired by the natural world, the wisdom of the body, and the transformative power of the Dharma. He is passionate about exploring the intersection of Dharma and social justice, especially how the Buddha’s teachings can serve those who experience marginalisation. He draws deep inspiration from Dr B. R. Ambedkar, whose vision of a society grounded in Buddhist values continues to guide his path.
Alongside his spiritual practice, Gurnam finds nourishment in the work of creatives, activists and practitioners such as Audre Lorde, Mary Oliver and Lama Rod, and in the embodied practices of writing, drumming, and walking.