Workshops
Land and Body
Saturday, March 20th, 2027
11am-5pm, PST
IN PERSON in Berkeley, CA
"This gave me so much life. I evidently need more Blackness in my life. Love y’all!!!! "
- Tammy Johnson
"I’d never been to a conscious dance workshop before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The moment I realized this was a BIPOC space I relaxed — my body dropped, let go, and opened… Spending the day moving, breathing, and inhabiting my body felt incredible and surprising… Valerie and Sarah held a magical, alchemical container that made me feel safe, connected, and willing to share vulnerably through dance and breath. "
- Sangita Kumar
"It was exceptional. It was both joyful and uplifting while having room for the grief that did emerge. Valerie and Sarah created a space where naming all the parts of your lineage and accessibility needs were unconditionally accepted."
- Mariah Landers
"Being a part of Heart Pathways brought me into my body and soul. It was deeply nourishing… The space is a refuge amidst the chaos of the world, a true safe space for BIPOC folks to lay down their hearts, bodies and minds together in collective rest. I am grateful to have experienced the emotional tending and community healing I received in the space. It is rare to find intentional spaces like this in the Bay Area—and they should be cherished to continue fruitful offerings like this and inspire other programs like this. "
- Rashmi Guttal
"Heart Pathways was extremely restorative in my relationship with consent and touch. I have craved a space to practice and learn from teachers who move with spirit and embodied practice that honors who they are. For me Movement Liberation feels strikingly different from other spaces in the way that there is the intentional integration of ritual and ceremony. To me this speaks to the way teachers hold this space. A sacred space.
- Rene Benavides, Designer, Facilitator, and Somatic Coach
"Oh my goddess! Thank you Valerie Chafograck for yesterday's workshop Begin Again. It was a truly healing and embodied spiritual experience. I had no idea I could drop into my body like that. It’s so true your teaching and playlist artistry are liberatory. I look forward to joining you again and again 💗 "
- Kristin Ming
"All of me was welcome here. My queerness, my Chineseness, my assimilated-ness. I got to feel myself, I got to hear myself, I got to FEEL myself. My soul got to express, for the first time in my life, its full expression through my body. "
- Linda Fraimow-Wong
"Valerie is one of the few that connects oppression to patterns of movement in our bodies. She offers up new pathways for understanding and tending to trauma in our body, and the group field. I felt as a group we found a deep embodied feeling of safety, a connection with our own resilience, and a joy that we are in this together, and we can do it."
- Adithya Raghunatan, Executive & Culture Coach
"Valerie and Dominique facilitated the container with exceptional skills, integrity and love. I felt safe. I could be absolutely present and in the flow of discovery through movement. I felt seen and encouraged. I felt empowered!"
- Nijlan, Black Mixed Queer Woman
I felt safe and was able to release my trauma and feel all ranges of emotions and sensations. Because this was a BIPOC space, I never felt nervous about who my partner is going to be, what kind of shields I may need to put up. All the love and validation being sent my way and mirrored back to me, buoyed me when I returned to the traditional world. "
- Michele Agid
"I felt what it was like to expand my body and to take up space as opposed to my norm of contracting and shrinking, something that I have been conditioned to do in a world that does not value me. Shame drained from my body. I felt strong, worthy and free. I moved in this space where I saw my own beauty reflected back at me in the eyes of other beautifulLy brilliant brown souls. I felt seen and I was able to communicate what words simply cannot express."
- Kimberly Ann, MFT
