SUPPORT CIRCLES
Reclaiming the spaces we want to be in.
What Are Support Circles?
A space to be listened to, seen and held.
Support Circles have been a part of our cultures for eons. Unfortunately, due to the disfranchised manner in which modern society has been operating, access to them has been limited.
The idea of this initiative is to create an actual safe space for a diverse community to authentically interact each week. The periodicity builds an unwavering rapport and as the weeks go by, you'll notice the impact of belonging to a group like this.
Support groups initially start with a few common topics during the initial phases but as the group builds trust, consistency and confidence, there is scope to be tackle very specific goals which we can collectively agree on.
Once a month we will also meet in person at Hoopinkai's Farm retreat in Bangalore to strengthen the bonds we create.
2 CIRCLES TO CHOOSE FROM
Two small circles, online, an hour a week. Ten to twelve of us. Peer led, just people working through a version of the same thing and learning from each other.
Anywhere in India. All you need is one hour and somewhere private to sit.
One for folks looking to build a stable creative career (Thursdays at 7:30 PM)
The other for professionals looking to bring in more of their authentic selves into their workplaces and make work more enjoyable.
(Sundays at 11:30 AM)
Sessions start from Sept 10th onwards
2 CIRCLES
Choose one, or both
The Creative Careers Circle
Thursday evenings,
7.30 to 8.30 pm
If you're in a creative career or looking to bring together more creativity into your everyday life and work, this is for you.
This circle is coming from a space where I recognise that creative work is often exhausting because it's out a lot more from us. And to be in continuous touch of it for the simple pleasures that it brings so that spark inside of us stays alive, sometimes needs a little bit of support.
The Transitions Circle
Sunday middays,
12.00 to 1.00 pm
For those of us transitioning into our better selves. For those of us struggling with boundaries we're unable to draw, whether at the work place or in the other parts of our lives that will allow us to have more time for ourselves. There might be a change you keep almost making but not able to fully cement into your personality. Maybe you want more responsibility and to be working on different opportunities without drowning in it. In this circle we seek to answer how to work through vague notion of things getting better on the other side, when you are not really sure where or how the other side looks.
Sessions start from Sept 10th onwards
Themes
1
CREATIVE CAREERS CIRCLE TOPICS
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How do we reconnect with the joy of creating the things that we want to simply because it makes us happy?
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The nuances of earning from your creative hobbies
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How to keep creating for yourself when your whole feeling the exhaustion of your whole career being around it?
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What to do inside creative fatigue, rather than waiting it out?
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Finding inspiration when it has stopped arriving on its own
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The particular loneliness of flaming the creative fire within us
2
THE TRANSITIONS
CIRCLE TOPICS
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The self doubt of not feeling skilled enough for the change you want
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Boundaries while remaining a team player (at work and otherwise)
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Taking on more but remaining uncompromising on things that bring you joy!
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What you actually want, versus what you were told to want
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Building a support system when everyone you know is as busy as you are
These are just examples. The real themes will be decided during our first few circles and will be explored till the container chooses to move onto the next one that we will decided as a group.
Please note:
This is a peer support circle, not therapy. I am not a therapist and this is not treatment. There is no diagnosis, no clinical assessment, and no expert in the room who is going to tell you what to do.
What happens instead is that ten or twelve people who are dealing with a version of the same thing meet once a week and talk honestly about it. My job is to hold the structure. Keep time, make sure everyone is heard, protect our agreements. The wisdom lives in the group, not in me.
The purpose is sharing and support, not fixing or solving. Your situation may not get resolved in this room. Being properly witnessed is its own kind of relief. And if it fits then you might take away something from another's lived experiences
And if what you are carrying needs clinical support, and you feel that or I notice it, we can discuss it offline and I can help you find the support that you need. That is not a failure of the circle. That could be one indication of the circle working for you.
This might be for you if:
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You are carrying more parts of your own life than anyone around you realises.
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You have started making yourself smaller so you fit more easily into rooms.
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Rest does not seem to be fixing the tiredness.
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You want to hear how other people are actually doing it, rather than be told what to do.
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You have been meaning to find something like this for a while.
Is this for you?
This might not be for you if:
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You are looking for clinical support or a diagnosis. Read the note further down, and message me anyway. I will help you find the right person.
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You want advice and solutions more than you want company.
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You cannot commit to showing up most weeks. A circle only works when the same faces come back. You can of course, try it in the beginning to see if it fits but once the container is built, there is shared responsibility for the safety created. And the weight of what we will be carrying.
Facilitated by Yamini Gowda,
Founder of Hoopinkai's Farm Retreat and Sr. Marketing Manager at Diageo India
Hi! I'm Yamini. I've been running Hoopinkai's, a 100 acre farm retreat and a community Collective based in Bangalore. For the last 7 years now I have been living a double life between that and a career in the city.
I have been holding circles and retreats at the farm for years. And the thing that I've heard the most resonate with folks from the circle is how they thought it was just them going through "it".
It is almost never just you. No matter what you're dealing, there's usually someone who can resonate and relate to you. And that's what support circles are great with. They help us question, reflect and arrive through dialogue. We learn from each other's lived experiences and never through unsolicited advices.
Being an autodidact, an empath and juggling 2 jobs, and 2 intensive art forms has taught me everything I know about building a really strong community container and unapologetically going after the life that I want. In my experience that is what makes the difference between a group where the real thing gets said and one where it does not.
I want to join the circle,
Sign me up!
Sessions start from Sept 10th onwards
Frequently Asked Questions
01
Do I have to talk?
No. You never have to speak more than you want to, and passing is always allowed. Nobody comments on it and nobody follows up afterwards. Plenty of people spend their first session mostly listening.
02
Is this therapy?
No. I am not a therapist and this is not treatment. It is ten or twelve people dealing with a version of the same thing, talking honestly, once a week. If what you are carrying needs clinical support, tell me and I will help you find the right person.
03
Is what I say confidential?
What is shared in the circle stays in the circle. Everyone agrees to that in the first session and it holds for as long as the circle runs. This is an agreement between people, not a legal guarantee, and it works because the group is small and everyone has something at stake in it.
04
Do I have to have my camera on?
Yes, for the whole hour. This adds to the safety of the circle that we are building and is a requisite for the session since trust is what makes a circle powerful.
05
What if I miss a week?
If you have booked a block of four, one missed session carries forward if you inform me 24 hours prior. Only one, and it does not stack. Life happens, but a circle only works when the same faces come back, so the carry forward is deliberately limited.
06
How long does a circle run for?
As long as the group wants it to. There is no fixed end date and no set number of weeks. Some circles run for a few months, some carry on much longer. When a circle is ready to close, we plan the ending properly rather than letting it fade out.
07
Can I join if I am not in Bangalore?
Yes. It runs entirely online and it is open to anyone in India. All you need is a decent connection and somewhere private to sit for an hour.
08
Is there anything at the farm?
Once a month the circles come to Hoopinkai's Farm Retreat for a weekend. It is optional and separately priced, and it is the part I am most looking forward to. Meeting people in person after months of talking honestly on a screen does something else for the strengthening of the group's synergy.
Our
Agreements
WHAT WE AGREE TO
We read these out in the first session and
they hold for as long as the circle runs
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What is shared here stays here
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One voice at a time. We listen to understand, not to reply
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Equal airtime. Each of us watches how much space we are taking
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Speak for yourself. I, rather than we or you or or they or people
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No unsolicited advice. Share what helped you, not what should help them
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All feelings are welcome. How we express them has to be safe for everyone. We will discuss what that means in the initial few circles
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Cameras on, for the whole hour. This is one rule that separates a circle from a webinar because it holds that safety for everyone
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Somewhere private. No driving, no walking, no working in another window, please
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We start on time and we end on time
If I share something, she’s able to help me think from a space of deeper compassion for myself which I often find hard to access. I was struggling with something, some resurfacing wounds and I tried to think about what she would say and used that voice to work through it. Something I often end up doing.