“The way is one, and the paths are many. We all need to go somewhere to restore our souls. We need to be on that path to recovery and to wholeness.” bell hooks
The WHOLE Story
The first WHOLE Mini-Retreat for Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color in Academia was in November 2019. It was birthed out of my Yoga Nidra practices, my most recent and ongoing research project, and my mentoring relationship with my teacher, sister, and friend, Octavia Raheem.
In Fall 2020, on the heels of intersecting pandemics, the first year of the WHOLE online community began to gather together to reconnect to ourselves and to begin to re-imagine our approaches to work in academia, and beyond.
For me, the word "Whole" meant integration, connection, and expression of all of our identities, preferences, stories, and dreams so that we can individuate - do the work that is uniquely ours to do. It affirms that our inner work is just as important as our outer work as we move along our path.
Importantly, wholeness also meant that we, too, can be connected in such a way that each of our unique gifts are amplified and supported. That our whole world is blessed by our connectedness.
In summer 2021, we more clearly describe WHOLE as a community and a journey whereby members draw upon restorative practices (ie restorative yoga, yin, Yoga Nidra, and meditation) to explore, unravel, and resist norms of work that intersect with racism and sexism. To do so, members go through an 10 month process of re-imagining generative, sustainable, and authentic approaches to being and working - in academic spaces and beyond.
The program continues to be offered on a scale of prices, based on members' available funds and resources. Interested people are invited to schedule a call with Tiffany to assess if joining the next year would be a good fit.
**The expressed thoughts and ideas here are my own, and they do not reflect the thoughts, opinions, or ideas of Georgia Tech.
Join Year #4 (Sept 2023-June 2024)
You may be asking if this community is for you:
1. Do you want support in achieving your academic milestones?
2. Do you want to experiment with soul-centered ways to share your research findings with the world?
3. Are you curious about how you can engage your work in academia with an ethos of groundedness, rest, and liberation?
4. Are you looking to free up alongside a community of folx in academia with similar values and desires to do the same?
5. Interesting in imagining and exploring the possibilities of being in and "doing" academia differently?
If you answered yes to at of the above questions, I'd be honored to journey alongside you.
{Keep scrolling for more info.}
**The expressed thoughts and ideas here are my own, and they do not reflect the thoughts, opinions, or ideas of Georgia Tech.
Membership in this community includes:
- 20 Group Unraveling Sessions (2 sessions/month): We meet (online) twice a month (the first and last Tuesday of the month, 7:30-8:30 pm Eastern) to share and support each other's soul-centered projects that are being birthed. One session of the monthwill incorporate inquiry and dream work to help us do our work (with Chanti. ) The other session of the month is purely an opportunity to ground ourselves, check in, and offer support to each other as we: do our soul-centered work in ways that center rest and liberation and as we do academia differently. Think of this as an office hours, or discussion section guided by monthly topics, the moon, and the group's needs.
- Weekly emails that dive into the monthly theme through readings, replays, podcast episodes, and a playlist.
- Unlimited access to a growing library of 120+ hours of recordings of mini-lessons. This is a private library for members of WHOLE only.
- Discounted 1:1 sessions with Tiffany.
- In-person retreat option.
- Capacity: There is space for up to 20 members in Year #4.
Interested in joining?
The next academic year (2023 -2024) is now open for enrollment until September 30, 2023. There is space for up to 20 souls who are ready to do academia differently.
Schedule a call with Tiffany to see if joining WHOLE at this time of your would be a good fit.
Your investment:
To sustain self and community in Year #4, members are invited to invest $325/month per person. The value of in-person retreat is additional. This means that for those wanting to join for a full year and attend the in-person retreat, the total investment is $3250 + the investment of the in-person retreat.
To invest: Members are encouraged to (a)contact me to discuss a monthly payment schedule that works for you over 10-12 months (b) seek institutional support in order to pay full price or (c) choose from a sliding scale of monthly payments, including this option.
Refund policy: Refunds available until September 30 of the current programming year. After that, no refunds are available.
Not a BIWOC, but want to support WHOLE?
If you are not BIWOC in academia (or you are, but don't have space to join this year), and you still love what we're about and want to support members of WHOLE who are trying to do and share their academic work with the world through a foundation of rest and liberation: donate here.
To help gauge the amount of your donations, financial investment of membership in this community is $3250 per person. Many thanks to you for your contribution to this work!
Interested in joining?
The next academic year (2023 -2024) is now open for enrollment until September 30, 2023. There is space for 20 souls who are ready to do academia differently.
Schedule a call with Tiffany to chat and to see if joining now at this time is a good fit for you and your life.
WHOLE Testimonials
WHOLE has been a key self-care practice for maintaining my joy and stability in the chaos of 2020. I first attended the WHOLE retreat in November 2019 when this idea was a baby and I am so honored to be part of this growing community that Tiffany has created. I admire Tiffany and the way she holds space. She is both a teacher and a sisterfriend in the way that she relates to the community. Her themes and journal prompts are always right on time with what I am needing. Through WHOLE I have gained clarity about the ways academia has conditioned me to feel like I am not whole. I have defined what spaciousness means in my calendar, relationships, and in my mind and body. I have expanded my understanding of what I am capable of. And most importantly, I fell in love with dreaming. Spending time in the liminal space that Yoga Nidra facilitates has been powerful for envisioning and manifesting what I want. From Nov 2019 - Dec 2020, I proposed my dissertation, I enrolled in and completed YTT, and founded @BlackJoyYoga (my own Yoga community) and @CiSunshine_Consulting (my own psychology grad school coaching business). These accomplishments were all dreamed of and nurtured through WHOLE.
I'd highly recommend WHOLE to those looking for more accountability to rest and dream. I love that WHOLE is offered at the same time and day every week, but if I miss it I can always catch up on the replay. I love that when I am needing a little more rest in my week I can go back and pick a replay of a class to gain a new perspective about what the practice will bring the second time around.
- Ciera Lewis
Being a part of the Whole community was much more than I expected; believe me when I say this practice was beyond transformative! Being in a space with other women of color who share similar experiences in the workplace, personal life, and otherwise had a very different impact on mindfulness. You'd be surprised how connecting mind and body through movement affects you. Through this experience, I discovered my boundaries and better understood what I needed to function optimally. I learned so much more about who I was and how to bring my full authentic self to all I do. I developed a self-love routine that embodied and impacted all parts of me, both professionally and personally. Altogether, I gained clarity on (and I'm not exaggerating), literally, my whole life's purpose! I feel prepared to take action that incorporates my whole "being" with what I do, both inside and outside of the academy. I look forward to continuing this journey as part of a collective with the Whole community!
-Dr. Indira Turney
I truly enjoyed the live sessions. The live sessions were truly the only times this past semester that I was still. I was disappointed that I didn’t make more time to attend the live sessions, because they were so enriching. For this reason, I was truly grateful for the regular emails. They were helpful reminders that it was still important to make space, when I could. I gained a great deal of clarity moving forward that I must make more space in my life to be still.
-Dr. Nameka R. Bates
Dr. Johnson's WHOLE Community practice has been a life saver, particularly in this pandemic season with so much uncertainty and anxiety. The yoga and meditation practices have allowed me to create the necessary care time I need, have allowed me to focus on what fills me in all areas of my life, and has provided a wonderful supportive community of other women of color. I feel so calm and motivated after our sessions, and I am so grateful for Dr. Johnson's time and talent. I am eager to see how our WHOLE Community continues to manifest in 2021!
- Holly Smith
**The expressed thoughts and ideas here are my own, and they do not reflect the thoughts, opinions, or ideas of Georgia Tech.