Facing Fragility: Toward Building a Culture of Coliberation
We invite you to work with us toward building a sane, loving, compassionate and brave anti-racist culture.
Facing Fragility is an advanced anti-racism course for white-bodied folx, offered in seven sessions along the expanded, decolonized spiral of the Work That Reconnects. Designed to deepen emotional, somatic, cognitive, and social capacity, this course builds the tools needed to confront white supremacy and systems of oppression—while staying engaged without overwhelm, burnout, or shutdown.
New Cohort will start in April 2026 and run through October 2026.
Does this sound like the program you have been looking for?
Would you like to learn more?
Join Leah and Yulia for our free info session for Facing Fragility on March 7th, 2026 at 9:30-10:30 MT/11:30-12:30 ET/17:30-18:30 CET
Through guided learning, somatic practices, and self-regulation techniques, participants will explore the difference between safety, challenge, and overwhelm, as well as activation versus trigger responses. By building awareness and nervous system resilience, participants will practice interrupting patterns of harm—on emotional, cognitive, and somatic levels—to enable more intentional and compassionate interactions in mixed-race settings.
At the same time, we will critically examine how oppression operates globally, systemically, and internally—recognizing that while no individual created these systems, we all have a role in either perpetuating or disrupting them.
Throughout the course, participants will:
- Strengthen resilience through resourcing, self-compassion, slowing down, and energy release practices
- Develop a practical toolkit for self-regulation and collective support
- Build frameworks for navigating feedback and conflict with accountability and care
- Deepen understanding of how supremacy culture shapes emotions, beliefs, and group dynamics
- Set “going forth” commitments tailored to their personal or organizational contexts, sustaining anti-oppression work beyond the course
Our Participants Include:
- Majority-white teams serving racially diverse communities
- White members of mixed-race groups working in predominantly white institutions
- Individuals seeking to explore whiteness, deepen anti-oppressive practice, or build capacity for transformative change
- People applying to the Spiral Journey International Facilitator Development Program in preparation for the anti-oppression and decolonization work within the program
Whether participating individually or as part of a team, you’ll leave with a practical toolkit, greater self-awareness, and stronger collective insight to support your anti-racist journey with integrity, resilience, and courage.
This work is increasingly vital, and I am nourished and challenged by the opportunity to engage deeply and meaningfully through this program, in order to move further towards the change we need as individuals in community, and in the world.”
Course Structure
Facing Fragility meets monthly over seven 2.5-hour sessions, from 8-10:30 PT / 11-1:30 ET (for this program we will follow the US-calendar and daylight savings schedule)
Session dates and themes are as follows:
- 18 April 2026 – Gratitude
- 16 May 2026 – Self-Awareness/Social Location
- 20 June 2026 – Systems of Oppression
- 18 July 2026 – Honoring our Pain for the World
- 15 August 2026 – Seeing with New/Ancient Eyes
- 19 September 2026 – Liberation
- 17 October 2026 – Going Forth
Participants can expect approximately 2-3 hours of prep work each month, along with a minimum of 20 minutes/week of somatic practice between sessions. You are encouraged to meet with a buddy between gatherings to build support systems, deepen your learning, and debrief your experiences.
Please have the following two books on hand throughout the course of this program:
- Layla F. Saad, 2020. Me and White Supremacy – Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor
- Ijeoma Oluo, 2025. Be a Revolution – How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World—and How You Can, Too
Time Commitment:
- 2.5-hour live session monthly
- 2-3 hours of prep work monthly
- Ongoing somatic practices (minimum 20 minutes/week)
This Program is for you if…
- You are eager to move from intellectual understanding toward an embodied antiracist practice.
- You recognize fragility in yourself and want to build capacity to stay present.
- You are able to commit to and be accountable to this community of practice with care.
- You are willing to engage with courage and curiosity in weekly somatic practices, working with your own shadow, shame and guilt.
This Program is NOT for you if…
- You are wanting to stay in your head.
- You have never done any work around anti-racism nor read any books.
- You are not able to prioritize regular engagement with the webinars, readings, and community space.
- You are looking for reassurance rather than challenge.
- You are unwilling to examine your own participation in supremacy culture.
Financial Details
The cost for the full course is $1,350, with a sliding scale from $500 to $2,000 to honor diverse economic realities. We ask that you contribute as generously as you are able, knowing your contribution helps create access for others.
All post-production profits will be donated to Black- and Indigenous-led organizations and projects. (see more below)
Limited scholarships (beyond the sliding scale provided) will be available.
Important Note
This course builds on your foundational understanding of anti-racist theory and white supremacy. Please come prepared with prior experience or study in these areas.
Recommended reading prior to this program: Nova Reid, The Good Ally.
Facilitators
This course is facilitated by Leah Pearson and Yulia Smagorinsky, who are deeply committed to holding brave, compassionate spaces for transformative anti-oppression work.
Queen Rev. Mutima Imani will be joining us as guest-facilitator in session 6 and 7.
Accreditation
Facing Fragility meets the training prerequisites for the Spiral Journey International Facilitator Development Program, fulfilling both the 12-hour Work That Reconnects spiral and required Anti-Oppression training.
Acknowledgements
Our approach to anti-racism and liberation work has been informed, shaped and deeply influenced by the following teachers, mentors and authors: Mutima Imani, Resmaa Menakem, Dr. Larry Ward, Lama Rod Owens, Rehana Begum, Roxy Maning, Isabel Wilkerson, Layla Saad, Prentis Hemphill, Ijeoma Oluo, Nova Reid, and many more.
Donation of Post-production Profits
As white-bodied facilitators, we are deeply committed to not profiting any further from the existing interlocking systems of oppression. All post-production profits are being donated to Black- and Indigenous-led organizations and projects.
The 2025/26 cohorts post-production profits have been donated to three organizations:
Leah Pearson (she/her) has over 20 years of experience as a teacher, coach, facilitator, and trainer specializing in culturally relevant pedagogy. In recent years, she has led white affinity groups for racial justice, fostering vulnerability while interrogating racism within herself and the systems she engages with, centering Global Majority voices, and speaking truth to power.
A graduate of the 2024-2025 Spiral Journey Facilitator Development Program, Leah deepened her practice in anti-oppression work and facilitation. She is excited to co-facilitate Facing Fragility, creating a brave space for white people to engage in antiracist practices both somatically and through daily risk-taking.
Leah lives in Denver with her husband, Nick, and their two children, Ronin and June. She finds joy in spending time in nature. Her writing has been featured in Deep Times Journal.
Yulia Smagorinsky (they/them), M.Sc.Agr, Spiral Journey administrator and co-facilitator. Yulia is an restorative farmer, weaver of social change and healing, permaculture designer and a graduate of the Spiral Journey Facilitator Development Program and registered facilitator of the Work That Reconnects Network.
Yulia works as a horticultural educator and restorative justice practitioner in the Healing Garden at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Service Center. They are deeply committed to trauma-sensitive, somatic approaches to disrupt systems of oppression and to transform harm into healing.
Yulia is a co-founder of Emergent Abundance Farming Collective, sharing food, knowledge, skills, information, access to land and sources of healing with the local community. They are actively creating platforms and pathways to hold space for others to heal, to listen deeply and transform.
Queen Rev. Mutima Imani (she/her) is an internationally recognized facilitator, speaker, and author specializing in transformative practices that awaken personal and collective potential for a thriving global society. As the convener of Awaken to Love and a dedicated steward of the Work That Reconnects (WTR), Mutima brings a decolonized, inclusive lens to themes of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in social and environmental activism.
Drawing on a wealth of experience as a spiritual leader and healer, Mutima intertwines ancestral wisdom, deep ecology, and community-based practices to address the root causes of oppression, disconnection, and ecological collapse.
Mutima is the author of The Promise of the Great Turning, a groundbreaking exploration of how Joanna Macy’s WTR spiral can evolve to address the polycrisis of our time. With a focus on healing intergenerational and racial trauma, nurturing resilience, and fostering liberation, she empowers individuals and communities to navigate the transition toward a just, regenerative future.