The Gift of Catharsis
A Community Gathering with Ashira Prem Rachana
We are born with the beautiful contradiction of being a blank canvas to life while also carrying the foundation of our ancestors. The way we see the world, our capacity to hold and process emotion, and how we are in relationship with ourselves and others is shaped by our experiences, environment and lineage.
While Ashira Prem Rachana was born into a society of conflict and injustice, her journey has taken her from paralyzing emotion to catharsis and healing. As the founder of Catharsis Holistic Healing, a project that fosters trauma healing for Palestinians, she has created a space to build resilience as the trauma of occupation continues. Ashira focuses her healing work within social and political contexts. A gifted healer, she has also worked for years as a journalist and human rights researcher.
We also hear stories from Palestinian children living under occupation and meet Hassan, a young man living in the Al Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.
Join Ashira and Hassan in a discussion about liberation through movement, meditation, and empowerment. Come home to your own aliveness in a world of numbing, find connection and energize your soul.
Presenter
Ashira Darwish
Ashira Ali Darwish worked for 15 years as a TV & Radio journalist and researcher in Palestine for the BBC, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. She is the founder of Catharsis Holistic Healing, a trauma therapy project pioneering a type of Sufi active meditation which draws its roots from ancestral and Indigenous knowledge. Her personal healing journey from full body paralysis with a severed spinal cord in 2012 has given her a deep insight into the process of recovery and healing. In 2021, she received the “ISABS Honours” from the Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science for her contribution to positive societal transformation.