If we are going to retain movement leaders as they work towards collective liberation, we must support their emotional well-being.
I offer trauma-informed training, community healing events, and emotional support services to cultivate well-being and foster longevity for social justice organizations.
Why it matters
The research on burnout
Advocating for collective liberation can be incredibly fulfilling, and exhausting. If you’re not careful, the constant stress and overwhelm can lead to burnout, or leaving the movement all together.
The World Health Organization characterizes burnout by emotional exhaustion, reduced empathy, and a decreased sense of accomplishment, all of which undermine one’s well-being, motivation, and effectiveness.
Emotional exhaustion is most strongly linked to negative impacts on health, relationships, and work– especially for women.
Advocates and change makers tend to pour their hearts and souls into their work. It’s a beautiful thing that supports success, but this high level of commitment and emotional labor can also contribute to the risk of burnout when one overextends themselves beyond their capacity.
To cope, advocates may rely on emotional detachment to avoid feeling the weight of grief and frustration they’re carrying. While this can help initially, suppression is an unhealthy coping mechanism that diminishes psychological and physical health over time.
Somatic Healing
Suppressed emotions and chronic stress get stored in the body
These suppressed emotions get stored in the body as chronic stress, dysregulating the nervous system and activating the fight/flight/freeze response.
With both emotional exhaustion and burnout being a physiological phenomenon, it requires a somatic (body-based) approach to complete the stress cycle and signal safety in the body, thus being able to show up with greater ease, efficacy, and longevity.
We utilize scientifically proven somatic practices including breathwork, yoga, and emotional release techniques to address the chronic stress and repressed emotions that get stored in the body.
Our services leave participants feeling lighter, with a renewed sense of clarity, and increased ability for emotional regulation so that they can navigate conflict with colleagues with greater compassion, stand fully empowered in their voice as an advocate, feel resilient to continue showing up for the causes they care about, and develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
“Brialle’s workshop was transformative for our team. In a survey following the session, participants shared glowing feedback across the board and many requests to bring her back. Her presence, guidance, and wisdom allowed our team members to open up, let go, and find peace. I simply can’t recommend her more highly!”
— Jamie Berger, Chief of Staff, Mercy For Animals
A Peek at Previous Work
Conference Presentation
Co-facilitating at The Animal and Vegan Advocacy Summit with Leah Garcés, President + CEO of Mercy for Animals on the importance of inner healing to prevent burnout and support collective liberation. Watch here.
Podcast Interview
Speaking on the Hope for Animals podcast about holistic healing and emotional wellness. Leave with suggestions on how to ground yourself so we can break free from grind culture and embody a more sustainable work/life balance.
Guided Meditation
Enjoy this meditation to support self-awareness and emotional regulation. I guide you to check-in with your breath, energy levels, emotions, thoughts, and sensations in the body. This 15-minute meditation is great for daily practice.
In the past 3 years of partnering with Brialle at the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan, our team has seen a difference in their ability to regulate their bodily responses, and how that can play a role in their capacity of supporting their students in the community. Our team is working to support students through advocacy, mentoring, and organizing, and this work can be taxing on staff since they experience vicarious trauma on a consistent basis. Some team members have personal experiences with the students we serve and these moments trigger them, thus leaving them in disarray. Through our partnership, team members now feel more equipped to recognize where this trauma lives within their bodies, and now have the tools to address them, thus creating deeper resilience in their work. Now team members engage their students and families in discussing and practicing somatic response strategies.
— Anell Eccelston, Director of Care and Sustainability
About your guide:
Hi! My name is Brialle Ringer and I’m a wellness educator, breathwork guide, and embodiment facilitator that specializes in helping change makers lead with greater ease and joy.
As a former burnt out social worker turned healer, I intimately know what it's like to feel overwhelmed by compassion fatigue, struggling to slow down and rest because you fear the causes you care about will suffer.
I’m committed to creating space for community healing because I believe it’s imperative for the success and sustainability of social justice movements.
I’ve facilitated wellness programs for advocacy groups including Mercy for Animals, The Humane League, The Animal and Vegan Advocacy Summit, APEX Advocacy, Student Advocacy Center, The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and more.
Get in touch below to book me for a virtual event, staff retreat, or conference.
Ready to book a session for your team?
Please send me an email sharing more about what you desire support with, your staff size, budget, dates, and any other information that will help me craft a beautifully aligned experience.
blessings@bewellwithbrialle.com
Testimonials
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I learned a lot more about what true self-care can and should look like. I think the prevalent notions for self-care practices in society are largely dominated by consumerism and capitalism, rather than truly understanding ourselves, our own unique and innate needs as human beings (e.g. breathing exercises, self-expression, meditation, crying, laughing, community, etc). The training with Brialle dissected and explained this really well! I also really liked how the information was presented specifically through an activism lens. The prevalence of burnout is not talked about in the liberation movements nearly enough.
The Humane League
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Brialle was a guest on our Speaker Series for Dharma Voices for Animals in August 2024. She gave an incredibly valuable talk on managing burnout. Our community and our organization were all so impressed and grateful for her teachings. We all left with new skills that will help us manage symptoms of burnout and ultimately be able to be better advocates for animals and humans. I highly recommend Brialle as a speaker!
Andrea Diaz, Dharma Voices for Animals
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Without Brialle we wouldn't have been able to foster such a strong community, not only was she proficient in the project management work that came along with overseeing our activist community of over 300 people, but she was also available for one-on-one mentorship for community members when they needed a shoulder to lean on. Inside of our organization Brialle was also a delight to work with, she brought a high level of joy to staff meetings and provided a warm and nurturing energy to all of our teammates. I highly recommend Brialle as she will be a powerful resource for any team or to individuals seeking wellness support.
Christopher Eubanks, APEX Advocacy