Active Meditation & Yoga
Ashira's approach to yoga is from a well-being and healing perspective. It is a non-religious, nondogmatic path where she uses yoga techniques, specifically Kundalini Yoga and Osho Active Meditation processes, to help people understand and overcome their traumas and live a fuller life of well-being and peace. Combining these processes with Sufi whirling techniques, she designed a unique modality, which she calls Active Meditation, that has helped children and adults better manage their daily lives.
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Ashira established a link between Sufi whirling, active and passive yoga practices, and trauma therapy. Her research showed that whirling by itself would strengthen the function and structure of one's prefrontal cortex (PFC) circuits and encourage increased concentration and focus. Ashira's modality uses specific practices from Kundalini Yoga and Osho Active Meditation practices to help children release and overcome trauma, especially those associated with child prisoners in Israeli jails.
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As a child growing up in occupied Palestine, Ashira suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She would whirl alone for hours and days in her small room in an apartment in Jerusalem. As she grew up, her activism defending the Palestinian cause in the face of Israel's brutal occupation left her with severe spinal cord injuries requiring reconstructive surgery and a lengthy recovery period. She started to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms soon after her surgery and found solace in combining her whirling and yoga practices.
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Soon after her recovery, Ashira continued to develop her modality and carried out in-depth research over many years with hundreds of kids who participated in healing retreats she arranged in Palestine. Her work showed strong evidence linking Active Meditation to more positive signs of increased concentration and focus. In 2021, she received the 'ISABS Honours' from the Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science for contributing to positive societal transformation by applying behavioral science principles and practices.
Project Catharsis: Holistic Healing for Palestinian Children
According to Defense for Children International DCI, approximately 500 to 700 Palestinian children every year - some as young as 12 years old - are detained and prosecuted in Israeli military courts, with the most common charge being that of stone-throwing.
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The torture and abuse faced by children prisoners during their detention are profound. Since October 7th, 2023, these numbers have increased dramatically, and the abuse that they witnessed has been much more intense and long-lasting.
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With no access to mental health support and counseling, the children and their families are left alone to deal with sociological problems ranging from PTSD to psychosomatic symptoms. So, over the years, Ashira developed Catharsis Holistic Healing, a healing and trauma-release project for Palestinian kids and their families.
Catharsis brings together Palestinian families traumatized by Israeli authorities to retreats, where Ashira and other healers developed a program utilizing Active Meditation as a basis for healing.
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Catharsis has also become a platform for Ashira to introduce holistic and indigenous approaches to trauma therapy and integration into Palestinian and Arab society. She trained and supported over 200 practitioners from the Arab world and continues to provide vital free trauma support to those in need around the world. Her work has garnered recognition from leading practitioners and therapists working in the field.