Omega’s Commitment to Creating a Climate for Positive Change Is Hallmark of 2019 Programs

From Drawing Carbon Out of the Atmosphere, to Advancing Women’s Leadership, to Repairing Historical Pain and Social Inequity–Omega Offers a Robust Variety of Learning Opportunities

RHINEBECK, NY – Omega Institute, a premiere destination for lifelong learning in New York's Hudson Valley, reopens its Rhinebeck campus May 3rd for six-months of in-person workshops, conferences, retreats, and professional training opportunities through October. As a mission-driven nonprofit, Omega creates learning experiences that help to awaken the best in the human spirit by providing people and organizations with tools for achieving personal growth and social change.

“At a time when our world faces monumental challenges, from social injustices to political polarization to climate change, we see a window opening,” said Carla Goldstein, chief external affairs officer at Omega. “There is widespread interest and need for the knowledge and skills we have cultivated since our founding in 1977. Omega is prepared to meet this moment, by bringing forward teachers, tools, and solutions that help to create a climate for positive change in peoples’ lives and communities.”

A Sampling of Omega’s 2019 Rhinebeck Program Highlights:

Yoga Service Conference, May 3-5: Dedicated to sharing yoga’s teachings with diverse communities in need, the 8th annual Yoga Service Conference (co-presented by the Yoga Service Council and Omega) offers practical methods to maximize effectiveness, sustainability, and impact for people who already work in the yoga service field as well as those looking to start.

Radical Dharma Events:  Three opportunities to develop greater awareness across lines of difference with spiritual author and activist, Reverend angel Kyodo williams Sensei. Radical Dharma Circle (June 14-16) is designed for people entering the conversation about healing racial injustice; Radical Dharma Conversation (July 21-26) advances understanding of the legacy of racial injustice and white supremacy; Radical Dharma Camp: Bringing the Truth Home (May 24-27), offers a deep dive for individuals implementing racial justice and anti-oppression interventions in their circles of community, faith, and vocation.

Women & Power: Gathering Our Strength (Sep. 27-29):  Hosted by the Omega Women’s Leadership Center (OWLC), and dedicated to helping women Do Power Differently®, Omega’s acclaimed Women & Power events have been drawing women from across the country and around the world for nearly 20 years. This year’s conference features notable women such as #MeToo Movement founder Tarana Burke, Bad Feminist author and cultural critic Roxane Gay, cultural historian and human rights attorney Riane Eisler, philosopher and Down Girl author Kate Manne, and recording artist Natalie Merchant, to name a few.

Drawdown Learn: What Schools & Communities Can Do About Climate Change (Oct. 18-20): Hosted by the Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL), in collaboration with the environmental nonprofit Project Drawdown, this weekend conference is founded on the solutions-based blueprint, Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, a New York Times bestseller. Join the OCSL and many partner organizations to cultivate and strengthen relationships with people from various sectors; share information, resources, and curriculum ideas; learn with and from young leaders; get inspired about what’s possible; and develop the support needed to achieve “drawdown” by or before 2050—the critical point when atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations peak and decrease each year after.

Decolonizing Ourselves (Aug. 16-18); Decolonizing Our Hearts, Minds & Movements (Aug. 18-23):  The Decolonizing Ourselves retreat is open to all people. Michael Yellow Bird, PhD—a leading Indigenous teacher, researcher, and activist—examines the historical and social experience of colonization and how this experience is mirrored in our present day lives. The latter program, co-led by Indigenous attorney, teacher, and author Sherri Mitchell, is a gathering specifically for Indigenous, Black, and Latinx peoples, and focuses on mindful strategies to help undo the legacy of colonization.

Veterans, Trauma & Resilience Retreats: For more than 25 years, Omega has provided retreats for veterans dealing with issues of post-traumatic stress and military sexual trauma, and training opportunities for health-care professionals that focus on resilience, reintegration, and complementary and alternative medicine treatments. Four distinct retreats will be offered in 2019: A Retreat for Male Veterans (May 12-17), Healing From Military Trauma (for women, Jun. 16-21), Veterans Yoga Retreat for Men (Aug. 11-16), and Veterans Yoga Retreat for Women (Sep. 22-27).

Earth Wisdom of the Teyuna Elders: Ancient Teachings for a Modern World (Aug. 25-30):

For the first time, Indigenous spiritual leaders from Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region are journeying to Omega so they can share their Earth wisdom with Westerners. This is a rare opportunity to learn what humans as a species have forgotten about personal and planetary healing.

Mindfulness Programs & Trainings with Brown University: Omega has partnered with Brown University's Mindfulness Center to bring their evidence-based mindfulness programs and professional trainings to the Rhinebeck campus. Seven of Brown’s workshops and professional trainings will be offered at Omega in 2019.

Moreover, Omega’s growing community engagement effort, supported by nearly $1M in annual funding, is broadening access to learning opportunities through underwritten programs, nonprofit retreat grants, and a robust scholarship fund. Scholarship recipients can choose from a wide variety of holistic studies and sustainable living workshops, including special scholarship opportunities for veterans, women, and educators.

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