The Invitation
We are ready and excited to invite you to our latest course creation – Fundamentals of Facilitation.
Journey with us for one year and learn the depth, rawness and beauty of true Embodied Facilitation and experience the wisdom and guided practices this course offers. Feel how it supports your evolution as an individual, stripping off what is not you, to reveal more and more of your essential self.
Wherever you are on your journey with Shakti Shiva Academy – whether or not you’ve done courses with us in the past, or if you are simply interested in somatic-based facilitation – this invitation is for you.
While Fundamentals of Facilitation can be taken as a stand-alone course, it is also an integral part of our 3-year Facilitator Certification – into either a Sexual Awakening for Women Facilitator, a Sexual Shadow Work Facilitator, or a BlissDance Facilitator.
How this course is different from other facilitation courses
Our approach to facilitation is alive, fluid, grounded and authentic because we fully embrace that we know nothing – also as teachers and facilitators. This course teaches the radical method of guiding a group or individual from a place of emptiness, of knowing nothing. We practice to drop perfection and cultivate clear intuition.
This course expands your capacity to feel and be present with everything that is happening in the space, always receptive to the intelligence of the group and each moment arising – no matter what. We learn to lay down any templates or ideas of how ‘our’ facilitation should look like, inviting the ‘greater facilitation’ of the field and the moment unfolding.
“The freer I get, the higher I go.
The higher I go, the more I see.
The more I see, the less I know.
The less I know, the more I’m free.”
~ Ram Dass
There is no hierarchy (or the idea that we know better) through which we separate ourselves from the group. While we are the ones holding the group, we simultaneously know to follow the greater guidance through what is happening in the now. With this unique way, we create a safe home for vulnerability (our own and the others) in the space, which is the gateway to real intimacy, true connection and deep transformation.
It is the teachings of intimacy, intuition, vulnerability, emptiness and unwavering presence which weave through the course content and offer their gifts for your personal growth and style of facilitation.
We replace perfection with intuition, being right with staying connected, hierarchy with synarchy and synergy, tools with pure presence, ideas with embodied wisdom, knowing with sensing and feeling, and we understand that any trigger or discomfort is our Guru.
How this course introduces you to body-based facilitation
Do you want to learn...
to facilitate from a place of knowing nothing?
to be firmly rooted in your centre while turmoil or chaos is around you?
to be fully in your power and vulnerability at the same time?
to guide from a place of unwavering body presence?
to radically trust the moment, your intuition and your body?
to have both, solid ground and fluidity in your facilitation?
to keep falling in love with yourself?
The naked truth of our human experience, felt inside the body, heart and mind in each moment, is what our work is based on. Your embodied experience of the now is what becomes your ground and guide as a facilitator – through deserts, storms, rainbows and clear skies.
You will learn and practice to
continuously listen deeply from your body (belly), heart (feeling) and consciousness (mind)…
sense and meet the field and the other/group from this listening place…
drop any mind stories, handing the guidance over to the wisdom inside your body…
cultivate your capacity to meet everything that arises with full body presence…
love and feel yourself fully inside your being, while holding space for others…
How this course supports your personal growth
The quality and depth of facilitation do not depend on accumulated qualifications or knowledge. The true pearl of a loving, fun and grounded facilitator is the presence and quality of their pure being that fills, thus holds, the space.
And so this course is a journey of continuously emptying yourself of limiting patterns, stories and beliefs and to keep falling in love with yourself, as you are. You get to die over and over again as you purify your true self, allowing the diamonds of your essential being to shine through more and more.
Together we meet in truth and vulnerability – simply being ourselves – in each given moment. You will practice to fully feel the moment, your body and your intuition and stay rooted inside your being – whatever happens around you. So you learn to feel the intensity of any situation while simultaneously embodying the loving observer.
From all this, ripples of positive transformation flow into your everyday life and into all your relations and creations.
As a devotional practice taking everything that happens in your life as a teaching of the guru is very, very powerful.
~ Krishna Das
What students are saying...
about Shakti Shiva Academy
Modules
Semester 1
Module 1 ~ What is Facilitation?
Live Class: 16 + 30 May 2024
You’ll learn what facilitation is (and how it is different from teaching, coaching or mentoring), what skills make for a good facilitator, what you are responsible for (and what you are not responsible for), and how to foster your participants’ inner experience.
Module 2 ~ Creating a Sense of Safety
Live Class: 13 + 27 June 2024
Feeling safe is fundamental to learning from our experiences. In this module, we’ll explore what safety is and isn’t and how you can foster this feeling in your participants. You’ll gain practical tools for building emotional safety within a group, and preparation for managing physical safety considerations. You’ll also learn how to manage privacy and confidentiality concerns for in-person and online groups.
Module 3 ~ Building a Container
Live Class: 11 + 25 July 2024
“Container” is the term we use to describe both the physical space of your workshop and the shared emotional context for the work you will be doing with your participants. In this module, we incorporate practical considerations of how to work with the physical environment of your workshop with rituals and practices to help your participants feel seen, safe and held.
Semester 2
Module 4 ~ Facilitation in Practice, Part One
Live Class: 12 + 26 September 2024
Facilitation is an interpersonal practice, and in this module you will have the opportunity to practice a lot. We will cover tools for tracking what is happening in your room, roleplay common concerns and how to address them, explore how to listen for the underlying concern, and practice addressing accessibility issues from multiple perspectives. You’ll gain practice in our three approaches to listening, and learn the three touchpoints for participant engagement.
Module 5 ~ Facilitation in Practice, Part Two
Live Class: 10 + 24 October 2024
This module will give even more opportunity for practice. We will experiment with ways to facilitate through common obstacles, explore how to get back on track when there has been a derailment, and dig into when to stick with the agenda vs when to follow an important thread that has come up. You’ll learn an important rubric for protecting your vulnerable students and begin to examine your position of power in your role as facilitator.
Module 6 ~ Integrity and Accountability
Live Class: 7 + 21 November 2024
Working with groups, it is normal and expected that “stuff” will come up and sometimes we will not handle it well. Perfection cannot be our goal, but if that’s true, what will we replace it with? In this module, we’ll explore what integrity and accountability mean for a Shakti Shiva Academy facilitator. We will examine how power plays out in a group dynamic, both as a facilitator and among your participants. You will learn how to write a personal integrity statement, and how to build an accountability team of your own. And we will explore the profound power of meaningful apologies.
Semester 3
Module 7 ~ Self-Care as a Facilitator
Live Class: 16 + 30 January 2025
As a facilitator, it’s important to be in good working order so you can show up for your participants, as well as to have tools to take off the “space-holder” hat afterward. In this module, we will dig deeper into your own boundaries and limits as a facilitator, get clear on how expectations and intentions can help or hinder you, and brainstorm ways to open yourself up and close yourself down before and after an event.
Module 8 ~ Planning Your Workshop
Live Class: 13 + 27 February 2025
In this module, we will review crucial factors that will help you set up your workshops. From determining the scope of what you will do and writing compelling invitations, to finding venues and getting awesome assistants, this module will help set you up for success.
Module 9 ~ Integration and Celebration
Live Class: 13 + 27 March 2025
In our last month together, we will review all that we have covered, help you determine your next steps, and celebrate your completion of the Facilitation Fundamentals program!
Additionally, there will be a handful of bonus classes from outside facilitators, highlighting special topics, like marketing, tips for online facilitation, diversity and more!
Masterclasses
with Guest Teachers
Betty Martin
The Wheel of Consent
We live with a seeming paradox. On the one hand, we are inherently connected to each other, part of the great matrix of life. On the other hand, our ability to enjoy that connection depends on our ability to be separate, autonomous and responsible for our individual desires and choices. And that allows us to know, and then communicate, our limits and boundaries. And that allows us to have way more fun with our connections. Ironic, isn’t it? But true!
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In her framework, “The Wheel of Consent®” Betty traces the fundamental roots of consent back to our childhood conditioning. As children, we are taught that to be “good” we must ignore our body’s discomfort and be compliant: to finish our food even if we’re full, to go to bed even if we’re not tired, to let relatives hug and kiss us even if we don’t want to. We learn that our feelings don’t matter more than what is happening, and that we don’t have a choice but to go along, whether or not we want it.
Betty has had her hands on people professionally for 40 years (some of it legal and some of it questionable). 30 years as a Chiropractor and then 15 years as a Body Electric School trained Sacred Intimate. Other goodies include Neuro-Emotional Integration, Educational Kinesiology, Sexological Bodywork, Taoist Erotic Massage, Kashmiri Tantric Massage, and good ‘ol sex work. She describes her long career as basically Surrogacy with variations. She loves it.
These days her passion is training other hands-on practitioners in consent skills and how to teach their clients empowered choice – so they can stop doing what they think they are supposed to do, and start doing what it is they want to do. Big difference.
Her book, which is just being released, is The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent. www.wheelofconsentbook.com Additionally, you can discover more about the work Betty offers at www.bettymartin.org
Joy Clarissa Taylor
Soul-Inspired Business Mastery
Empowering transformational entrepreneurs to succeed
Live class: 5 September 2024
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What we will cover in this masterclass:
- Create the structures and systems (healthy masculine) that allow you and your business to flow (healthy feminine)
- Identify and align all aspects of your business with your business soul
- Get clarity on your professional milestones and prioritize tasks
- Make effective and intuitive decisions in your marketing (including branding, mindsets, and strategies)
- Design a customer journey that encourages steady and predictable sales
Joy Clarissa Taylor is an intuitive business strategist and authenticity coach, she is the author of the #1 Amazon bestselling book INSPIRED: 7 Wisdoms of a Soul-Inspired Life and is passionate about empowering people to contribute to a better world through spiritual embodiment and inspired action.
She served as a college faculty developing and teaching leadership courses for entrepreneurs and is the past Director of The Women’s Business Center of Northern California. Creator of The Business Soul Map, a transformational process for progressive entrepreneurs, and facilitator of A Women’s Way of Awakening, Joy weaves her decades of experience as a licensed massage therapist, certified Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner, ordained priestess, and yoga instructor as she offers a spiritual approach to leadership development, empowering people to live and work aligned with their values.
Moses Ma
Visionary Strategies for Entrepreneurs
The principles of agility, design thinking and expanded innovation
Live class: 20 February 2025
Moses is a technology visionary and the managing partner at FutureLab, a strategic consultancy, where he who works with senior executives at global organizations and promising entrepreneurs to develop and refine their innovation strategies. Moses has a track record as a compelling public speaker who has delivered evocative a thought provoking keynotes at many global conferences.
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Moses Ma is a partner at FutureLab Consulting & Ventures, a strategic consulting firm that also runs a boutique high tech venture accelerator in San Francisco, with startups in enterprise software, blockchain and quantum computing. Featured in Time Magazine, the New York Times and other publications, his professional life has spanned academia, science, technology, philosophy and business. He has been involved in the forefront of many technologies: as a games designer he invented the category of networked games; he co-developed with IBM the first specification for universal identity on the Internet; he invented the concept of eMarkets and helped to establish the foundational guidelines for the semantic Web.
How is this course constructed?
- 1 Year of lessons in both written and audio formats to suit your learning style
- 2 Live teaching sessions per month (18 total) + group Q & A
- 3 “Study hall”- style sessions for accountability and community
- 3 Masterclasses with skilled experts in the field
All of our course materials are presented within a private course cohort on Mighty Network, a safe, private learning platform. Our LIVE teaching calls take place on Zoom. In these two places we can have lively conversations, explore & discover together, learn from each other, and ask questions in total privacy.
Live Teaching Classes will be on Thursdays. Study Halls will be Sundays.
Class times: 7pm SAST – 10am PT – 1pm ET – 6pm UK
Please take note of Daylight Savings, class time will always remain 7pm SAST, and all other time zones will shift by an hour accordingly.
Bonuses
Study Hall Sessions
Accountability & Community
Live class: 3 Aug 2024, 30 Nov 2024 + 29 Mar 2025
We’ve built in 3 “Study hall” style sessions at the end of each semester for additional support.
The purpose of these sessions is to provide 90-minutes of unstructured time for questions, conversations, exploration & inquiry.
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There’ll be an opportunity for you to share about how the course is going for you and breakout groups will give students a chance to get to know each other and share personal experiences and insights.
You can also simply use this time to focus on your assignments – you’ll have accountability built right in.
Online Breathwork Classes
Drop-in classes with Rhianne van der Linde
Live class: 12 June 2024, 16 October 2024 + 12 February 2025
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Online BlissDance Classes
Drop-in classes with Kali Satyagraha Widd
Live class: TBC
BlissDance is a profound Tantric Movement Practice of Awakening: awakening in us our universal desire for Truth, Presence, Love, Connection, Beauty, Freedom, and Pleasure!
BlissDance, like Tantra, supports the powerful integration of all seeming polarities such as the sacred, profane and the sexual; the light and the shadow; and the masculine and the feminine.
***ADD: Why BlissDance as a modality is useful tool in FACILITATION
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There’ll be an opportunity for you to share about how the course is going for you and breakout groups will give students a chance to get to know each other and share personal experiences and insights.
You can also simply use this time to focus on your assignments – you’ll have accountability built right in.
Facilitation Team
Marcia Baczynski
LEAD FACILITATOR
Marcia Baczynski, aka Marcia B, (she/her) is an internationally-recognized coach, writer and presenter on sexual communication, boundaries, consent and desire. Her primary mission is to help adults who want more connection and intimacy to overcome shame and get in touch with what they truly want – romantically, sexually and relationally – even if it’s off the beaten path.
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She is the co-author of Creating Consent Culture: A Handbook for Educators which can be purchased at most major booksellers.
Marcia brings wisdom, humor, and creativity to all aspects of her work, and offers a fresh perspective on love, sex and relationships. With expertise in boundaries, communication, open relationships, LGBTQ+ experiences and sex positivity, she helps her clients chart an authentic path for themselves. Since 2003, she has helped tens of thousands of people through her private coaching, workshops and group programs.
Claire Rumore
SUPPORT FACILITATOR
Claire Rumore is a certified Erotic Blueprint™ coach, an Urban Tantra™ trained sex educator, and a skilled facilitator & coach for the past 20 years.
She became a student of Shakti Malan, founder of the Shakti Shiva Academy, in 2010 and was one of her first North American students. She worked alongside Shakti from 2011 until Shakti’s death in 2017, helping to produce events, trainings, and curriculum, including the original Totality Therapy training curriculum.
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In addition to her work in sexuality, Claire has also worked in tech & innovation consulting since 2014 where she learned, amongst other things, how to facilitate ethnographic research and innovation design sprints at large companies globally. She also worked for an organizational development firm in San Francisco, Ca that specialized in facilitated participatory group work. She helped revise their ground-breaking book “Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision Making.” She also became a graphic facilitator in 2015.
Claire has been involved in facilitation work in large and small ways, ranging from groups, conferences, workshops, extended courses and online classes to couples work, private gatherings and 1:1 sessions.
Claire brings ❤️HEART❤️and 🌈PLAY🌈 to her facilitation style as well as a wealth of experience, resources, and insight.
Learn more about Claire at www.ClaireRumore.com
Investment in Yourself
Payment Plans Available. Checkout currency will change and will vary.
Early Bird
$3495 one time
12 x monthly: $335 per month
Full Tuition
$3495 one time
12 x monthly: $335 per month
Registration Process
1. Complete the Application Form
3. Proceed to Payment
Financial aid will be available to a limited number of students in the form of partial bursaries. Please note that bursary awards are based on several factors, including the size of our award fund and the approximate number of students enrolling at the full tuition rate.
All students requiring assistance are welcome to apply for financial aid. We welcome applications from serious seekers of all races, sexual orientations, and beyond.
What students are saying...
about Marcia & Claire
The Roots of Fundamentals of Facilitation
The late Shakti Malan, whose legacy and teachings are the structure of our work, always held space with such vulnerability and pure presence. She continuously bowed to the great wisdom of each arising moment, felt inside her body. This is the ground on which this course stands.
Marcia Baczynski and the Shakti Shiva Academy co-created the curriculum for this course. Marcia is the co-founder of Cuddle Parties (events that are about consent, boundaries and touch) and was instrumental in creating their very successful international facilitation program.
What we (SSA) wove into the tapestry of this program, are the unique flavours and stories of the Academy – stories, practices, experiences, tools, etc., which anchor the Embodied Facilitation into the landscape of practice and real-life experience. By creating this new course, the SSA lays the foundation for the three pillars outlining some of Shakti Malan’s legacy.
F.A.Q
Who is this 1-year training for?
This training is designed for facilitators, educators, practitioners, bodyworkers, therapists, and individuals seeking personal and professional growth. The course focuses on embodied facilitation training, and aims to empower participants in their personal and professional lives.
Does the course require specific knowledge or experience?
No. Actually, sometimes the less you know, the better it is – this opens you to beginner’s mind and enables you to meet the materials in a fresh way. What is important however, is that you are totally committed to doing the work of becoming more of you who really are – this course is designed for those individuals who are willing to take responsibility for and participate in their own evolution and at the same time have a deep desire to play a role and be of service in dreaming a new world into being.
Are there any prerequisites to participating in this course?
No. It’s not a requirement that you’ve completed any previous courses with Shakti Shiva Academy. This course both stands alone and also forms Year-2 of all three of our learning paths. If you’ve previously participated in Sexual Shadow Integration Work, Sexual Awakening for Women or BlissDance Foundation Training, then this course is the next step on your journey to certification.
You can however also start your learning path with us on this Year-2 course and continue to participate in the Year-1 course of your chosen specialty / focus area in the following calendar year. It really depends on whether we’re offering Year-1 or Year-2 courses in any particular calendar year. In other words you can start your learning path in Year-1 or Year-2 – they are interchangeable.
Becoming a certified facilitator
Shakti Shiva Academy is known for the depth of content it offers. We have three learning paths in which you can train to become a certified facilitator. This Fundamentals of Facilitation course forms Year-2 of all three of our learning paths. This 1-year course can also be taken as a stand alone embodied facilitation training to support the work you’re already doing in the world. We encourage you to participate in at any one of our three Year-1 Personal & Practitioner Mastery Courses: Sexual Shadow Integration Work, Sexual Awakening for Women or BlissDance Foundation Training.
What if I need more support?
We’ve built in 3 “Study hall”- style sessions at the end of each semester for accountability, community and additional support.
Shakti Shiva Academy’s skilled faculty team will be traveling alongside you and supporting your journey throughout the course. You’ll have direct access to them in our private course cohort on Mighty Network.
“Office Hours” is a weekly online gathering space hosted by faculty member Lisa Grace. You’re welcome to use this space to check-in, ask questions, start conversations, initiate inquiry, request support on your path or simply share what’s moving for you in your messy living loving human life.
Are the facilitators available for private sessions?
If you find you require additional support aside from the LIVE calls and group coaching sessions provided with this program, then you are welcome to approach either of the facilitators and book private sessions. These sessions are booked and paid separately and negotiated between you and the facilitator in their private capacity.
You’re also able to book 1:1 coaching and transformational mentorship sessions with Shakti Shiva Academy’s highly skilled team of faculty.
Do I have to finish the course in a certain time period?
Nope! All the programme materials are downloadable, so you can work through them at your own pace. This is not yet another to-do. There is a carefully curated structure in place to support you to get the most out of the materials. We do however encourage you to keep current with reading or listening to the modules and attending the live calls each month. You can always return to assignments and complete them in your own time.
What about confidentiality?
Your journey remains completely confidential. If you wish to share on the Private Course Cohort on our Mighty Network Community Platform, there is a confidentiality agreement in place.
What materials will I need for the training?
You’ll need reliable internet access, a computer, speakers and/or headphones.
Do I need good internet or internet skills to do this programme?
Only for downloading and interaction in the Q&A aspect of the live coaching calls. We will give you all the support we can – and you’ll see that, once you’re in the flow, it’s really easy.
What is your refund policy?
Unless you cancel your registration timeously, the Shakti Shiva Academy does not offer a refund for any other reason.
During the first month of the course, that is up to and including 31 May 2024, you can de-register from the course by writing an email to info@shaktishiva.academy
If you selected the monthly payment plan when registering, we will cancel your future payments, however, please take note that no refunds will be provided.
If you selected to pay in full upfront when registering, we will refund 80% of your payment.
After 31 May 2024, you can no longer de-register from the course.
Terms & Conditions
You can read our full terms & conditions here.
Still have questions?
If you’re interested in participating in this 1-year Facilitation Training Course and still have questions that need answers, please schedule a free 20 minute discovery call with Principal & Senior faculty Rhianne van der Linde here.
Certification
This course is part of our 3 year certification tracks. You are welcome to read more about all the certification tracks here, but do know that these courses are also available to you if you are just wanting to do them for PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT only.
