The Division on South Asian Americans (DoSAA) of the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) is community of psychology students and professionals committed to influencing the numerous issues facing folks of South Asian descent in psychology and creating a forum to impact change for South Asian mental health.
DoSAA is holding our first-ever virtual self-care retreat! We frequently hear from folks about the multiple demands on them in their lives, as well as the difficulties of finding culturally respectful offerings.
This is a curated event for folks to take time for themselves and be in community with DoSAA. We have created a virtual program of breathwork, meditation, yoga, art therapy, and dance – specially for you to rest, rejuvenate, and slow down.
Facilitators of South Asian descent will center culture, decolonization, and togetherness in this event.
The event is not limited to folks of South Asian descent.
Please consider taking some time out of your weekend to do less, slow down, and practice self-care from a South Asian inspired lens with us.
More about DoSAA and to become a member: https://aapaonline.org/division-on-south-asian-americans
Schedule:
10am to 10:30am PT:
– Welcome from DoSAA
10:30am to 11:30am PT:
– Guided meditation and Q&A with Kirat Randhawa of A Kind Rupture
11:30am to 12pm PT:
– Lunch + Social
12pm to 1:30pm PT:
– Rangoli art therapy with Kinjal Panchal, PsyD
1:45pm to 2:45pm PT:
– Yoga with Pardip Kaur of Kaur Healing
3pm to 4pm:
– Pranayama breathwork with Aparna Sadananda of Inner Stillness with Aparna
4:15pm to 5:15pm PT:
– Bollywood Fusion Dance + Music with Rose Dhaliwal, PsyD
5:15pm to 5:30pm PT:
– Closing with DoSAA
About our facilitators:
Kirat Randhawa, A Kind Rupture: https://kiratrandhawa.com
Kirat is a New York City based contemplative guide, therapist-in-training, and inspired student of Tibetan Buddhism. Her personal journey and deep course of study has led her to craft a pathway to guide others in personal development, conscious exploration, transformational practices, and life’s shifts. Her training at Columbia University and The Nalanda Institute, and in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction lineage has allowed her to develop a multidimensional approach to support clients on their path toward greater alignment and joy.
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Rose Dhaliwal, PsyD, DoSAA Co-Chair and incoming DoSAA Chair
Dr. Dhaliwal (she/her) is located in the greater Los Angeles area. A native of the Bay Area (northern California), Dr. Dhaliwal has worked in community engagement, public relations, and policy advising before pursuing her mental health career. She is of Punjabi origin and grew up dancing in various South Asian dance styles, including Bhangra, Giddha, and Bollywood/Fusion, as well as Western dance styles, including Hip Hop, Jazz, and Latin. She enjoys borrowing from various dance styles to facilitate expression and highlight the joy of movement. As a child of immigrants, she believes in the importance of understanding how bicultural identity and intersecting identities inform and impact the lived experiences of communities of color. She is a big proponent of acknowledging and understanding diverse cultures. She currently serves as Co-Chair of DoSAA and has led the Summer Fellowship Program for the past 3 years.
Professionally, Dr. Dhaliwal completed her PsyD in Clinical Psychology at the University of La Verne and completed her APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at the Department of State Hospitals-Metropolitan in August 2023. Her research has focused on LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, adverse childhood experiences, and the experiences of transgender and gender-expansive young women involved in legal systems. Dr. Dhaliwal works with patients who are adjudicated incompetent to stand trial in a forensic psychiatric unit.
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Kinjal Panchal, Psy.D, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and DoSAA member
Dr. Panchal focuses on a biopsychosocial model of therapy. Rooted in eastern psychology, she identifies as a Vedic therapist and brings a strong collaborative and relational approach to therapy built upon a body and mind connection. Dr. Panchal has a background in Art therapy and visual communication which she utilizes to highlight an individual’s strengths and recognizes that an individual’s mental health is tied to their environment, family, biology, and social systems along with their own self-identity. By integrating nonverbal and visual techniques to release internal individual’s identity and connection to the unconscious affective processing she believes that a more comprehensive type of healing can take place, both in therapy and self-care.
Dr. Panchal has particular expertise and interest in working with depression, anxiety, identity development, sexual dysfunction, and complex trauma alongside a specialty in multicultural psychology, theory, and advocacy work within communities of color. She provides individual, couples, and family therapy services as well as a wide range of neuropsychological assessments.
Dr. Panchal earned her Doctor of Clinical Psychology with a minor in Diversity Studies from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, and she is currently an adjunct professor of multicultural psychology and psychological assessment at ISPP. She finds comfort and passion in all forms of creativity from food culture, dance and art.
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Pardip Kaur, Kaur Healing: https://kaurhealing.com
Meet Pardip Kaur, a certified Yoga and Meditation instructor, whose guiding light stems from a profound belief in the harmonious union of mind, body, and soul. She leads her students on a path of self-discovery, using ancient yogic practices to cultivate mindfulness, inner peace, and physical well-being. Her teachings resonate not only on the yoga mat but also in the intricate web of life, fostering balance, serenity, and well-being. She received her Applied Compassion Training from Stanford University’s altruism research program (CCARE) and has been practicing yoga for over 10 years. Pardip believes that Yoga is not about landing a specific pose or flow, it’s about the journey you take every time you step onto the mat and close your eyes to commit to becoming a better human than you were the day before. The kinder we are to our bodies as they come into alignment, the happier we will be.
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Aparna Sadananda, PhD, Inner Stillness: https://www.innerstillnesswithaparna.com
Aparna is a yoga teacher (E-RYT 200 and RPYT) with 10000+ hrs of experience teaching yoga and meditation in the studio, private and corporate settings in Washington DC. Her yoga offerings include beginner-friendly yoga, prenatal and postnatal yoga, chair yoga, restorative yoga, Ayurveda, yoga philosophy, energy healing (Reiki), and meditations. Inspired by her own journey as an evolving yogi, a toddler’s mom, a neuroscience researcher, and a visual artist, her classes emphasize strengthening the mind-breath-body connection. Her mission is to make yoga accessible and empower people through fitness and creativity, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, and ability levels.
She currently leads meditation classes and family-based mindfulness workshops for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. She is also the meditation trainer for art-based meditations at The Phillips Collection. She is a senior teacher and one of the leading trainers at Yoga District’s teacher training since 2017. A visual artist in Indian folk art, she holds a Ph.D. in cellular neuroscience from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India in 2013.