Mana Shah - Facilitator

  (this is a version of the Medicine Wheel Tool created by Birgitt and Ward Williams that is adapted from the Medicine Wheel created by the  indigenous peoples around the world from the beginning of recorded time) It was April 2013, with curiousity and openness I walked into  Vibha 's training. The seats were arranged in a circle, there were stones in a bowl in the centre, there was posters on the wall, there was natural light streaming through the big glass windows...the whole space had such a warm, calming and inviting feeling you would have thought you have walked into a spa:) Yet this was a three day training on " whole person process facilitation ". One of the first worksheets we had to reflect on was - how do you as a facilitator take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually?  This question got me thinking for the first time about my " whole being".  I was fascinated that this was at the core of effective and authentic facilitati...

For the first time, we are living somewhere else besides Delhi - Mashobra and Shimla have been our home since the past five weeks. The dense forest, the freshness of the air, the colours of the fall/ winter, the variety of long tailed birds, the meandering paths, the different sun sets, the changing shapes of the clouds, the starry sky.......all have added a certain stillness in me which I have not experienced in a long time. A stillness that is giving me fresh perspectives, motivation to do things I would not have wanted or felt I had time for, feeling gratitude for so much life has to offer, deeper love and connection with family and friends..... And once in while something I experience gives me a AHA moment for my facilitation practice.  One day we were were hiking around the hills near our cottage. I saw a path that was dense, coated with dry leaves and pine cones and leading down an interesting trail. I felt so drawn to it but my son wanted to take another path. We chose that ...

I have always drawn immense energy every time I connect with young people around facilitation - the way their bodies shift from a state of formality to ease, the way their questions and sharing deepens with every activity, the way the silence holds the space for their feelings and thoughts to take shape, the way their eyes open wide with wonder at what all is possible when a space is held in a life nurturing way …..This began with the course I taught in Jamia Milia’s Development Communications Department and in the past couple of years the energetic bunch at India Fellows has been a wonderful community to work with. India Fellows go on a 13-month long journey of discovering their own leadership potential. It includes training, mentor-ship, reflections and hands-on work experience with a grassroots organisation working on social issues.   Every year, a few people write back, some immediately, some after a few months (and even years) at how deeply they experienced the space and were...

This blog is special because it is an attempt to weave two big roles I play in my life - being a mom and a facilitator....its funny, as I write this I realise how the precious word "being" appears and reappears in our lives and yet its depth eludes us.... I was curious to write this as I noticed that in so many of my conversations with peer facilitators I tend to mention how parenting has been such an influence in my facilitation practice and I wanted to really unpack what that meant.... So how has my parenting journey of the last 8 years impacted my facilitation? 1.  It has strengthened my presence  - As anyone playing with a child will tell you, they can smell distraction a mile away! My son can always tell when I am with him and yet not with him. It is very uncanny. Over the last few years especially I try and consciously  transfer out  whatever I was doing and  transfer into  the experience with him - whether it is a chat/ play/ dancing/ fooling ar...