If you were at the Minnesota Humanities Center on Nov. 9, 2025, you would have found yourself among softly smiling Black and Brown faces, joyfully reclaiming their rest during a time that had been incredibly stressful for many. You might have seen a gentle tear dabbed away as we learned to let go of what no longer served us, and heard laughter or a contented sigh drifting through the hallway as participants moved between sessions, exclaiming, “I really needed that,” and “you’re going to love that one!”
The Self-Care Circuit, a ROOT Heal the Healers retreat, was a restorative half-day that invited community members—particularly caregivers, service providers, advocates, and other healers of color—to pause, reconnect, and refill their personal wells.
Hosted by community leaders and healers Tameka Miller and Ebony Davis, the Sunday retreat provided everyone an opportunity to experience four embodied practices led by local healers of color. These sessions consisted of journaling (Jameelah Crawford), somatic movement (Sonja Fernandez), breathwork (Ka Zoua Xiong of Soul Ya Yoga), and yoga (Ja’Keta Scott of Soul Tree Yoga).
Tameka and Ebony began with a group grounding exercise, reminding everyone that we were all deserving of the rest we sought, and to release what was not serving us—at least for the few hours we were together.
An attendee shared, “The breathwork and the connection to self, I will take with me. I will bring a weekly community breathwork class back into my life. It showed me how much I needed it.”
Throughout the sessions, more than 30 participants found themselves guided back to a place of balance and inner stillness to rest, reflect, and remember that caring for self is the foundation to service, liberation, and our collective future.
The retreat provided the chance to experience a broad variety of healing modalities. Some participants shared that they were able to experience something they had meant to try for the longest time, but never made time to, or were too shy or timid to attempt. Some were also surprised at how much they still enjoyed a practice they hadn’t done for a long time.
Many of the participants themselves were healers in the community. They commented that it was a gift to be on the receiving end, to be poured back into, so they could continue to keep doing their life work of tending and caring for our community at large, given the rate of burnout we are collectively witnessing.
“I realized I have been a healer all my life, and these sessions validate my own abilities. The sessions also fed my spirit as I learned even more skills to engage with difficult situations, particularly in central Minnesota. My spirit and body and mind are constantly needing balance, and it was achieved that day.” — Attendee
The Self-Care Circuit ended with a lot of gratitude, care, and hope for more ways the healing community can keep supporting and tending to each other.
The ROOT team was grateful for the brilliance of Tameka Miller, Ebony Davis, Jameelah Crawford, Sonya Fernandez, Ka Zoua Xiong, and Ja’Keta Scott. Thank you for the gift of abundance and showing up for our healers!