SNAG YOUR SEAT FOR
SUMI’S TOUCH traditional birth worker
Immersion Part Two
this advance skills training is a 9 day immersion to focus on integration and embodiment supporting both the practical and sacred aspects of this work.
“I have been dreaming up this “training” for years now. I say “training” because truly it is so much more than that. This is a ceremony, an initiation into authentic traditional sovereign birth work.”
-Sumayyah Franklin
UPCOMING DATES
All Black Cohort
Accra, Ghana
Dec 1st-10th, 2024
poc Cohort
Chicxulub, Yuc., Mexico
oct 8th-17th, 2025
poc Cohort
santa cruz, california
aug 8th-13th, 2025
All Black Cohort
Accra, Ghana
Dec 3rd-12th, 2025
WHAT PEOPLE CAN EXPECT
I have been dreaming up this “training” for years now. I say “training” because truly it is so much more than that. This is a ceremony, an initiation into authentic traditional sovereign birth work. You will arrive the day before so that you can have time to travel get settled and rest. The following morning we will begin. We will cover 4 pillars: The Art of Holding Space, Tactile Support, Ceremony, Herbs and Nutrition. Each day we will focus on each pillar and move through the self, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum throughout our time together.
Itinerary
DAY 1 Activities For The Day
:: pick up from the airport or meeting spot
:: dinner
:: travel to retreat location
:: rest and unwind
DAY 2 Activities For The Day
:: welcoming ceremony/ introductions
:: altar building
:: itinerary overview
:: listening to our inner beings and intuition
:: boundaries and self-preservation
:: shame, vulnerability, and trust
:: grounding, smudging, cloaking
:: intuitive movement flow
DAY 3 Activities For The Day
:: prenatal inquiries, consultations, and prenatal appointments
:: consent and trauma informed care
:: herbal infused massage oil
:: prenatal massage
:: the blessing way
DAY 4 Activities For The Day
:: we will spend the day until lunch time at a sacred body of water
:: rest and integration
DAY 5 Activities For The Day
:: comfort measures
:: herbs and homeothapy for labor
:: non-cervix based care and space holding
:: birth as a ceremony
:: reading the energetics of labor
DAY 6 Activities For The Day
:: Birth story debrief, story weaving/ integration
:: prepared postpartum
:: feeding fundamentals
:: the postpartum container
:: postpartum herbs and homeopathy
:: postpartum massage
DAY 7 Activities For The Day
:: moxa
:: abdominal wrapping
:: pelvic steam
:: postpartum bath
:: postpartum closing of the bones
DAY 8 Activities For The Day
:: each student gives and receives a closing ceremony
:: rest and integration
:: blessing of the hands
DAY 9 Activities For The Day
:: Final Reflection
:: Departure
What Is The Learning Environment Like?
One of the most important aspects of curating the immersion is the environment. I have intentional chosen locations that I feel will cultivate rest, integration and ease. In addition, I will be integrating facilitation techniques to support participants to drop in deeper. While our schedule will be full there will also be intentional moments of free time, where you can decide to rest, network and connect with others or to explore. While this is a group setting my intention is that you feel closer to yourself and others. Also that you leave feeling inspired and that your cup is full. Envision slow mornings that incorporate mindfulness practices, ample food that deeply nourishes you, the laughter of children who are being well cared for and an overwhelming feeling of safety that permits us each to explore vulnerability and intimacy.
Childcare During the Immersion
Children are more than welcome and in fact the essential in the work we are doing. It wouldn’t be a Sumi’s Touch gathering if the babies weren’t present. Sumi is also a mother and her child will also be present. The cost for childcare is $70+. Some indications of the price will be the child’s age and specific needs. When registering you will fill out a form providing details of your childcare needs. After registration is complete we will reach out via email to schedule brief childcare consultation to discuss the needs. Based upon the needs we will confirm the additional rate that will need to be payed before the trips last payment via an personal payment link that we will provide.
What the Immersion Includes
Accommodations
Room & Board
Food
Workshops & Activities
Transportation
Your flight
Spending Money
Currency Exchange
Toiletries
You Are Responsible For
Your flight, having your own fund money/emergency fund money, navigating currency exchange cash, toiletries, transportation before or after the dates.
You are responsible for your own actions and energy during the retreat. We be in a group setting and it is your responsibility for you to take care of your own needs so you can be present and show up as your most authentic self. Please keep in mind that we will be covering topics that may be activating and stimulating and unlike within our online training we will be witnessed by strangers at that. This may bring up moments of feeling extremely vulnerable so please be mindful of your tools, your capacity and your resources. You are also responsible to respectfully communicate any needs that come up before or during the retreat. Please note that we are curating an experience for the collective, this means that we will be working together to ensure that everyone feels safe, heard and seen. It is our highest intention that we also move with integrity, compassion and understanding.
“This is a training of doing..which is why I call it an immersion. We will be using each others bodies to practice giving a receiving every aspect of the curriculum.
Each participant should come prepared to touch various bodies and be touched by various people. It’s not only about learning the techniques needed to support your clients and loved ones but about embracing vulnerability, trust building, and surrendering. ”
-Sumayyah Franklin
UPCOMING DATES
All Black Cohort
Accra, Ghana
Dec 1st-10th, 2024
poc Cohort
Chicxulub, Yuc., Mexico
oct 8th-17th, 2025
poc Cohort
santa cruz, california
aug 8th-13th, 2025
All Black Cohort
Accra, Ghana
Dec 3rd-12th, 2025
WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR
Doulas, Midwives, Birth workers, and anyone who works within any spectrum or capacity of reproductive health that seeks to deepen their understanding of traditional care practices for pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people.
People who are craving a decolonize approach that will support them in embodying the medicine and not simply “knowing”.
Anyone who is already well acquainted and has a solid foundation of pregnancy, birth, postpartum. (This is an advanced training and not intended for those just starting out)
People who are ready to learn in a communal setting that is intimate and intentionally connected.
People who agree that traditional midwifery is the golden standard of health care for the full spectrum of reproductive health experiences and wish to learn within this model of care to dismantle and challenge the medical care model.
Anyone who is ready to do the mirror work that is required to move from your higher self and not your wounded self.
People who are ready to sit with vulnerability in a profound and embodied way.
People who already have or wish to build a spiritual practice in their own lives and their practice as a birth worker.
People seeking to learn about ceremony, ritual, and spirit in birth work.
People seeking to learn from a traditional sovereign Black midwife
FAQs
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Each participant should have a solid foundation of understanding of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Midwives, doulas who have experience, doulas who took a foundational training, and any other reproductive health practitioners.
This training will not teach you the basics but intends to deepen your skills regarding holding space, conducting appointments, tactile support, traditional healing modalities, herbalism, nutrition, and conducting ceremony.
If you are an aspiring birth worker then earn more about part 1 of my training which is introductory to full spectrum birth work here.
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Accommodations, Room & Board, Food, Workshops & Activities
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Your flight, having your own fund money/emergency fund money, navigating currency exchange cash, toiletries, transportation before or after the dates
You are responsible for your own actions and energy during the retreat. We be in a group setting and it is your responsibility for you to take care of your own needs so you can be present and show up as your most authentic self. Please keep in mind that we will be covering topics that may be activating and stimulating and unlike within our online training we will be witnessed by strangers at that. This may bring up moments of feeling extremely vulnerable so please be mindful of your tools, your capacity and your resources. You are also responsible to respectfully communicate any needs that come up before or during the retreat. Please note that we are curating an experience for the collective, this means that we will be working together to unsure that everyone feels safe, heard and seen. It is our highest intention that we also move with integrity, compassion and understanding.
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- Passports
- Currency exchange
- Importance of Having Pocket Money
- Navigating Group Dynamics
- Boundaries
- Acknowledging the Privileges We Hold When Traveling
- Honoring Where We Are Visiting
- The Level of Travel Experience We Are Curating -
See payment plan options above.
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When you invest in yourself, you are investing in the collective. The deposit is non-refundable because your monetary commitment is an act of devotion to the abundance, prosperity and intentional living that we are affirming for healers, wisdom keepers, and sacred entrepreneurs of all kinds. Your investment sustains the Sumi’s Touch Team (mothers of color, healers and creatives) and facilitates conscious discernment around where we are hosted, who is pouring their energy into our food, providing safe passage, etc.
If for some reason you are not able to attend the Part 2 Immersion you have selected due to unforeseen circumstances or you are more than 7 days late on a payment, your reservation will be given the next person on the waitlist. Up to $500 of any additional installments can be applied to a Sumi’s Touch Offering within one calendar year according to our discretion.
Just like in birth, when you know, YOU KNOW and divine order unfolds to support that knowing. We as birth workers prepare for a multitude of possibilities in holding the container of birth, so please consider the following as you commit to this act of healing and expansion for yourself:
- Passport: is it up to date and clear of expiration for 2024 for you and loved ones traveling with you?
- Visa + air travel: we have a travel agent for ease of consultation, but if you decide to book these on your own, please be mindful of what is required.
- Once you pay your deposit (50% of the total) we can adjust the payment plan to suit you. We encourage you to make a simple flier on Canva, including ways folks can send you money and share your ask on social media and personal networks. If you choose a GoFundMe, Kickstarter, or some other platform, please calculate the fees associated with it and build that into your grand total ask.
Please keep in mind that your registration fee does not cover personal items like toiletries, specialized snacks and/or supplements, extracurricular activities, alcoholic beverages, emergencies that may arise, accommodations to or from the airport outside of the allotted time frames, COVID test, personal transportation needs (I.g. To get COVID testing or to retrieve cash from an atm) or any other personal matter. Therefore please financially plan to have the resources available for your comfort and ease of mind.
For all inquiries please email us at hello@sumistouch.com