Policies
Body Electric is committed to creating a safe and consensual container. Our policies detail these commitments.
COVID Policies
In-Person Workshop and Intensive COVID Protocols.
- We encourage all participants and staff to practice self-care before and after the workshop.
- Please practice precautionary protocols when traveling, including masking and frequently washing hands.
- If you are not feeling well, please do not attend the workshop. Notify the coordinator of your workshop as soon as possible. Your registration will be handled per our refund/cancellation policy.
- If you become infected by COVID, we will support you in arranging transport, onward travel, or quarantine arrangements.
Circle of Care
Pre-Workshop Selfcare
COVID-19
- If you are taking public transport to the venue, plan to wear a mask. If you are flying, we recommend you wear a mask at the airport(s), while flying, and until you reach the venue.
- Please note any symptoms you might experience which may indicate you are carrying the virus. Common symptoms include fever or chills, cough or scratchy throat, fatigue, headache, muscle or body aches, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, the new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. If symptoms appear while in attendance, please notify team members and take a rapid test.
Monkeypox
- Perform full body checks daily if you engage in intimate and sexual contact with others.
- If you feel you may have been exposed to monkeypox or if you develop symptoms before the workshop (fever, malaise, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, respiratory symptoms, rash, or lesions), please seek medical support and then contact the coordinator to discuss moving your registration to a future workshop. Monkeypox can be spread from when symptoms first appear until the rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of skin has formed. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks.
- Please notify team members immediately if you develop any symptoms during the workshop.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
- In-person workshops often involve intimate touch. Before the workshop, if you discover you have an outbreak of a contagious skin disorder (e.g., herpes, crabs, scabies, molluscum, or genital warts) or a condition that is communicable through touch, please contact the coordinator as soon as possible.
- If you develop symptoms of a communicable condition during the workshop, please notify team members as soon as possible.
Principles for Consent
- Determine your own boundaries-You have agency!
- Check-in with yourself during workshop activities. How are you feeling about what is happening? What are you okay with? What are you not available for?
- Setting boundaries can be new and unfamiliar territory. We invite you to ask for help and get support. You can approach any facilitator or team member for support.
- Ask for consent prior to acting, whether for conversation, sensual touch, or anything else that involves others.
- Engage with curiosity by coming into every interaction with a spirit of exploration, and avoiding a fixed agenda or trying to persuade.
- Invite, rather than expect.
- Listen for a CLEAR yes. Listen for a CLEAR no.
- Celebrate and appreciate saying NO or hearing No. Show gratitude for an honest reply.
- Be aware of how impaired judgment may prevent authentic consent.
- Be aware of all kinds of privilege that may create power differentials between you and others. Types of privilege include racial, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, class, ability, education, lack of trauma, and more.
- Feel empowered to change your mind and revoke or reinstate consent.
- Don’t assume that you can join in with others or that they will want to engage with you in that activity. Make a request if you would like to join.
- Periodically check-in with yourself and your partner. Be aware if you are pushing your agenda over the needs, and wants, of your partner.
- Remember aftercare. Complete interactions with a check-in.
- Respectful honest communication, taking responsibility, and clearing up issues are the building blocks for learning and growth when mistakes are made.
Participation Agreement and Release for all Body Electric School Programs
- You are over 18 years of age and are freely choosing to attend this Body Electric workshop.
- You are participating in the workshop at your own risk. You assume all risk for your participation, including but not limited to any harm or injury that arises from or in connection with any pre-existing physical, psychological, emotional conditions that you may have, including but not limited to sexual or other trauma.
- You release Body Electric, its officers, directors, employees, volunteers, and other agents from any and all claims that may be made by, or on behalf of, you or your estate in relation to any injury, illness, accident, damage or other loss whatsoever that arises from or in connection with your attendance at or participation in the workshop and/or any follow-up events, whether direct, indirect, consequential or otherwise.
- You will respect the choices and boundaries of other participants and team members at all times. You will only engage in consensual touch. You will check in with others if there is any lack of clarity about their boundaries. You will not engage in non-consensual touch, harassment, coercion, or disrespect the choices and boundaries of others.
- You understand that you can choose to participate or not in any given activity. You can choose the level of your participation in each exercise. You can expect that your choices will be respected and honored.
- You agree to communicate my boundaries clearly. If you feel confused or unclear about your boundaries you will ask for help. You will speak up as soon as possible if you feel my boundaries are not being honored.
- You are responsible for your own experience and your own well-being. Like most personal growth workshops, you may at times experience discomfort including strong emotions and personal challenges. You will take care of your own well-being and ask for support and communicate clearly when needed.
- You understand that Body Electric workshops are not therapy. Body Electric Facilitators are experienced workshop leaders but are not serving as therapists at BE events. Team members are workshop participants who volunteer to assist.
- Body Electric does not assume responsibility for the behavior of participants, except to respond appropriately to problems observed by or reported to our staff.
- Body Electric reserves the right to remove or exclude anyone who does not comply with these agreements and anyone Body Electric has reason to believe is unwilling or unable to do so. This is for everyone’s safety and well-being.
- Participation includes possible exposure to and illness from infectious diseases including but not limited to MRSA, influenza, and COVID-19. While particular rules and personal discipline may reduce this risk, the risk of serious illness and death does exist; and,
- I KNOWINGLY AND FREELY ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS, both known and unknown, EVEN IF ARISING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASEES or others, and assume full responsibility for my participation; and,
- I willingly agree to comply with the stated and customary terms and conditions for participation as regards protection against infectious diseases. If, however, I observe any unusual or significant hazard during my presence or participation, I will remove myself from participation and bring such to the attention of the nearest official immediately; and,
- I, for myself and on behalf of my heirs, assigns, personal representatives and next of kin, HEREBY RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS The Body Electric School their officers, officials, agents, and/or employees, other participants, sponsoring agencies, sponsors, advertisers, and if applicable, owners and lessors of premises used to conduct the event (“RELEASEES”), WITH RESPECT TO ANY AND ALL ILLNESS, DISABILITY, DEATH, or loss or damage to person or property, WHETHER ARISING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF RELEASEES OR OTHERWISE, to the fullest extent permitted by law
By registering for any BE event, you agree to and understood this participation agreement. You agree to release, discharge and hold harmless The New Body Electric School, its facilitators, owners, board members, staff, and other parties (each considered one of the “releases” herein), from all liability claims and demands regarding losses, injuries, or any other damages caused or alleged to be caused by the negligence of the “releases”. You further agree that if despite this release you, or anyone on your behalf, makes a claim against any of the releases, you will indemnify, save, and hold harmless each of the releases from any litigation expenses, attorney fees, loss, liability, damage, or cost which any may incur as the result of such claim.
Policies for In-Person Workshops
Body Jewelry
Policies for Online Participation
- Connecting on Time. Each gathering host will admit people approximately 5 minutes prior and up to 3 minutes after the scheduled start time. If you are late, you may not be admitted to the gathering.
- Actively Participate. For the safety of all participants, we must consider such issues as cyberstalking and zoom bombing. To alleviate these matters, we reserve the right to request participants to identify themselves if requested by activating their camera and/or audio. Please connect with BE prior to 3 hours before the scheduled start time should this be a concern for you.
- Be Respectful. As an organization, we endeavor to sustain an environment where all participants feel welcome. All of our gatherings are non-bias, non-discriminatory, non-political, and non-religious environments. Please respect this during all gatherings and workshops. Participants not abiding by this may be removed from the gathering at our discretion.
- Private Chat and Breakout Rooms. All participants are to follow the respect protocols listed above while using private chat and in breakout rooms.
- Nudity. For virtual gatherings or events that are open to the public and/or free, participants are welcome to be shirtless and visible from the chest up. For paid workshops and events, the level of nudity acceptable will be set by the facilitator to reflect the content and context of the workshop/event. We ask that everyone respects these boundaries.
Pricing and Payments
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Refunds:
Credits are held for 12 months only from the date of postponement.
For Online / Virtual Workshops
Privacy Policy
Overview
Wild Apricot (Personify) and Affinipay provide us with the online platforms that support the membership and bookings system for our services to you. Your data may be stored through their data storage, databases, and general applications. They store your data on secure servers behind a firewall.
Suppose you are registering guests or adding bundle members on behalf of others. In that case, it is automatically assumed you have the explicit permission of those individuals to provide their personal information on their behalf, and you have informed them of the details in the Policy.
Your data is not shared with third-party applications outside Wild Apricot and its payment affiliate Affinipay.
Should you need to contact us with requests for your personal information or to change or delete your data, please contact us via email at admin@bodyelectric.org.