What’s a better where?

A Better Where is a place dedicated to helping you re-learn how to rest, play, and come alive through trauma-responsive creative workshops, tools, and literature. It is founded on the belief that no-fluff wellness — grounded in community, real care, and regulation — can help us intervene in an increasingly-linked world, where unmasked connection and open communication are becoming more challenging.

Creativity, Centered.

We’re told to be creative in pursuit of a goal: health, recognition, a career. We’re told to rest so we can produce more. Play is dismissed altogether.

But creativity, play, and rest have inherent value: A pathway connected to self-understanding, expression, subconscious processing, resistance, communication, community and spirituality. They reconnect us with our innate human-ness, with our senses, with each other.

That’s why we advocate for creativity for its own sake.

what’s trauma-responsive?

It’s not complicated: Trauma-responsive frameworks are often built around context, choice, and connection. They build emotional, physical, and psychological safety, which is vital for us to feel present, playful, rested.

Within this, there are tools to contain, allow, and process in tolerable ways through creative prompts. Most of all, there’s complete participant agency; so I may invite an activity during a workshop, which you may choose not to do!

I’ve spent years learning and embodying the work of nervous system regulation, moving from chronic anxiety (and panic) to intention, calm and relative ease in my everyday.

I’ve put what I’ve learned into embodied practice to ease you into supportive nervous system states, so you can feel playful and free inside our workshops!

What does this look like?

Have you ever been in a group setting and felt like you don’t want to come off weird?

You’re not alone. Part of safety means I, as lead facilitator, show up as myself, flaws and all. In this space, there’s lesser masking with an acknowledgement of our full messy humanity.

When you don’t need to feel like the smartest, most successful, most accomplished person in the room to be heard or seen, you can connect more deeply with others. It helps you safely see others and be warmly held in process - as you are.

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Hi there!

I’m Bhoomika Ghaghada, a published writer, and expert specializing in trauma-responsive facilitation, community-building, creative storytelling and education.

I remember asking for a long time:
“Is this really all there is?”

And over many years, with my own writing, therapy and an immense amount of work, I’ve come into myself and learned the truth: No, there is more.

There’s endless joy, care, ease, and love — we just need the right tools (and people) to access it.

I care about sharing these resources with you — to help enrich your life through fiction, regulation and creative play. And make life lighter.

Some human things about me: I love the beach, the color green, and the warmth of my husband’s skin. I like running, guacamole, arcades, and the smell of mehendi. I typically dislike big crowds and bios, but in this context, knowing your instructor’s qualifications is important:

Qualifications

  • Conference Committee , Middle East North Africa Trauma Association (MENATA)

  • Cambridge CELTA Certified Teacher

  • M.A., Media Studies, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn

  • B.A., Mass Communication, American University of Sharjah + Film & Art History, University of California, Berkeley

  • Institutions I’ve worked with: NYUAD, Sharjah Architectural Triennial, Tashkeel, Abu Dhabi Book Fair, Sharjah International Book Fair, Barjeel Art Foundation, Bayt Al Mamzar, Art Jameel, South Asian Avant Garde Anthology, Writing Women, Warehouse421, Sharjah Art, Bombay Institute for Critical Analysis & Research, Y&R, Tonic International, ITP Media Group & more.

  • Published in: Wasafiri, Jadaliyya, Postcript Magazine, Unootha Mag, Rusted Radishes (Beirut) + various print publications.

  • 12 years in a leadership role at STREET FZC, a marketing agency with a host of global clients.

  • 10+ years community building experience with initiatives like B-Change & Gulf Creative Collective + work with She’s the First NYC, SBA Community & more.

  • Perhaps the most important qualification: excavating my own way to freedom - creative and whole - through writing, Somatic Experiencing, Art Therapy, Brainspotting, EMDR & other modalities, over many years.