Joey Cardella will lead a workshop aimed at improving emotional literacy and leadership for men at Body IQ on Oct. 11th and 12th.

“This workshop is an amalgamation of some of the volunteering, personal study and coaching programs I’ve been a part of,” said Cardella, who has worked with leadership and emotional development for the past six years. “It addresses the issues that men are facing in the modern day.”

Cardella said society often encourages men to repress their emotions, which prevents them from leading a full life. He said the workshop will help participants identify beliefs they hold about themselves and the world, and the role they play in it.

“My belief structure informs these things every day of my life. We look at that belief structure through a number of different activities: Group dialogue, physical activities, partner activities,” Cardella said. “(We’ll ask:) What am I feeling? How does it affect me? What does it mean to be a man? Who’s given me those beliefs? How is it preventing me from living a life I want to live?”

He said men often feel they have to be perceived as fearless or courageous, a stereotype of masculinity that many people embrace, but that is ultimately limiting.

“We have men who are men embodying masculinity that’s not in a mature form,” Cardella said. “We have men hurting the environment, disrespectful to women, who don’t have the emotional maturity to take care of themselves. As soon as something like vulnerability and emotional intelligence and connection (is discussed), those same men say ‘No thanks. I don’t think so.’ My challenge to those men is that’s the final frontier. This is the ultimate battle.”

Cardella said he’s modeled many of his ideas around comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.”

Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” which inspired the narratives for modern myths such as “Star Wars,” lays out a template for how heroes and heroines face life’s challenges and are thereby transformed. Cardella said Campbell’s ideas can be used as a metaphor for psychological growth.

“We live many versions of the hero’s journey,” Cardella said. “We have many heroes journeys we live. Right now, what’s the call to action to life? Are you going to heed that call? There are all these little battles we face throughout time. The question is, how are we going to?”

The workshop is scheduled for October 11-12 at Body IQ from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Cost is $150.

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