DialogueON Workshop January 2026 – Inner Transition

MIND-BODY APPROACHES TO NAVIGATE ECO-ANXIETY AND STRENGTHEN INNER TRANSITION

In January 2026, DialogueON hosted a workshop that stepped away from conventional panel discussions and instead invited participants into an interactive, embodied experience. Titled “Inner Transition: Mind-Body Approaches to Navigate Eco-Anxiety and Strengthen Inner Transition,” the session explored a simple but powerful idea: if we want to stay engaged in climate and environmental action, we must also take care of our inner worlds.

At a time when eco-anxiety, burnout, and overwhelm are increasingly common, the workshop’s core purpose was to create a safe and practical space to acknowledge these emotions, understand them, and explore ways to transform them into resilience and meaningful action. Rather than treating eco-anxiety as something to “fix” or suppress, the session framed it as a natural response to the ecological crisis, and a potential source of insight and motivation when held with care.

Our presenters: 

The workshop was facilitated by Nina Klein, Climate Pact Ambassador and consultant on systemic sustainability, with co-presentations by Zuzanna Borowska, founder of Open Dialogues International Foundation (ODIF). Drawing from lived experience in climate advocacy, grassroots initiatives, and international policy spaces, they grounded the conversation in both personal and collective realities.

The session addressed eco-anxiety as a “forward-looking” form of anxiety, an alarm-like response linked to uncertainty, unpredictability, and a sense of uncontrollability in the face of ecological breakdown. Participants explored different forms of eco-anxiety, including existential anxiety (linked to fundamental questions about meaning and the future), pathological anxiety (which can become paralysing), and practical anxiety, which can be activating and lead to cooperation, problem-solving, or action.

A different kind of DialogueON

This DialogueON event ran differently from the usual format, where everything was interactive. Nina guided participants through a series of reflective and embodied activities, regularly inviting them into small breakout rooms to share insights, questions, and personal experiences.

The workshop structure unfolded in three main parts. First, Nina Klein and Zuzanna Borowska shared their experiences from climate action spaces, including the Transition Network and Climate Pact initiatives. This segment focused on understanding eco-anxiety, building inner resilience, and exploring the journey from emotion to action, enriched by stories from grassroots movements and climate ambassadors.

In the second part, participants exchanged experiences in pairs and then in plenary. These conversations allowed people to “digest” what they had heard, recognize shared feelings, and realize they were not alone in their concerns. Many participants noted how powerful it was simply to listen and be listened to.

The third segment focused on practice. Participants were introduced to mind-body connection approaches drawn from Inner Transition, The Work That Reconnects (TWTR), and yoga therapy.

What Nina taught and guided

Nina Klein introduced four guiding questions that aided in reflections, with responses from participants :

Gratitude: What are you grateful for? What do you love in your life or in the world right now?

• Family, friends and home are all important to making a happy life 

• I feel my body has relaxed and my mind is at peace. Sharing different ideas with my fellow participants. Lessons given on eco-anxiety: knowledge shared, improves on understanding, and more information on mental health. Appreciates the practical aspects of this workshop - can be brought to the participant’s community.

Suffering: Looking to the future, what worries or concerns you?

• Fear and distress about environmental doom, climate change, and the future of the planet, leading to feelings like sadness, anger, guilt, and hopelessness, often stemming from direct experience or awareness of climate impacts like extreme weather and pollution.

• uncertainty is the biggest concern for all humans where traditional facts begin to have little influence 

New perspectives: What do you hope for, and what role would you like to play in that future?

• what about if we think about setting focus group or brainstorming group on figuring out what should be done in each region to keep the issue visible to every single person 

• Eco anxiety is also linked to the plant resource over stretched over decades now with no adequate global response from states, i think academia, civil society and other can make change 

Intention setting: What concrete steps would you like to take in the coming week, month, or year?

• Inner transition begins within awareness of local households, but funding is important to go forward with any competent activities, this is in the North of Mediterranean, 

• in the south of Med, like countries in North Africa and beyond need a fitting in outreach, thank you so much for this wonderful platform for information and knowledge 

• Emphasis on nature connection as healing.

• Emphasis on togetherness. 

Voices from the audience

According to the feedback form, 83.3% of participants were attending an ODIF event for the first time. Many highlighted the emotional and practical value of the session. One participant shared:

“The lesson about mental health was very important for me. I learned about togetherness—when we are together, we can solve society’s issues.”

Another noted:

“The event was fully engaging and informative. Eco-anxiety was explained so well, and the mindful exercises were the cherry on top.”

What’s next?

The workshop closed with an invitation to integrate these practices into everyday life. Living with eco-anxiety does not mean being overwhelmed by it; it means learning how to listen, regulate, and respond with intention. By cultivating inner transition alongside external action, participants were reminded that caring for the planet also means caring for ourselves, and for each other.

~Olivia Carling