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Take a Moment to Breathe

Writer's picture: Stephanie ThompsonStephanie Thompson

To take time out of your busy schedule to come back to your breath, to yourself, is crucial



This weekend, hosting a retreat at my home that was being filmed for Harmony Inside & Out, a documentary project I'm working on about music programs that help people in prison and once they're out, I forgot to breathe. I kept finding myself letting out huge sighs, as if my body was heaving itself into breath, as if the necessity of letting out what I'd been holding in came intermittently and was out of my control. I was holding myself so tightly, without regular breath, that I threw my back out and fairly hobbled around as I cooked meals, moved instruments and furniture around, offered a sound bath. And I just kept telling myself, "You know better. You have to breathe!"


And so here I am, reminding you, and myself: with all the pressures of deadlines and family dramas, with all the stresses of making choices and carrying out plans and moving through life, remember to breathe. You can always come back to the rhythm of your own breath.

You can always come back to the rhythm of your own breath...

There is a beautiful breathing exercise called Bhramari pranayama that I sometimes offer with my sound baths, maybe you've done it with me?! It fits well with my Sacred Bloom theme, as it is often referred to as "Bee breath."


It is an easy exercise that involves humming while exhaling to offer a bit of vibration and calm the mind. The humming mimics the sound of a bee's wings, and is named after the Hindu goddess Bhramari, who is known as the goddess of bees.



Step 1: place your index fingers just in front of the small flap of your ears (not inside.)

Step 2: gently close off your ear

Step 3: inhale deeply through your nose

Step 4: exhale while making a fairly high-pitched humming sound

Step 5: repeat at least 4 times, more if you wish


The calming nature of breath, and the resonant vibration of humming is helpful on an everyday basis. We have to remember to practice...To find that centering, calming power of vibration and sound, join me for one of my meditative sound baths, and let us practice in community!!


UPCOMING SOUND BATHS:


BROOKLYN:



Join me at YogaSole in Windsor Terrace for our rescheduled First Friday sound bath this Friday, October 18th, at 6 pm. Reserve your spot at yogasole.com


I will also be doing a sound bath for the first time at the new YogaSole space in Sunset Park on Friday, October 25th at 6 PM. Join me in this new beautiful space...

yogasole.com to register.








Join me at Jaya East this Saturday, October 19th from 6 PM - 7:30 PM for a Yin Yoga/Sound Bath combination with Katie Cavanagh. Will be a beautiful evening! RSVP at jayayogacenter.com

















And save the date for The Sight and Sound of Nature November 17th, from 5 PM-6 PM at The Shirley Project Space on Washington Ave. The natural sounds that emerge to calm the nervous system in my Sacred Bloom Sound Bath will dovetail perfectly with the work featured in Interverse by artist Colleen Ho, which focuses on ripped paper drawings that allude to the visual patterns and structures in nature. $30 RSVP to me at sacredbloomtribe.com/events.









UPSTATE NEW YORK:

Join me at my home in Elka Park for a sound bath and salon, complete with spritzers and snacks!! Stay to chat and commune with neighbors!! Monday, October 21st at 6PM. RSVP to sacredbloomtribe.com/events







And save the date for Saturday, November 16th for the debut of Sacred Bloom's "Deeper Roots" collaboration with bassist Ari Folman-Cohen at Rooted in Tannersville, New York. There will be a lovely relaxing depth of vibration, reaching somewhere beyond the usual percussion instruments I play, highlighting the resonance of them with Ari's powerful, beautiful electronic additions!! More info to come! Check sacredbloomtribe.com/events for details shortly!













And, just a reminder, if none of these dates and times or places work for you, I am available for private individual or group sessions!! We can relax together, through sound...


XX

In peace and harmony,


Steph

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