The Idea of the Week
Grounding involves your 5 senses (5-minute article). When you are processing the information in your current surroundings, you take in the information through your senses. Hence, using your senses is a great way to bring yourself back to the present moment.
Many activities that you do in a day can be grounding when you direct your focus to that activity. For instance,
- singing or humming a melody,
- chewing gum,
- rubbing lotion on your hands,
- running your hands along a smooth surface,
- rubbing fabric between your fingers,
- smelling a candle, or
- finding all the blue items in your immediate area.
You may also hear “grounding” to refer to “earthing.” Earthing is a grounding technique that connects you with nature. The idea is to touch nature and the earth with bare skin. When you practice earthing you may
- walk outside barefoot on grass, soil, or sand,
- garden without gloves,
- sit outside with your bare feet touching the ground,
- lie in the grass or sand with your arms, legs, or back bare,
- press your hands into grass, soil, or sand.
Walking barefoot may not be plausible or something you want to do, and there are certainly more ways to connect with nature. Check out the Verywell Health article (7-minute read) for more ideas on how to connect with nature.
The Practice of the Week
Let’s begin by Creating a Safe Space. Check out this 8-minute video from Therapy in a Nutshell that will guide you through visualizing a safe space to ground your body and mind.
You may also want to consider Building a Sensory Self-Soothing Kit (4-minute article): a toolkit filled with items that engage your senses. In just 4 steps, learn how to create your own sensory self-soothing kit that will meet your needs, offering you comfort and relaxation whenever you need it.
News of the Week
Are you looking to expand your perspective and deepen your practice? We have several opportunities for you to explore!
This Sunday, May 19, Breathing Space and MindSound present a daylong opera time opportunity for 2 workshops! Both are located at the Breathing Space Studio in Erieville, NY.
First workshop: Centering Resilience and Joy: Mindfulness, Yoga, and Sound from 9am to noon.
This three hour workshop will focus on three modalities. We will start with grounding mindfulness practices, go into yoga/movement designed to center and free the body, mind and spirit, and end with a deeply relaxing sound bath. This sound bath will include crystal bowls, gongs, Himalayan bowls, chimes, tanpura, mantra, and more.
Second workshop: Entering a world of Nada Yoga: Pranayama, Yoga, Sacred Mantra from 1pm to 4pm
This workshop will open us to the world of Nāda Yoga, the Yoga of sound. Nada Yoga is a deep and transformational practice that is present in almost all yogic practices: pranayama, asana, yoga nidra, and beyond. Nada Yoga is also seminal in understanding the Asthanga Yoga—the 8 limbs of yoga. This workshop will offer an experiential way to enter Nāda Yoga. We will begin with pranayama, meditation, and movement/asana. The bulk of our time will be spent chanting, no experience necessary. Megan, the facilitator, will guide you at each step, starting gently with humming and moving into sacred chants from different traditions. We will end with a mini sound bath to integrate what has been experienced.
Have you used KAP with us or elsewhere?
Join our Psychedelic Integration Circle!
Our Psychedelic Integration Circles are uniquely tailored for those who have embarked on psychedelic (Ket specifically) journeys and seek to meaningfully incorporate their experiences into their lives. Journeys offer a profound shift in perspective and our circles create a space for understanding, acceptance, and transformation.
Tuesday groups – Amelia Peterson, LMHC
Wednesday groups – Meg Tobin, LMHC
Sunday groups – Melissa Compton, LMHC, LCAT
Yoga Nidra Level 1 Training
This is a workshop training on Yoga Nidra for 6 weeks starting April 30. It is virtual and there will be live and recorded content. For more info visit www.mindsound.co
Yoga Nidra Course
Explore the different elements of Yoga Nidra, deep dive into creating Sankalpa, the historical and cultural context, and integrating Yoga Nidra into your lived life. Understand the science behind NSDR and study the connections between Yoga Nidra, sound bath/sound healing, and yoga in this course! For more info, visit www.mindsound.co
Yoga Therapy: Healing the Mind and Body
Lindsey will be hosting a special 4-week trauma-focused series. Come learn about how your body responds to stress and trauma, followed by Vinyasa Flow Yoga.
This trauma-informed yoga workshop series consists of four sessions. The first half hour of the workshop will consist of psychoeducation covering topics such as the mind-body connection, physiology of trauma, mindfulness exercises, breathwork & more. Following this, students will be led through an hour-long dynamic vinyasa flow.
Each session will have a unique theme, specifically designed to target the body’s physiological reactions to stress and trauma. The themes are
- Release (focus on hips);
- Empower (power flow, focus on strengthening postures);
- Acceptance (focus on heart openers); and
- Peace (focus on balancing postures).
4 Session Series on 6/1, 6/8. 6/15, and 6/22. Sessions are 1 hour and 30 minutes, located at the Breathing Space Studio in Erieville, NY.
The workshop aims to educate and enlighten students about the power they possess to heal from trauma, and release stress.
The Thought of the Week
Wishing you a peaceful week!
