A song to set the vibe:
Dear relatives,
This month and last, I’ve had the pleasure of facilitating two workshops. After a year of tossing the idea around, the first Inner Ecology gathering happened in September. While I have a few years of experience teaching breathwork, it had been a few months since I had led a group and, honestly, my facilitation skills were rusty. By the grace of the participants, and the magic of working with the breath, the workshop ended on a positive note. Still, due to time limitations, I had to omit the reflective writing portion entirely, which was certainly not what anyone wanted.
Last week, I had the pleasure of gathering with my friend and fellow breathwork practitioner
for the BreathWork program in partnership with Sounds True. As a guest teacher, I had the opportunity to work with participants nearing the end of the program. The workshop I led focused on connecting with the land through the breath, and we enjoyed remembering ourselves as early microbes. The group was lovely and engaged, and being a part of the program was such a joyful experience. Leading up to this gathering, I was so thankful to have gone through the workshop in September. It helped prepare me for the necessary work of editing that I so often forget is an essential part of teaching and facilitation.As we come to the end of the year, there are two more gatherings on the horizon. Next month, I’ll be gathering for a women’s wellness event in my local community to speak about the transformative power of breathwork and how the practice can be applied to our movements for justice. To close out 2023, I’ll be facilitating another Inner Ecology workshop in December to honor the Winter Solstice and lay the foundation for the coming year. In a forthcoming Sunday letter, I’ll be sharing more details about the event.
I’ve enjoyed facilitating monthly breathwork gatherings, and hope to keep the pace in the new year. This brings me to my question for the week, which is offered as a poll. In preparing for future breathwork gatherings, including the one in December, there are a number of questions that I am pondering. Today, I have two things I am curious to hear your thoughts about:
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I look forward to sharing the results!
With gratitude,
Christian
Noticing
I’ve said this many times in previous letters, and I’ll probably mention it again. Witnessing the slow transformation from summer to fall has been such a delight!
Reading
Gearing up for this month’s essay, which will reflect on Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, alongside readings over the last month. October’s letters are linked here and here, with an interlude letter linked here.
Creating
Food dominates my thoughts, most of my time. Like many, I’ve struggled in my relationship with food, and breathwork has been like a loupe, allowing me to examine it more closely and clearly. Adjacent to this, I am also working to highlight more vegetables in my family’s meals. I say work because it is; planning and preparing food requires a fair amount of labor and creative capacity. I’m still ruminating on what this means, personally, and how I might approach things in the future. In the meantime, I look to Solid Starts for ideas, and I welcome yours as well!
Such a treat to be in shared space and learning from and with you. Thank you! <3