- 13 hours ago
This Radical Self Care Breathwork session with Solonje Burnett, Maryam Ajayi and Denita is dedicated to Black Joy and the journey to finding your center. This live segment will include conversation, guided breathwork and live music.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to Radical Self-Care, a guided breathwork session here on Planet Afropunk.
00:20I am your hosting curator, Solange Burnett. I am so grateful to be here with you Afropunk
00:26fam on a Friday night kicking off this digital fest. And tonight, I have a really beautiful treat.
00:34For five months, I have been on Afropunk Station actually doing this conversation around radical
00:42self-care and inviting activists, people in the cannabis space, folks in wellness and well-being
00:48and healing to come together and talk about how can this Black community truly heal? How can we,
00:55as individuals who are constantly in a state of unconscious emotional terror, living in a space
01:01of fight or flight, while this global culture of white supremacy and corporatization and
01:07capitalism and patriarchal ideologies literally are constantly bringing us down as a human race,
01:16a Black human race across the globe. Now is the time for us to step out of that fight or flight mode
01:23and get into breath so that we can experience Black joy. For me, during this pandemic, I really have
01:30led into and leaned into radical self-care as a way to heal myself. And specifically, I've been able to
01:38use the modality of breathwork to take me there. It has been something that has helped me get out of a
01:45space of panic and fear and anxiety and anger while also is connecting me mentally to this idea of our breath and how
01:55important it is. We cannot deny that every day we walk around, we are breathing, but are we even conscious of how we are
02:03interacting with our breath and how much that sustains our life. We know Black lives matter, we know we cannot breathe, but what are we doing to take charge of our breath in this time in a pandemic where we have the breath act literally in our government right now and Black lives fighting for us to defund the police and put money back in social services, put money in the things that really matter for well-being, and
02:09in our society. So now is the time for us to really slow down, go inward, and go inward, and put money back in social services, and put money back in social services, put money in the things that really matter for well-being in our society.
02:31So now is the time for us to really slow down, go inward, and really start on regulating our own system so that we can reconnect and grow. And breathwork has been a daily practice. It has been something that our focusing on my breath has been a daily practice because it is the most essential thing and breathing itself is a radical act while Black.
02:56I started meditating during this pandemic, and it was something that was hard for me to do. But weekly, I came back to a breathwork practice that really reset and recalibrated my body. And so with that, I want to introduce you to the human beings that are going to help you elevate and get to this space of psychological safety.
03:19And if you don't already have a piece of safety. And if you don't already have a piece of paper and a pen, after the breathwork, we're going to have an opportunity for you to sit down and journal and just really put out what comes out for you after this, because this breathwork session is really powerful. So I'm going to jump in really quickly and talk to you about the incredible human beings that are going to give you this safe healing space.
03:45So first, I've got Miriam Ajayi. She's an energy healer. She's the founder of Dive In Well. She is a badass businesswoman. And she knows everything from Reiki to breathwork. She is an entrepreneur based in LA. And she's really passionate about destigmatizing the wellness industry and advocating for inclusive spaces for our community.
04:11So that she's really using her voice to empower, our group, our people across the world.
04:17And also with her is a longtime friend, an incredible artist. Her name is Denisha. She is a pop artist and has been hailed as the epitome of soulful by Fader. She is a singer, songwriter and producer. Her music will take you on a journey.
04:35She has been written up in the New York Times, The Guardian, and her newest album, Touch the Sky, is literally a cinematic ride through nostalgia and alchemy of love, really touching on identity and youth and self-evolution, while really getting into the layers and the vocals that she has. It's so dreamy. I'm going to stop talking about it and I'm going to let you just feel it. So with that, I'm passing it off to Miriam Ajayi.
05:03And Denisha.
05:08Hello, everyone. Welcome. As Solange mentioned, breathwork has been such a powerful and transformative tool for not just her, but in my life, too.
05:27This practice that we are going to do here together is very simple. What we'll be doing is I want you to go ahead and get comfortable. You can lay down if that feels good to you.
05:46You don't need to have a pillow or anything behind your neck, but please, please do that if it feels best for your body. This, again, typically done laying down. But if you want to sit up, you can do that, too. I want you to do what's intuitive, natural and healing to your body.
06:13And the breath looks like this. We're going to be breathing into our bellies, breathing into our chest and breathing out.
06:25Everything is done in and out through your mouth. You're going to breathe into your belly through your mouth. Breathe into your chest. Breathe out through your mouth.
06:37You can let that go for a moment while we drop in. Now that you know the breath, I want you to just breathe into your chest and breathe out through your mouth.
06:59You can let that go for a moment while we drop in. Now that you know the breath, I want you to just, again, get comfortable, get rooted, laying down, sitting up if that feels better to you.
07:19I invite you to close your eyes if that feels safe. I want you to just start taking deep inhales in through your nose and out through your mouth.
07:35Drop inhales in through your mouth. Dropping into your mouth. Dropping into your body. Dropping into this moment, letting go of anything from today or this week or this month that doesn't need to come into the next hour that we have to radically care for ourselves.
07:55Again, just breathing in through your nose.
08:02Breathing out through your mouth.
08:08One more time. Breathing in through your nose all the way down to the bottom of your belly.
08:16And breathing out through your mouth.
08:20Turning to a regular breath. I want you to set an intention here.
08:25Set an intention to radically care for yourself during this turbulent revolution and evolution that we are all going through as a society and as individuals.
08:43I want you to set an intention and that could look like to call in more peace. Let go of chaos.
08:51Have your wildest dreams come true. Get in touch with your ancestors to feel more love. Set an intention here.
08:59Take a deep breath in.
09:09Deep breath out through your mouth.
09:14And then with that, we will start the breathing pattern. So breathing into your belly.
09:22through your mouth. Breathing into your chest through your mouth. Breathing everything that no longer serves you out through your mouth on your exhale.
09:34You can have your palms facing down if you want to feel more grounded in the floor or bed next to you.
09:51Up if you want to be open for your sleeves.
09:55You can put one hand over your heart and one hand over your belly.
10:00You want to connect with your body.
10:04Continue the breath at your own pace.
10:08Breathing in, calling in what you need more support. Plant those seeds into your belly. Plant them into your chest.
10:29And on your exhales, breathing everything out that no longer serves you.
10:35Keep breathing. You got this.
10:40Keep breathing. You got this.
11:05And on your team being alone, you got this.
11:07Keep nit eats grams and got this.
11:09Weray soup with your leg and other tastings.
11:10It's sjung..
11:12..like youλη sese.
11:13You got this.
11:14To comment your heart.
11:15You got this.
11:16I've just been in touch with me.
11:18And then my heart doesn't matter.
11:20you got this.
11:21You got this.
11:23You got this.
11:24I know this.
11:25I know this and what you did.
11:26When you truly did.
11:28You got this.
11:30You got this.
11:31My life brings me and you, it's alright
11:36I believe it's never too soon
11:43And lately, I've been kind of through with timing
11:48It's really all in our minds
11:53You're so real
11:55You're so real
11:59You're so real
12:04I was just a little child reaching out to the team
12:13Looking everywhere around and I never could stand
12:17Dreaming of you like I'm now the only one that could be
12:23You're just a baby, it's kind of strange
12:27All the years were delayed, you and me were made
12:30To fit around each other, folding as we lay
12:35When you woke me right to the moon
12:43And I'll lately, never assume
12:46My life brings me and you, it's alright
12:52And I believe it's never too soon
12:58And lately, I've been kind of through with timing
13:03Something is really all in our minds
13:07You're so real
13:09You're so real
13:11You're so real
13:13You're so real
13:15You're so real
13:28You're so real
13:30You're so real
13:32What you're seeing is coming up
13:33Any emotions are coming up
13:35Let them
13:37Breathing into your belly
13:43Breathing into your chest
13:45Breathing out through your mouth
13:47You got this
13:50You're so real
13:51You're so real
13:52You're so real
13:53You're so real
13:54You're so real
13:55You're so real
13:56You're so real
13:57You're so real
13:58You're so real
13:59You're so real
14:00You're so real
14:01You're so real
14:02You're so real
14:03You're so real
14:04You're so real
14:05You're so real
14:06You're so real
14:07You're so real
14:08You're so real
14:09You're so real
14:10You're so real
14:11You're so real
14:12You're so real
14:13You're so real
14:14You're so real
14:15You're so real
14:16You're so real
14:17You're so real
14:48Checking in with your intention, checking in with the things you want to let go of, the things you want to call in, using your breath to empower you.
15:18It's obvious how we're gonna work this out, and so on.
15:33How we're gonna go without you, talk with your eyes, your reason I've gone by.
15:47I wonder if it's the moon that's shaking, or if it's just been shaking me.
15:59Oh, to be the one that's shaking, to be the one without a place to leave.
16:13Get around it, we swore in time we could get it right.
16:25And save us from ourselves, but you talk to me now from the street.
16:34Such hard lines in between you and me now that we are faking.
16:45Strangers ought to be who we used to be.
16:52Oh, and I'm the one that's breaking.
16:58I'm the one without a place to leave.
17:04I can't bear to let you find me out.
17:16Tanisha is singing between you and me.
17:23Find me out.
17:38Find me out.
17:39Find me out.
17:40Oh, I wonder if it's all we may get.
17:42That's great if you want to come on.
17:43You can check out Afro's good soul breath work session that's happening.
17:48I'm in the green room.
17:49I'm getting paid and applied to you, and right now, Danisha is delivering to you.
17:54I'm the one without a place to leave.
18:04I gotta go back to action
18:34Find me out
19:04You've got a pillow or a blanket.
19:13You can also just use your hands.
19:16You've got to breathe in deeply.
19:19And then on the exhales, you're going to scream as loud as you can.
19:27So I'll count to 10, breathing in for three, two, one, exhale, scream.
19:48One more time, breathing in, three, two, one, exhale, scream.
19:55And then one more time, breathing in, three, two, one, exhale, scream.
20:09I'll invite you to make any screams or noises that you feel called to.
20:19And then when you're ready, return to the breath.
20:23Breathing into your belly, breathing into your chest, breathing out through your mouth.
20:31Breathing into your belly, breathing in your chest, breathing out through your mouth.
20:38Breathing in what you need more support with.
20:40Breathing into your belly, breathing into your chest, and breathe out anything that's holding
20:46you back.
20:48Ming.
21:16...
21:36The road is low and straight
21:39Gotta do it for yourself
21:42I can't
21:46Tell anybody else how to live
21:52You gotta do it for yourself
21:55You left a small town like to say
22:04You tried, you wait, you did it for yourself
22:08And if it's the only thing left on the show
22:15You'll be glad to say
22:20You did it for yourself
22:22You did a lot of dance like you graduated
22:31Make up your steps and the more it takes
22:34Oh, why?
22:40You're making promises like you'll never change
22:44But the truth is you don't know we're waiting to lie
22:48All I know is you're mine
22:54All I know is you're mine
23:02I can't wait to never
23:08I'll never be too far
23:13I'll never be too far
23:23I'll never be too
23:26I'll never be too far
23:30I did a little dance like you graduated
23:36Make a few steps and the more it takes
23:40Oh, why?
23:42Oh, why?
23:44Why?
23:46You're making promises like you'll never change
23:49But the truth is you don't know we're waiting to lie
23:54All I know is you're special
23:57All I know is you're special
24:00All I know is you're mine
24:08I can't wait to never
24:13I'll never be too far
24:17I'll never be too far
24:19You're taking that chance like you know it's made
24:28I'll never be too far
24:44way to try
24:47breathing in your belly
24:55breathing in your chest
24:58at the end
25:04don't sell yourself short
25:11invest in yourself
25:14invest in the breath
25:44I know it's gonna be the firelight
25:51shining through your midnight
25:55I know it's gonna be the long one
25:58I'm never gonna leave you at home
26:05so I'll be everything and then some
26:09I know it's gonna be the cold one
26:13I know it's gonna be the firelight
26:19shining through your midnight
26:22you know it's gonna be the battle
26:26I will always be, I will always be
26:30right outside you
26:32I'll never have to wonder where I wander
26:37I know it's gonna be your rhythm
26:40you're the melody, you're the melody, you're the melody
26:46you're the melody, you're the melody, you're the melody
26:48whenever you rise
26:51whenever you fall
26:54whenever you decide
26:57that you won't let it go
27:00and the water's too high
27:03so the river's too tall
27:04and the valley's too wide
27:09Is it too wide, I have no place to go
27:14I know it's gonna be a firelight
27:29Shining through your midnight
27:32I know it's gonna be a battle
27:35I will always be, I will always be
27:39By your side, you'll never
27:42Have to wonder where I wander
27:46I'm always gonna be your rhythm
27:49You're the melody, you're the melody
27:53You're the melody, oh
27:55I can never love another, no
28:04I can never love another, no
28:09I can never love another, no
28:16I wanna be your dreams
28:27And what you get from me
28:31I hope it's all the love, the love you love me
28:38Until the end of time, no matter where we'll be
28:45I hope it's all the love, the love you love me
28:52Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
29:22Slowly letting go of your breath, slowly letting go, sealing your lips,
29:52and out through your nose deeply, into your nose and out through your nose with your hips.
30:16Taking a moment here to simply integrate, come to the moment of stillness, of rest.
30:42When you're ready, you start wiggling your fingers and your toes.
30:54Be giving a roll to your wrists and your ankles.
31:06Be pulling your shoulders back and forward and up and down.
31:12Be putting your feet on the floor, surface below you.
31:18Knees in the sky and rocking them from side to side.
31:22Then when you're ready, you can roll over to whichever side of your body feels comfortable, whatever feels accessible.
31:34Take a moment here to show yourself some gratitude for taking a moment for self-care.
31:42And there's so much going on in the world.
31:44So much that tells us to go outside of ourselves.
31:48Being proud that you took the moment to go within.
31:52When you're ready, you can roll up to a seated, comfortable position.
32:00Keeping your eyes closed and let you stretch your arms up overhead.
32:06Be connected.
32:08Connect your thumbs and just rock to the side, side, and move around.
32:18Coming to another moment of stillness and just bringing your hands to the center.
32:24Keep your eyes closed, just taking a deep breath in, deep breath out.
32:38Showing pride and good now to this collective that has gathered here together to care for each other.
32:48Care for each other as we evolve through the good and the bad and everything in between.
32:59Drop your hands and open your eyes and come back into the space.
33:05And before we get into our chat, I want you to take a moment with that piece of paper, pencil, and marker
33:13that Solange invited you to pick up.
33:18I want you to just write down three words.
33:23Three words that came up for you during your journey, during our journey together.
33:32These three words can be your anchor into self-care.
33:38Taking a moment to give you some space to write down three words.
33:51There's no right or wrong answer.
33:57You, as the kind of thing, how can you feel like a nation is on your mind.
34:02It's not a common pattern of your life.
34:04You can draw a place to write down three words and on your own.
34:07You know your hand, there's no way to life.
34:08You can draw your hands together, because you're not going to be a challenge,
34:09you're the one of your heart.
34:10You know your hands together, it's very personal.
34:12You know your front and you're telling your hands.
34:14Click on your hands together, and do the same thing.
34:17Click on your hands, and do the same things you want.
34:19You know what I'm doing.
34:22You look like a little bit.
34:54Thank you so much, Miriam. Thank you so much, Denisha. Thank you, Afropunk family, for being a part of this, for joining this community, for breathing together, for participating, for taking time.
35:24Time for self. We're so, so grateful. Thank you, Denisha. I'm like, clap, clap, clap for Denisha. Yay.
35:33And Miriam, that was incredible. I'm over here trying my hardest to keep it together.
35:41Oh, so let's just talk a little bit about radical self-care for you. Like, let's put it all together. Let's let people know who you are, how you've come to this work.
35:54Can you tell us about Dive In Well and how you got on this journey of, like, energy healing and being a practitioner of really community-inclusive, you know, healing?
36:09Yeah, I mean, my journey has been a wild ride to date. You know, I came from a conservative-ish family, and I actually did Republican lobbying for most of my career, and then I moved into tech.
36:27And, you know, every time you tell me that story, it's still wild. I'm like, Republican lobbying, tech, and now self-care.
36:38Self-care.
36:39If there's anything that will make you dive into self-care would be Republicans.
36:45Yes, exactly. You know, I am an immigrant. My dad was a conservative immigrant, and somehow I ended up in this wild world, and I suffered from chronic pain most of my life because of a car accident I was in.
37:00And during my tenure towards the end, when the rose-colored lenses were coming up and coming off, and this American dream that I was sold, the falsehoods of that were coming to light for me.
37:15And I developed pain, and I developed pain, and anxiety. I was in a bout of depression that I didn't know was depression at the time.
37:24And when I went into tech and I thought that that was going to be a new world, you know, I was being met with the same things, the same systems of oppression that plagued politics were in tech.
37:37And I was using yoga as an escape and meditation as an escape. And as I got more and more into the wellness world, I started experiencing the same harm because of the white-dominated spaces in the city that I lived in.
37:56And I lived in New York at the time. So a lot of the studios were white-centered, were white-dominated.
38:04And of course, as a Black woman, I was hit front and center with a lot of harm.
38:11And I was also seeing it happen to the other Black people and brown people that were in the space, you know, and we would always see each other and end up near each other.
38:21And I would see the same fuck shit, you know, part of my language, over and over again.
38:27And in 2019, I was like, you know, I'm not going to stand for this, and I'm not going to run away like I have before, and I'm going to stand up and do something.
38:37And so I committed, one, to a lifestyle of radical self-care.
38:45A lifestyle.
38:47A lifestyle.
38:48A lifestyle. This is a conscious decision.
38:50Yes.
38:51Care for yourself, which is a completely radical act as a Black person and even more so as a Black woman.
38:58Like, let's talk about the intersectionalities.
39:01But, I mean, can we, like, just talking about breath work versus meditation.
39:06I just want to, because, you know, I think so many people are very familiar with meditation.
39:12And it can be almost prohibitive because it's difficult, you know, you feel like you're not doing it right.
39:20If you don't do it every day and you're not sitting there like a yogi for 30 minutes to an hour, then is this giving me anything?
39:28But something about breath work for me has been transformative because, you know, it's a pattern.
39:34It's a rhythm.
39:35You can do it for 15 minutes.
39:36You can do it for five minutes.
39:37So can you just talk a little bit about the two and the differences and what you think could make it easier for people to participate?
39:46Yes.
39:46I mean, I feel like there's so many stigmas around meditation.
39:51From the way that I've been taught meditation, it's coming back to a singular focus.
39:56And so a lot of people are like, well, my mind was racing.
39:59Or, you know, I thought about an ex-lover from the, you know, you know, from ages ago in the middle of my meditation, I didn't do it right.
40:08And that could be coming back to a mantra after your mind wanders.
40:16That could be coming back to the breath.
40:19That could be coming back to a singular phrase.
40:25It's very, very, it's almost like getting into a repetition, getting into something.
40:31And so when people think about meditation, they usually think about emptying the mind or mantra meditation.
40:38Or some people are like, that's so hard for me.
40:41And really, breath work is a type of meditation.
40:46And I know a lot of people can really get into breath work because they have something tangible to hold on to, something to focus on.
40:56And it's about letting thoughts and feelings come up.
41:00And you explore those thoughts and feelings.
41:05During breath work, you're encouraged to say, what is this?
41:09You know, in breath work, you're encouraged to write down those thoughts and feelings after they come up.
41:16To go even deeper with them as opposed to just pushing them down and inside and burying them.
41:24And the breath work is actually uncovering all of the things that you were told to bury and to not think of.
41:31And so for me personally, when I was meditating, you know, sitting in silence, doing, you know, guided meditations, they were wonderful.
41:40They had a tremendous impact.
41:42But like breath work fundamentally changed my life because it was making me face a lot of stuff that I didn't want to of like my own stuff, ancestral stuff, inherited, intergenerational stuff.
41:57And I was able to bring a healing to it by using the breath.
42:01Yeah. And I think that's hugely important is actually just saying that breath work is a meditation.
42:07It's all these different modalities to get to your center, to unearth the traumas in this time as a Black woman.
42:15And, you know, watching what's going on in Nigeria and feeling helpless or what's going on throughout the motherland.
42:22There's so many different things that are happening in Africa right now.
42:25It is so unnerving.
42:26And just thinking about it, talking about it now, I'm getting chills.
42:28I'm getting goosebumps.
42:29And then you think about the fights that we have right here in our own country just to survive and to just sit in a place of fear and or to just bury it.
42:42Like these things will come back up, you know, and they will manifest in different ways, whether it's illnesses and depleting your system.
42:52You know, we're in a fight for our breath because it's COVID and we're definitely disproportionately affected by this pandemic.
43:02And to be able to take control and to be able to take control and reclaim your breath in a moment where that's the thing that is the biggest challenge for us is the ability to breathe is so huge.
43:14Because you feel, yes, let's deal with the current situation, let's just be present in the moment and breathe again.
43:22So this breath work has been incredibly healing and I really hope that everyone here, Afropunk fam, you try to do it seriously by yourself.
43:34Like take this time to learn and put this in your toolkit for self-care practices and, you know, it could be reading, it could be eating well, it could be dancing.
43:44There's so many different things I've been doing to keep myself sane, but breath work has been a weekly practice that has really changed a lot of my mindset.
43:54And I'm really grateful for that.
43:57When, you know, I was just thinking for sure for you, how has the trauma showed up during this pandemic?
44:05You're having this incredible, inclusive wellness space that you're creating, doing all of these virtual experiences, bringing together incredible people.
44:17Can you share a little bit about the work that you're doing to create healing spaces currently?
44:22And I know you have something coming up tomorrow, right?
44:25Yes, yes.
44:26So, I mean, when I chose to radically reclaim self-care in the name of healing myself and my ancestors, I really dove into creating these inclusive spaces.
44:40And I started Diving Well, which is having meaningful conversations and building community and creating action around building an equitable and inclusive wellness industry.
44:54And pre-COVID, we gathered, you know, in New York and L.A., and that's how we met.
45:01I'll still never forget the day you walked in.
45:03I was like, who is that?
45:05God asked.
45:07That was one of my favorite experiences.
45:10Oh, my God.
45:11And so, obviously, we've been forced to pivot online, and we've had virtual gatherings.
45:17We had a blowout for Juneteenth with all Black thought leaders and healers coming together to do similar stuff like we are this weekend here with Afropunk.
45:27We've led courses and building an equitable wellness business, kept up with our salons now digitally.
45:34We're having our second salon with Rachel Ricketts, who's an anti-racism and social justice advocate.
45:41Tomorrow, it's an intimate event, but we're bringing together thought leaders where we can really say, what can we do now that we have more language and more resources?
45:55And let's make up our own rules that we are then going to spread out and be the gospel for and lead the way into creating more inclusive spaces.
46:04And so, that has been tremendous to see.
46:08And for me, obviously, being a Black woman in America who is Nigerian, you know, I'm a Nigerian immigrant to this country, it's been difficult.
46:20And to have, you know, a business that's not just selling lollipops and bath bombs, you know, it's rooted in talking about trauma and having difficult conversations that are transformative, it can be really, really hard.
46:38And I'm also just trying to survive, given the body that I'm in, the reality that we're living in.
46:43And so, for me, you know, breath work has been a tool that I've come back to really resting, radically resting has been such self-care, taking naps in the middle of the day, saying no to things, choosing myself over and over again.
47:03Even if it means someone may not agree with me or someone may be mad at me for establishing my boundaries, boundaries is another one.
47:12I always said I was a boundary slut, but now I've been working really hard to become a boundary prude and be really stringent with them, you know, taking spiritual baths, talking to my ancestors, connecting through the tarot, through lighting a candle, and just letting the energy radiate, going for walks, doing thinking on my feet, cooking for myself,
47:41which I haven't done because I haven't done because I haven't done because I haven't done because I've been traveling recently, and I feel the difference in getting my hands in vegetables and cooking for myself and giving my food Reiki.
47:53We're just taking a moment to, like, pray for all of the people putting their lives on the line, putting a prayer out for all of the hands that touch the food to get it to my table.
48:06Those are things that I've done to really radically self-care during this time, because I want people to be aware that, like, there's going to be lasting trauma from this time period.
48:21And the more that we can care for ourselves now, the more that we can care for ourselves now, the more that we can let go, there's going to be some, right?
48:29But the more that we can let go of that we don't have to carry around for the next five, ten years, the less trauma that we inherit to our children and the, you know, when we become ancestors, that's less that we pass down.
48:46And I think there were two things that you said that really, like, sparked something in my mind.
48:52First of all, around access in the wellness space, and then also gratitude.
48:57And I think you just were incredible about doing a laundry list of self-care items that you can do from cooking for yourself to going for a walk to, you know, doing Reiki on your vegetables.
49:10All of these things are free, you know what I mean?
49:15Like, these are things that we can do to take care of ourselves, put down the phone, pick up a book, go for a walk, literally have these moments with ourselves and to connect with the earth.
49:29I mean, during this time, going into gardens and picking fruits and vegetables from a community garden down the street in Bushwick has been something that I have been incredibly grateful for.
49:41Putting my hands into the earth and reconnecting like our ancestors did, you know, reading books, all of, like, all about love by bell hooks, you know, doing these things.
49:52Too far, it's, it's, it's like.
49:54It's right over there, right?
49:55It's the new Bible, right?
49:58Yeah.
49:58Let's dive into the love because that, there has to be, without love, there can be, without love, there can be no justice.
50:05Without love, there, like, we need to learn about love and stop living in fear.
50:09And it starts with love of self and love of community and love of family and taking that energy and creating a light.
50:16When we live in this dark, fearful place, like, we're living in deficit, we're not living in abundance.
50:22And I know you got all those crystals over there, you saged everything before this whole session started.
50:27Having these rituals also reconnect us to self, reconnect us to ancestors, have us pause and breathe and remember to breathe.
50:36It's like, how many times during the day do you stop and, like, realize, oh my gosh, I wasn't breathing just now.
50:42Like, I was holding my breath.
50:43I had my shoulders up here.
50:45I was super anxious.
50:47So it's just having a conscious practice of reconnecting to yourself, of breathing, of taking moments and having gratitude for it and realizing that well-being, wellness, it doesn't need to be expensive.
51:01It doesn't have to be, oh, I got to get this Lululemon outfit.
51:04I have to have the perfect selfie on my Instagram.
51:06It's like, no, these are private moments for yourself so that you can show up for community, so you can continue to be a warrior in this battle that has been going on for centuries for our humanity and our decency as Black people, as immigrants, as queer people, as, you know, women, as whatever it is.
51:29As any of the marginalized groups that don't fit into the white male patriarchal structure, like, we need to stop and take a moment and just care for ourselves so that we can continue because, you know, in exhaustion and depletion, we can't do the work.
51:46Exactly.
51:47One hundred percent.
51:48Amen.
51:50This has been an incredible time.
51:54I just want to remind people that, you know, there's so much stigma around our mental health.
52:00We're so used to rushing around.
52:02We don't take times to pause and reflect.
52:06Now is a moment and a time for us to stop, really care about ourselves and about our community.
52:14So I encourage you, make this a weekly practice.
52:17Do some breath work.
52:19Try to get some meditation in.
52:20And like she said, it's really about calming, quieting, settling, focusing on one thing.
52:26Make yourself some food.
52:29Let's get into radical self-care daily.
52:32Even if it's just a five-minute break where you stop with yourself and you just think consciously about your breathing pattern in the middle of the day.
52:40That is an incredible step.
52:42So thank you so much, Afropunk fam, for tuning in to Radical Self-Care here on Planet Afropunk.
52:51I'm your host, Solange Burnett.
52:53Miriam Ajayi, you were incredible.
52:56And Denisha, thank you so much for your music.
53:00Y'all, have a good night.
53:01Peace and love.
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