You are invited!

This is a weekly group that meets on Zoom to check-in regularly about what is going on in our lives, and to learn mindfulness techniques for self-care. We will meet from 9:30-11:30am CT.

“Mind-Body Skills Groups are educational, supportive groups built upon developing self-care skills. They are highly experiential and integrative techniques–such as meditation, guided imagery, autogenic training, breath work, movement, self expression and other approaches–are taught in a supportive environment.” You can read more here: https://cmbm.org/onlinegroup/

The first meeting will be June 30th and we will plan to continue for 8 weeks until August 18th. There will be a 1-hour information session on June 23rd at 9:30am CT. I completed training to facilitate these groups from the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, and I have been leading groups in this format on Zoom, since 2020. You can read about the experiences of past participants here:

https://waterbirdmedicine.wordpress.com/2023/07/13/mbsg-testimonials/

Why am I offering this?

The conventional, allopathic model of medicine that I trained in is outdated and misunderstands important fundamentals of holistic health. When I learned about Mind-Body Medicine at a retreat with the CMBM at Esalen Institute in California, I understood that holding space for group work can have a profound effect because it addresses our present moment consciousness directly. We are energetic beings, and addressing our energetic nature can be more effective and thorough than limiting our attention to the body as a constellation of mechanical processes.

In the future, I am aiming to lead in-person healing retreats for healthcare workers to address trauma and burnout. I am especially interested in working with performing artists and creatives because their craft puts them on the path of embodiment, and I am on that path for myself too.

What To Expect During Our Groups

We will meet on Zoom and will start on time. You are invited to arrive up to 5 minutes early to settle in. Keep in mind that you will be asked to bring your full attention for our two-hour sessions. We will start with a simple relaxing breathing technique and go over guidelines for our time together. There will be time for introductions, and “check-ins” for every group. Anything shared will be confidential.

Each week, we will practice one technique of self exploration, and then share about our experience with the group. These techniques can provide powerful insights in a group setting even for individuals with extensive experience with similar techniques. They are also accessible to beginners and thus adaptable for many different kinds of groups.

The group will end on time, and we will close with a gentle relaxation technique. My role is to manage time, lead activities, and support all participants for the best group experience. I am not serving as a therapist or doctor for anyone in the group. Instead we are trusting and allowing for insights and healing to occur spontaneously. Borrowing from Stella Eisenstein’s “Resonant Attention” technique, we are leaning in for miracles. As a facilitator, I will also participate in the exercises and share my experiences.    

Price, Commitment:

We are creating a closed container, ideally for 6-8 participants, and I hope that you will be able to attend all 8 sessions. I understand it can feel difficult to commit before experiencing the first group together, but it will serve participants and the groups to have consistency. That is an important reason why I am asking for a donation to reserve your spot. The regular price is $300, and scholarships are available for special circumstances. Please reach out with questions or to reserve your spot. I would like to speak with each prospective participant on the phone before we begin.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you can join me!

-Drew

The link for the info session on Monday June 23rd at 9:30am CT is here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88433269585

On Friday night I made a trip to the Brackett Park Recreation Center for a round of Interplay hosted by Slow who uses all (he, she, they) pronouns. From their website: “InterPlay is a coming together of humanity’s most precious gifts: movement, stories, and wholesome connection through witnessing, listening, and play. Drawing on our inherent creative spark through a variety of fun activities, InterPlay is body-based and improvisational. It gets groups moving, laughing, and sharing experiences.” We had a group of 6 and we did exercises in pairs and as a large group. Someone has described it as “preschool for adults”, and after a stressful day at work, even though I was tired, it was refreshing to connect with others through that framework.

One question that arose through me for Slow, the facilitator, was, “What is the maximum-sized  group that you could facilitate?” and she responded, “there is no maximum capacity, as long as everyone can hear my voice, it can work.” And she hinted that it is fun to work with the challenge of large groups. Which gave me the idea to help her build this offering to reach the capacity of the room we were playing in. Or to spread out into the park.

I have facilitated different types of events, and am often thinking about what types of events I want to make space for on my personal calendar. I go through phases where I can be a maximizer and want to do it all, and there are other times when I need to wipe my schedule clean to take time for myself. One of the formats that I have most enjoyed facilitating are the 2-hour Mind-Body Skills Groups that I was trained to lead from the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. In their format, groups of 8-10 are ideal, but I have found even small groups of 4-6 to allow greater depth of exploration with the types of exercises we do. Pushing beyond the limit of 10 is possible, but it can detract from the experience because it puts a strain on the amount of time for each individual to share and process what is going on for them, and pushes more of the members into a listening mode vs having the space to express themselves. It’s not that the exercises aren’t possible with groups of 15 or 20, and there are strategies like breaking the group into small units for sharing, but for the structure that those groups use, it is best to have the facilitator present for all the sharing and for the group to be in one space together.

As I think about the roles I am creating for myself hosting events at my home and for my community, I am thinking a lot about collaboration and how to work with others. I am exploring different titles for my home, including what came up last night sitting around the fire: “Community Healing Center.” I claim the role for myself as a “Community Healing Artist”, and I am working with exploring, participating in, and studying community embodiment practices. I write about my experiences here to help process and share the results of my findings. My mission is to develop and support community offerings that build a resilient and flourishing infrastructure and network for healing, growth and artistic expression.

I would like to help Slow fill up that Brackett Park Rec room to its maximum capacity. On Saturday and Sunday, Ahlay Blakely will be leading song gatherings at New City Center. She is a master at guiding groups through an experience with song, and I also want to help advertise and make sure my friends and community know what a powerful opportunity it is to be part of those events.

Read Ahlay’s description for what she is hosting on Saturday 6/21/25: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/minneapolis21

Read more about Slow’s Offerings here:

https://www.bodyconnectmn.org/offerings

On Friday night, I am hosting a potluck and “Listening Party” for the “Wails: Songs for Grief” album that Ahlay wrote and recorded in 2023. I was one of over 200 singers who travelled to a farm property near Seattle, WA for the experience of participating in recording that album. I returned in September 2024 to the Seattle area for the release party for that album, which was held as a sacred ritual or ceremony for the participants to experience together. My participation was deeply impactful, and I would like to share a bit with the group that gathers on Friday about my experience as we settle in to listen to the album together.

I created a Facebook event with the basic details, and I have wondered about the capacity for this event. There is rain in the forecast, and there is a different capacity if we are trying to listen in the living room and kitchen vs if we can spread out on the lawn. We could set up a few rain flies, and it might be beautiful to listen to an album about grief in the rain, and it could be possible that some listen indoors and others are outdoors for the same shared experience. So what is the capacity for this event? Since I will be working at the clinic in the afternoon, I didn’t want to invite “the public” to an event where my own resourcing may be limited. This album was written and recorded to help individuals and communities find ways in to exploring and processing grief and sorrow. Some of those feelings may be stirred and after the album is complete, I intend to facilitate a closing reflection group that could be brief or long, depending on the needs of the group. If there are 30 present, that will be much different to facilitate than if there are 5.

If you are planning to come, I recommend bringing a notebook to write or draw, blankets and pillows to make yourself comfortable, rain gear and tarps if you would be willing and enthusiastic to participate outdoors in the rain, and an intention to be fully present with the group experience even if that means you need to take space for yourself at times. We will intend to be silent during the playing of the album.

Please reach out to me if you have questions or concerns, and please RSVP on the FB event to help me anticipate numbers. Thanks!

What a weekend. On Saturday night, 28 people came over to participate in the Community Connection and Ritual event and I was so pleased with how it turned out. Noa has developed a strong toolset for facilitating and leading songs, and it was a joy to allow her to lead the group together around the fire. In the afternoon, she came over with another co-host to connect about the event, and to practice the songs and leading the breathwork with us. Around 5pm, friends started to arrive and help set up the backyard space with blankets, tables and an altar, but around 6pm as more guests began to arrive, the rain picked up and threatened to move our event indoors, which presented a somewhat challenging change, especially with my dog Oscar, who can be high energy and affectionate, but sometimes more than everyone wants to engage with.

We had wonderful food delivered by Heal MPLS which was a hit, and fun to share with the group. As we approached 7pm, the run let up, and we reset the outdoor space again, and assembled around the fire. Noa invited the group to partner off for an opening exercise before we went over some guidelines for the group and then I was able to share a bit about my journey with this house and land, and my intention to be bringing events like this one into the space.

From there, Noa invited folks to lay on their backs and participate in a holotropic breathing exercise for a few minutes. She then led a few songs from Shireen Amini and Ahlay Blakely that invited a heart-opening contemplation. As we moved into the second half of the event, we had space for about 2 minutes of sharing from each participant which after the opening, proved to be quite an opportunity for many people that can be rare to find in other social containers. As we drew the circle to a close, I took the water bowl from the altar and offered its contents back to the land at the base of the Cedar tree in the front yard. From there, some folks stuck around the fire to continue chatting, while others moved to the living room where a few songs and a musical jam unfolded. Some helped clean the kitchen and pick up the yard, and folks drifted away eventually leaving a basically cleaned up house as the last guests departed.

So to me, it was a huge success and I feel excited for more opportunities to continue the momentum that was started. I was reminded that the date, 6/7 was Prince’s birthday, and after everyone left, I played a few songs at the piano for myself closing with 1999 and Purple Rain. It was a beautiful way to end the night for me.

There are more details I could fill in another time, but I do want to be sharing about my process with this project with my writing online, so here it is. 😉

The next day, Sunday, I went to Dance Church and had really been invigorated by the event and was glad to shake it out and dance with the broader Minneapolis community. In the afternoon, I found myself at another outdoor song circle as part of a baby shower, and so the momentum was still carrying me. This morning, I tuned into a daily meditation Zoom room that I have been enjoyed to start the day, and tonight I am going to a Cabaret open mic, and I think I will share one of the songs that Noa shared from Shireen Amini  with the group on Saturday:

“You survived that, Wow, you am safe, Now, 

you can come back down even smile and feel proud

Breathe more slowly you are okay, you are okay, you are now safe

Breathe more slowly you are okay, you are okay, you are now safe

Shake it off, cry it out, tell your story laugh out loud,

Whatever brings you back into the moment, the moment.”

Thanks for reading. More information on upcoming events will be posted here as they develop! 😉

My friend Noa is visiting my home from Asheville, NC, and she regularly attends embodiment focused gatherings including songs and heart sharing around the fire. She has songs to lead from Ahlay Blakey, Lyndsey Scott, Max Ribner and Shireen Amini. We will open it up with breathwork, and there will be time for sharing. It will be unique based on this land, and the people gathered here, but it will form a connection to the wisdom of those who gather regularly in NC through the way Noa has learned from her experiences there.

In my role, as a doctor who wants to study and pursue holistic health, these gatherings are a representation of the project I am starting to call the Creative Healing Institute. And we are going to have our first session on Saturday night with Noa, and it will include a potluck dinner with an outdoor ritual around the fire including songs, breathwork and personal sharing.

It reminds me of the Permaculture Party that I went to yesterday, which started with planting in the garden, but led to many conversations lounged out on the lawn. They had a potluck, played music and were planning for a bonfire in the evening. Where are the bonfires happening these days? What conversations are happening around the fire, or what song circles are alive? 

Come to the Creative Healing Institute (3261 Quail Ave N) on Saturday night from 5-10pm. We’ll start with a potluck and then move into the Ritual around the fire in the back starting at 7pm. We ask that you arrive before 7pm so we can maintain a stable container for the event.

Send Questions to Drew on Signal.