Breathe

Think

Focus

Create

From the time we take our first breath, we begin to learn all of the ways our breath moves.

What if I told you that every time your mind and body have an experience, so does your breath?

“If you can breathe, you can think.
If you can think, you can focus.
If you can focus, you can solve anything.”

— Born Bi-Kim

If you’ve attended one of our events, you would have received a few gifts. The first is inspired by my partner Born Bi-Kim. He wanted the expression of freedom found in chalk on every driveway in his neighborhood of Roxbury. The stickers serve as reminders of simpler times. A gardener of every kind, Born wanted us to then remember and learn to nurture the nature around us. The most recent package includes seeded paper to plant and nurture.

Breathe Deeply is a concept that began in conversations with The Peoples’ heART and The Muse to develop programs to prevent gun violence, from a trauma-informed perspective of experiencing violence and acting out violently. In those situations, there are brief moments of practiced clarity that can change the outcome.

It’s a challenge to talk about breathing when in an active situation. But like other forms of preventative health, the practice of breathing can help us regulate our emotions, especially under stressful conditions.

According to trauma-informed psychology, when an individual faces a threatening situation, they have one of three reactions: fight, flight, or freeze. Each reaction is based on practiced responses since early childhood, when we learn how to interact with the world. When these neural circuits are revisited often, they become a part of who we are, often moving the trauma we’ve experienced to another in insidious ways. It’s through practice that we learn how to gauge the stress appropriately and act accordingly. After all, we impact the world we live in.

This project, inaugurated at the MGH Juneteenth Event, stood on the shoulders of giants #sotsogboston through Born Bi-Kim at #themusebluehillave #project4348 and Kathy Kim, second-generation owner of Alpha & Omega.

#project4348 #themusebluehillave @themuse336 @the_peoples_heart

PHOTO Boston Public Library
#sotsogboston #project4348 #themusebluehillave @themuse336 @djdinosaurk @the_peoples_heart

Breath is a gift that came built in. When we breathe in deeply, we add air and create space within our bodies where there wasn’t any before. This space lets us think and process information. By the time we breathe out, we have had a chance to consider options and choose our action.

To breathe is to give ourselves and those around us a chance at realizing freedom.