Recently, we kicked off a series called, Mindful Moments, where we'll be sharing mental health exercises, radical self-love lessons, and mindfulness practices to keep you grounded. This segment of Mindful Moments is all about the experience that is music.
About two weeks ago, my sister-friend, @Semaj, who y'all have met here on the blog, curated a special listening experience for us fellow music lovers, a record store crawl! As I am writing this, I am having a listening session with my new Crosley record player that I got on sale! šæāØ Now Playing: Donna Summer Greatest Hits Vol. 1. I love music. My mommy is always laughing because I am the friend that will say, "this is my song" to every song and have a specific memory for each song.
Music has always been something that I was immersed in. I grew up in Atlanta, where in the words of Andre 3000, "the South got somethin' to say." Growing up in the South, I was heavily involved in dance, theater, cheer and gymnastics. My world revolved around moving my body and music. My childhood and teenhood included cheer camps, chorus, dance and theater camps at Spelman College, and Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Norma's Academy, and in high school, I could be found running around midtown training like an Olympian, where I was on the dance team. What I've always been really proud and grateful to my parents for, well, for one the amount of money, time, and miles they have invested in me. Another is the investment in Black arts. I always saw Black and Brown actors, dance companies, record labels (like SoSo Def) and talented athletes, scholars, and entrepreneurs. This was my norm.
Once I got to college, that was the first time where I wasn't dancing or even moving my body like I'd done all of my life. This really played a role on my mental health and my physical health. Chile, I gained more than the "freshman 15," and started to experience aches and sickness (migraines, painful menstrual cycles, inflammation, etc.) and aggravating old injuries from my dance and cheer days. Anyway, through this transition, I was able to build community my freshman year where I helped to direct, choreograph, and produce a production, called Sankofa. While doing that, I also started having "majorette style" dance practices with my friends Tyra and Brianna. Around my sophomore and junior year, I would dabble as the stroll master alongside my sister-friends Italie, Taylor, Semaj, and so many others chile, where we would often choreography strolls and choreography for step-shows and showcases and come up with costume designs and themes.
Music Matters. Studies show that music can decrease stress by slowing your heart rate and blood pressure. It also increases your dopamine levels, boosting your mood. Music can help to express emotions and feelings through lyrics and movement. It can enhance your creativity, improve your memory, and build confidence.
Radical Reflection: Set a time for 5 minutes and play your favorite song or a song that makes you feel creative. Do a braindump, just start writing whatever come to mind, even if at first you are literally writing, "I have nothing to write." You will be surprised at how cathartic it will be to just dump out your thought onto a piece of paper and simply move on once that timer goes off. Try this and let me know how it goes. Think about how the music made you feel while writing, were you calm, did your heart rate speed up or slow down? How did you feel after brain dumping while listening to music?
Alright y'all, before I let you go, Semaj is having another record store crawl in New York, check it out here.
With love,
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