Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Orisha Bowers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Orisha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Orixa Healing Arts Wellness and Spiritual Centre is a healing and wellness practice that provides education and creative Interdisciplinary tools to businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith institutions, and individuals.
Orixa creates safe and healthy spaces that promote healing through the expressive arts. Our proven techniques increase wellness indicators for persons experiencing various forms of chronic illness, traumatic experiences, stress management issues, and burnout. As a form of alternative medicine, healing is encouraged through the use of the expressive arts and movement.
At Orixa, healing is accessible to all.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
For myself the key to saving my life and building a bridge to wellness was the practice of dancing mindfulness. Mindfulness is the ancient practice of living in the present moment, a practice so simple, yet so often neglected in our fast-paced, modern lives. Dancing mindfulness invokes the art of dance as the primary medium for practicing mindful awareness. It can be a gateway to higher spiritual growth, a path to more balanced living and a healing experience. Dancing Mindfulness, guides practitioners through seven primary elements of mindfulness: breath, sound, body, story, mind, spirit and fusion. By dancing through the elements, one is better able to: access their body’s own healing resources through informal dance, Realize the transformative power of their personal creativity, Strengthen their abilities to exercise non-judgment, patience, a sense of play, trust, acceptance, and letting go, practice mindfulness even if they’ve struggled with traditional sitting meditation, and share healing dances with others to build on their own strengths, resources, and experiences.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I was about 16 years old the first time I felt the euphoric release that followed an outpouring of improvisational dance and creative expression. It took very little effort to move myself from the thoughts and fears of the notification of my beloved mother’s cancer diagnosis and mentions of surgery and chemotherapy to the warmth and solitude of the movement of my body. I was stone cold in my mind, but my body was keenly aware of what my inner feminine energy needed to reconcile and heal in truth. In those early days it was scary to be transported to this place of peace. I lacked the lexicon to name this bodily out of body experience. My next muscle memory of my journey came with the second cancer diagnosis of mother. Again I was thwarted into the numb and dark pit of ice-cold fear. The dance would again save me and give me transformative power to move from a deep place of pain into a place of peace and acceptance.
The final movement milestone would come one a midsummer afternoon after I walked into my home following a visit to the doctor’s office. I had been suffering with a continual headache. I will never forget the way the words seemed to spill out of her mouth and on to my ears. She said, “You have two choices. You can take a leave from work starting today or I can admit you to the hospital now. Your blood pressure is at stroke level. Whatever you are doing is about to kill you and you need to stop it today.” I was paralyzed with fear and angry that I had fallen in to the same behaviors of overworking and lack of self-care that I firmly believe exacerbated my mother’s illnesses and led to her early death.
Like myself there are great numbers of black women who suffer from these same habits and fail to provide a fragment of the level of self care that we need to live healthy lives. For many the failure to pause and pour back into the self can mean the difference between life and death. So if you add any other health disparities or issues such as the identity of lgbt the health outcomes are critically lower.
A 2018, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University conducted a study that reported, “ LGBT individuals reported an average of 7.8 poor mental health days, defined as any day they struggled with mental health issues like stress, depression, anxiety and other emotional problems. Those who identified as transgender reported even more days – individuals born female who currently identify as male reported 15.4 days and individuals born male who currently identify as female reported 12.4 days.”
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Tips that you can use to care for yourself : Spiritual bath: Fill the tub to your hips and add sea salt or Epsom salt, two drops of lavender oil, flower petals, and your favorite bath bubbles. Speak your intentions over your bath. Then enjoy your bath.
Have a moon ceremony. One the next full moon cycle, when the moon is highest, step outside into your sacred space. Say your intentions or write them down and burn them under the moon light.
Light a white candle and commune with your loved ones to gain clarity, strength, and be in their presence.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.orixawellness.com
Image Credits
Darius B Williams