Lessons From Leading My First Community Breathwork Experience
A reflection on having the audacity to do it scared.
I want to thank my aunt Alexandra from Maracas Dominican Restaurant for opening their space to me so I can host my first Sip & Breathe gathering. My cousin Tiare for planting the seed and always pushing me. My mom, my dad, husband, and daughter for helping me make it come to life.
My best friends Yolanda, Stephanie, Jackie who have always supported my dreams, even from the other side of the country. My cousin-in-law Briana for always showing up when I need her most. My mother-in-law, Dina, for helping me get through the last few days of prep. Tata, for taking care of my little habibi throughout this entrepreneurial journey.
My social media manager, Yomira from The Blue Door Socials, for showing up to capture this milestone and for all the hard work she has put into creating our online presence.
Last but not least, to all the amazing humans who chose to grant themselves a moment of connection through herbs and breathwork.
I am beyond grateful, and may everyone of you keep shining always!
The Night It All Began
On April 22nd, I realized that beautiful humans were gathering at my family’s restaurant for a group breathwork session led by ME. Again, by ME (Tai), these humans invested their hard-earned money to be in this space to make intentional herbal tea blends and return to the present moment with breathwork facilitated by me.
Why I Created This Gathering
This event was really born from the desire to celebrate my brand and share my new service with the community to launch the 1:1 Breathwork session offering. My cousin Tiare brought up the idea of hosting an event at Maracas Dominican Restaurant because she knew I was trying to expand and also to promote the space for future events. She kept asking me for a date, and I finally said April 22nd, which happened to be Earth Day, and 22 is a number associated with Earthshine Holistics.
I decided to combine tea blending and breathwork because I wanted the guests to get comfortable and tap into their intuition as they created intentional herbal tea blends before sitting down for the breathwork workshop. My intention for this holistic wellness event was to celebrate with the community through a tea ritual and connecting to our breath.
What Unfolded in the Room
When I arrived at the restaurant, my mother, our friend Starlin, my daughter, and my husband helped me. Together, we turned both dining rooms into a beautiful gathering place perfect for tea blending and breathwork. I have been preparing for weeks - buying cushions, jars, cloths, cups, herbs, making syrups, and herbal infusions. Finally seeing it all come together left me speechless. It’s one thing to visualize it and another to see it come to fruition.
After we finished setting up, I put my hair down and touched up my lip gloss to start making the welcome mocktails. I made the first drink and topped it off with the garnish - my jaw dropped because it was even better than imagined. Handed it off and heard, “Oh wow, this is amazing!” That’s when I knew everything was going to be magical. People started arriving, and I kept mixing up the drinks; hearing them mingle filled my heart with joy.
There was construction going on outside of the establishment, so I was a bit worried if it would affect the turnout. It did not! We had one person who came in right after the tea workshop. So I wanted to honor her by running the workshop 1:1 while everyone else was getting situated outside. As I walked outside, I was surprised to see everyone on the ground, forming a beautiful circle.
The time has come - BREATHWORK, all eyes and ears are on me. I start by inviting everyone to breath awareness and just guiding all of us to fully ground ourselves by focusing on our natural breath pattern. In this moment, I felt a shift where all my nerves disappeared, and I took the floor, knowing I was more than capable of leading these beautiful humans into a wonderful breathwork flow. So I did just that: I used my watch to time each technique, said the counts out loud to ensure engagement, and let myself speak freely to reassure them they are worthy and enough.
When we finished, my heart sang because I had done the thing I was scared of doing, and I was super proud of myself. I am super proud of myself because I overcame the fear, the doubt, and the false narratives. From that moment, I could officially say I led my first group breathwork session. Immediately, everyone started thanking me and telling me how great it was and how they felt a shift. The thing is, I felt the shift while doing it, so hearing it was just confirmation that this is my life purpose, and I am so grateful that I listened to my calling.
Three Lessons This Event Taught Me
Something doesn’t need to be perfect for it to hold power.
I wanted the event to be perfect. But honestly, as I started taking the floor to speak, I realized I don’t want it to be perfect, I want it to be powerful, and I can only deliver that if I let myself flow and let go. So did I forget to say a few things in my intro and closing? Absolutely. However, I am okay with that because when it came to the herbal creations bar and the group breathwork session, I was in my element.
Connection is created when we slow down.
When I first started speaking, I’ll admit I was nervous. I even let the group know, took a minute to breathe, and sprayed my Tranquility Mist to help ground me. I had the group do a few deep breaths before starting the tea ritual, and I immediately felt the energy in the room shift. Taking that moment to slow down after setting up and mixing drinks was essential.
Community is where the real healing begins.
Speaking to everyone before and especially after, I realized that community is where the real healing begins because we get to share our thoughts and experiences. Also, having community members in all different walks of life is a resource many take for granted, because if we lean on and support one another, we can all continue to grow.
If I’m being honest, I almost let fear stop me because I was so nervous about hosting every part of it. This event was completely out of my comfort zone, and I felt vulnerable because it was about my business and my new service. I also knew I didn’t want anything more than to have this milestone as the owner of Earthshine Holistics; it felt aligned because I’ll be promoting my first-ever service.
Looking back, next time I will have someone make the welcome drinks. I will still create the recipe, but with extra support, I think I could welcome everyone. It will also help with staying on schedule. Having to translate everything for Spanish-speaking attendees in real time was also a growth moment because I wanted them to feel included. However, I was already nervous speaking in English, so adding Spanish took it a step further. In the end, all my nerves were gone because I was in my element, and I truly enjoyed every aspect of the event and everyone who was there.
This Is Only the Beginning
This event has confirmed that I want to host more group breathwork sessions, and I also loved having my herbal creations bar as the interactive experience. Therefore, you can totally bet on seeing Earthshine Holistics host more events or lead a group breathwork workshop at other businesses' gatherings. If this event taught me anything, it’s that we need to have the audacity to do the things we yearn for.
Suppose you’ve been curious about breathwork or community healing spaces. I’d love to welcome you to a future gathering. Subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Instagram @earthshineholistics for event dates and details.
Books are open for 1:1 Breathwork Sessions. I offer 30min and 60min sessions. If you have any questions, DM or email me.
Keep Shining.