Courtney Cheatham
As I walked into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans at 8:45 a.m. on the first day of the ESSENCE Cultural Festival and watched as people lined up, I heard the commotion begin. ReadyBut when I walked inside to the Wellness House activation, a curtained-off space with a stage, fluffy orange cushions to sit on, sound bowls, and sprinkles of sage, an entirely different sight and atmosphere unfolded. The practitioners, beautiful Black women from New Orleans who were preparing to teach guided meditations and harness sound therapy, were dressed in ethereal white ensembles and greeted people with warm, soothing voices. They were ready, too. They were there, and they would be there to heal guests every morning throughout the entire ESSENCE Fest weekend.
“Meditation isn’t necessarily about doing something,” says Diriell Perkins of Stretch Galore Yoga, who has been practicing yoga for about five years. As we speak, her 2-and-a-half-month-old son, Yannis, is dressed in white and sleeping on her chest in a baby carrier. “Meditation is about doing something.” BecomeYou don’t necessarily have to identify with your thoughts, but just really accept them, don’t get too caught up in them, just let them flow, let them pass. You don’t have to sit and think only good things. Not literally. In a way it’s impossible. Your mind is wandering, it’s all over the place. That’s OK, but at some point allow yourself to come back to the center. Like I said, accept them. Let them pass. Let them flow. But don’t get caught up in them or hold on to them.”
One way to entertain and release these thoughts is through breathwork, which Aries D., a practitioner at Divine Essential Magic in NOLA, says is essential.
“We take breathing for granted. It’s something we’re born with. It’s the last thing we do when we leave this world. But at the same time, breathing is the main way we can release not only oxygen, but also various endorphins that help us relax,” she says. “It may sound difficult, but we have the ability to tell our minds ‘next.’ So if it’s a thought you don’t want to think about, just say ‘next’ and push it to the next place. We encounter a lot of things every day, but nothing you have to endure throughout your life. So even if you have a memory or thought that you don’t want, you have many other memories and thoughts that you can evoke to manifest different beautiful realities.”
Practicing meditation and gaining the ability to recognize and overcome the thoughts that fill the mind has transformed the life of lead instructor Shancore Burke, who has been meditating since 2016 and led guests at ESSENCE Fest in an inspiring experience.
“I needed to heal, I needed to really heal,” the Stretch Galore leader recalled. “I was ready to grow, and when I saw how the power of manifestation had changed my life, I wanted to bring it to our community because it wasn’t as big in our community. I’m a black girl from New Orleans. need To bring this to our people. Our people really need healing. And one thing I know about God is that He orchestrated it and He orchestrated me with all of these women.”
Not only does the practice improve mental clarity, it also has physical benefits, as is evident in Burke, who could be mistaken for a young college student but is actually a nearly 30-year-old mother of three.
“The reason I look so young is because I’m not stressed. Meditation is about clearing your mind,” Burke says. “I visualize myself clearing away the situation and pushing the negativity out. Pushing it out, breathing in the light and breathing out the darkness.”
The room for the guided meditation was quiet—even to the point that they asked the vendor across the hall to turn down the music to maintain the sanctity of the space—but the women made it clear that such reflection didn’t have to take place exclusively in a quiet room.
“The best thing to do is just do it no matter what you’re doing. Most people feel like they have to be in a certain place or space or it has to be quiet. I once read a book on different meditations, and I learned a lot from that. But you can actually do food meditation while you sit down to eat and focus on the food you’re eating. You can meditate while you’re walking. You can meditate while you’re exercising, while you’re having a bath, while you’re sitting at your desk working, you can literally meditate anywhere. So this idea that meditation has to be peaceful and quiet and in a certain environment is just not true. So it’s important to know that you can do it anywhere, no matter what you’re doing, and incorporate it into your daily life,” Perkins says.
The guided meditation started with just a few participants, but when they opened their eyes at the end, the room was full. People sat wherever they could find a spot, whether that was where there were orange cushions to rest on or on the hard floor. But they were centered and at peace, ready to tackle the festival experience in a good state of mind. That impact is the purpose of all the women’s work.
“This is how I start my day. If I meditate and say, ‘Today I want this to be my day,’ I take control of my day. I believe in manifestation and positive thinking,” says Burke. “I learned this trick and I want to share it with you and see what a difference it makes in your life. If you want balance, ask yourself every day: ‘Why is my life in the balance it needs?’ Ask yourself that question, because the why will reveal itself. The why will reveal the answer.”
She adds, “Anytime you ask why, your brain starts working. Your brain helps you come up with answers. Your brain starts finding answers and it starts uncovering things. So I want you to get out there. I want everyone to come, and especially my people to come, because we really need this. We’re doing this for our people.”
