Joanna Elizabeth Read
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At-Home Retreat into Expressive Arts Therapy

1/25/2021

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In early 2021, I created my own week-long creative immersion to synthesize the inner work I'd been exploring over the last six months with my soul coach. 

During my retreat week week, I set the intention of quietude: powering down electronics, music, podcasts, and cell phones so that I could really give myself the full experience of the inner listening available through a vipassana retreat, but in a softer, more feminine spirit that also allowed my creativity and sensuality to emanate as the Bindu.

Combining my interests in art, meditation, expressive movement, the chakra system, sound healing, essential oils, and bilateral drawing, I began each day with breath work, aromatherapy, and journal prompts specific to the particular chakra I was exploring, followed by a walking meditation in nature to listen and connect with my inner guidance, along with preparing fresh, nourishing foods specific to each energy center.

In the afternoons, I'd sit it in stillness in the center of the blank canvas, explore gentle asana warmup, and connect with the energy of color as I prepared my paints. After my mandala meditation, I'd take myself on a second integrative walk, come home, and meditate again before bed.

Unplanned, this seven-day exploration culminated on my 36th birthday with the Crown chakra. While this experience wasn't without the challenge of self-discipline and stamina, it also felt incredibly creative and expansive.

My dreams began arising to the forefront of my consciousness in a way I had never experienced. I began receiving messages from my dreams that came as vital pieces of the puzzle in my waking life, and I received new insights and inspirations for my creativity. 

I cannot recommend taking the time to create a home retreat more highly, even if for half a day.

Sign up for my email list to be the first to learn about my upcoming at-home retreat offerings :)
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​Expressed in this first video, the Muladhara, or Root chakra, orients us in the sacred temple of our bodies. It is where we claim our sense of safety and security, our right to exist, and our right to have what we need to not only survive, but ultimately to thrive.
​

Learn more about the psychological benefits of bilateral drawing
Chakra Sound Healings from Sonic Yogi
Suggested reading on the psychology of the chakras: Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self by Anodea Judith
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Rose of Venus

1/11/2021

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Every 8 years, Venus, the planet of Love and Beauty, traces this beautiful five-petalled rose in her dance with Earth and Sun.

I sat with this imagery at the beginning of Spring 2020, tracing and retracing the pattern from sunrise to sunset, anchoring into a sense of wholeness and calm within the cosmic mandala.

As I drew, I reflected on my own patterns in love; how as though even the most challenging years were already set on an invisible trajectory that would eventually bring me back to the center of my being. 
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​Working with this visual meditation helped me find more compassion for the parts of myself I had ignored and suppressed, and while I didn't realize it at the time, it began laying the framework for a new template of Love that I explored over a six month span with the support of my incredible Soul Coach 💜💕🌌
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These holographic Venus Rose stickers have been so well-received that I've decided to add more to my shop! They retail for $3.5 each or 3 for $10, joannaelizabethread on Venmo. 
Please be sure and include your mailing address with your purchase, and let me know if you'd like a complimentary coloring page!

Big thanks to Sticker Mule for the high quality print production on these holographic stickers​!
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    Joanna Elizabeth
    ​Read

    artist | adventurer | yoga teacher | life coach
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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • BACKGROUND
    • CV
  • Art
    • E M E R G E N C E Oracle Cards
    • SHOP - ART PRINTS, YOGA MATS, & ORIGINALS
    • PERFORMANCE ART
    • SILK PAINTING
    • MURALS
  • BLOG
  • Programs & Events
    • ARCHIVE >
      • GLOBAL ART MOSAIC
      • Creative Flow Fridays
      • YOGA & HIKING: MOUNTAIN PROGRESSION TRAINING
      • EVEREST BASE CAMP 2018
      • Holiday Art Fairs
      • Summer Fitness & Yoga Retreats!
      • WHITE MOUNTAIN RETREAT OCTOBER 4-6, 2019
      • Women's beginner climb nights
  • Shop
  • E M E R G E N C E Oracle