Arts and Culture

Tips for Summertime Mind, Body, and Spirit Wellness

Published

5 years ago

June 21, 2019

Grand Rising Children of My Ancestors:

As the gray rainy days of winter make way for the warm sunny days of summer, it is an especially optimal time for African people to get outside in the sun and turn our attention to nourishing ourselves with activities that uplift the mind, body, and spirit.

What we pay attention to grows, so let’s make summer a time to pay loving attention to our minds, bodies, and spirits. Let’s feed ourselves with generous amounts of joy, bliss and laughter! This approach is consistent with the theory of Optimal Psychology, developed by Dr. Linda James Myers, a member of the Association of Black Psychologists. Dr. Myers teaches us that with deliberate attention we can reclaim our spiritual identity, build our internal strength to navigate life’s challenges, and holistically illuminate our minds, bodies, and spirits.

Here are a few recommendations for your summer:

Listen to your Spirit

Sit quietly for a few moments and take a scan of your body, thoughts, feelings, emotions, spirit, and see what arises…What is asking for your attention? What are your desires? What would bring you joy? What would be fun to do? Let your knowing and knowable spirit speak to you.

Know Thyself

Take a trip to Marcus Book Store, the historic independent bookshop opened in the 1960s, specializing in titles by and about Black people. In the bookshop, you will find an array of wonderful titles in every genre to expand your knowledge and understanding of Black people and our journey worldwide. Read the works of Asa Hilliard, Bobby Wright, Wade Nobles, Linda James Myers, Kobi Kambon, Frances Cress Welsing, Na’im Akbar, Cheryl Grills, Reginald Jones, Marcia Sutherland, Bruce Bynum and other Black mental health experts. Invite a friend or a young person in your life along for the journey to the Oakland store at 3900 Martin Luther King Way, just around the corner from the MacArthur BART station..

Dance

Dancing feeds our zest for life. Put on music and have a dance date with yourself and the people you live with. Drop into a Capoeira class, Congolese dance, or take on Orisha dance class with EMESE Sunday afternoons at Malonga Casquelord Center of the Arts at 1428 Alice Street, Oakland. Classes for youth and adults can be found on their website: www.mccatheater.com.

Go Outside

Walk the 3.4 miles of Lake Merritt with a friend or family member. It is surrounded by parkland, neighborhoods, eateries, and coffee shops. Stop for a smoothie or pack a blanket/lunch/music instruments (drum/guitar/shakers), and join your neighbors who are at the Lake relaxing. Take advantage of our many regional parks and let the earth and trees ground and settle you. Sit quietly in the greens and woods. Charge up your mind, body, and spirit by sitting in the sun. Breathe deeply, say a prayer, and release your stress.

Meditation and Prayer

Take time to be still and relax. Turn off the electronics and enjoy silence if just for a few minutes. Periods of deep relaxation lowers blood pressure, supports our rest, and metabolizes stress. Connecting to our Higher Power in prayer helps us to remember that we are spiritual beings and have divine assistance to make it through the trials of life.

Get a Check-Up

Summer is a good time to learn your numbers. Blood pressure, glucose, weight, body mass index. Know where you stand and what your body may be asking you to pay attention to.

Get Help

Feeling blue? Facing a difficult life challenge? Seek out the counsel of a Black mental health practitioner who can offer support with thoughts, feelings, needs, and lived experiences as a person of African descent. Contact us at Sankofa Holistic Counseling Services at: www.sankofatherapy.com and 510-433-0244, and find your local Association of Black Psychologists chapter at: www.abpsi.org.

Eat Good Food

Take a trip to a local Farmers Market and get a few fresh items directly from a farm. Take your children and enjoy the samples farmers share. Try a new vegetable or fruit. If you go right before the market closes, there are bound to be sales, bonus bags, and giveaways. EBT is widely accepted. If there is not a market near you, make it a family outing and hop on the bus.

Umoja (Unity)

Through Black Psychology, we know that our health and well-being is never just for ourselves. Use the summertime to support our collective health, especially mental health, and wellness. Practice seeing yourself as the “cause and consequence” of the whole family’s health and well-being. Meditate on the Ubuntu affirmation, “I am because we are” on your walk to Oakland’s annual Umoja (Unity) Festival (“through unity we make vital economic and social progress”) on Saturday, August 17th, at Lowell Park, 1098 12th St. in est Oakland!

Claudius Johnson, is a licensed clinical social worker and CEO of Sanfoka Holistic Counseling Services.

*These monthly articles on Black Mental Health issues are written by members of the Bay Area Chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi-Bay Area). ABPsi-Bay Area is a healing resource and is committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. We can be contacted at (bayareaabpsi@gmail.com) and readers are welcome to join with us at our monthly chapter and board meeting, every third Saturday at the West Oakland Youth Center from 10:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Claudius Johnson

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Arts and Culture

Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Dr. Carl Blake

By Barbara Fluhrer

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.

One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.

At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.

Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.

Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

(L-R) Del Handy, John Handy, Roger Glenn, and Joe Warner celebrate John Handy Day at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, Oakland. Photo by Lady Bianca.

By Conway Jones

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.

Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.

In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.

Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.

“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

Musical Chronicling Life of Betty Reid Soskin Set for Bay Area Debut

Betty Reid Soskin’s storied 102 years includes time spent as a WWII defense worker, activist, business owner, songwriter, National Park Service park ranger and so much more. Now the Richmond icon is the subject of a musical based on her incredible life.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Betty Reid Soskin. Photo courtesy of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond.

The Richmond Standard

“Sign My Name to Freedom,” a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) production which will focus on the life, music and writing of Ms. Soskin, will premiere at San Francisco’s Z Space Friday, March 29 and continue through Saturday, April 13. Tickets range from $15–$65 and can be purchased online at https://www.sfbatco.org/smntf

The musical is directed by Elizabeth Carter, while playwright Michael Gene Sullivan integrates Ms. Soskin’s own music throughout dialogue between what SFBATCO calls “The Four Bettys” as they progress through a century of experiences of this awe-inspiring American woman.

The cast of “Sign My Name to Freedom” features Tierra Allen as Little Betty, Aidaa Peerzada as Married Betty, Lucca Troutman as Revolutionary Betty and Cathleen Riddley as Present Betty Reid Soskin, according to Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. and Managing Director Adam Maggio. Other casting will be announced in the future.

Jackson said that having Soskin’s blessing to steward her life’s story is an honor and career highlight for him and that her journey stands as “a beacon for Black Americans, women and people of color all across the world [and] is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.”

San Francisco’s Z Space is located at 450 Florida St. in San Francisco. Check out the trailer here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ap9N2XBB0