#9 Chill out drawing for a stressed out time

Happy new year, friends.

Despite being a stressful time with the uncertainties around Covid, so many people getting sick, the constant calculations we’re doing to keep ourselves and others safe, and the roller coaster with schools, I’m still planting a flag in the ground that reads: there is so much to be grateful for, and so much to feel hopeful about. That includes this wonderful DrawTogether family. You know what you all did?? You raised over 70k to send 2,000 DT kids vital art supplies. YOU DID THAT. You know what else you did? You opened this email, and we are going to DrawTogether right now. YES WE ARE.

Why? Because in the middle of mayhem inside and/or out, we can always find a some peace and a moment of calm using just a piece of paper and a pencil.

Today’s podcast is a short and sweet drawing exercise based on neurologist Dr. Jud Brewer’s Five Finger Breathing technique, which a 6 year old taught me. Let’s call him Rafael. PBS Newshour was recently here shooting a feature on DrawTogether (!) and we visited a DrawTogether Classroom in at Cesar Chavez Elementary in SF’s Mission District. I was speaking with the first graders about drawing and managing big feelings. Rafael got so excited by the mention of deep breathing that he jumped up, ran to the front of the class and taught us all how to focus our breath using this awesome technique. Turns out it was the practice popularized by Dr. Brewer. I’ve modified it slightly to become a drawing exercise: Five Finger Drawing.

Grab a pencil, piece of paper and maybe some colors and press play. Can’t wait to hear how it works for you.

xo,

w

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