2024 Black Girl Self Care Day

“I am my sister’s keeper”

Once again, we were reminded of this at our 3rd Annual Black Girl Self Care Day on Sunday, Dec. 8. We were happy to close out 2024 joining a lovely community of women to pour into ourselves, unwind, be vulnerable, release, and relate. This year’s event was held at Adjourn Teahouse in Lanham, Md.

For the opening activity, we all joined in a circle to introduce ourselves and express one thing we’ve been grateful for this past year. We talked about being grateful for making new connections, seeing another day, time spent with family and friends, and more.

After expressing gratitude, we got into a relaxing yoga flow led by MQC’s own Tianna Christine to stretch our muscles.

Once we were relaxed from our first yoga salutation, we did a tea meditation. A tea meditation is a healthy mindfulness activity that can help you fully savor a cup of tea. This activity was led by Keisha M. of Rooted Bleafs, a tea enthusiast working on creating her own blends. Keisha guided us to focus on how the herbal teas activated our senses. We focused on the notes/aromas we smelled, how the warmth of tea felt in our hands, if the taste was bitter, savory, or sweet to our palates, and which ingredients stood out in the blend on the first sip. Keisha also discussed the benefits of certain teas such as chamomile being helpful if you have trouble sleeping.

After the tea meditation, we transitioned to immersing ourselves in a soothing sound bath meditation that was also led by Tianna and based on our self-care card activity #49 Let Your Mind Wander. We all picked one of our Intention Words to reflect on what our word meant to us as we listened to the singing bowls, which release frequencies that are said to help:

• Reduce stress
• Improve sleep
• Relax the body and mind
• Increase physical awareness
• Increase focus
• Increase mental awareness and clarity

After the sound bath meditation, MQC’s Andrea N. led the journaling activity to reflect on thoughts and visions that came up during the sound bath meditation and how our Intention Word spoke to us, which led to meaningful conversations.

One woman picked Journey and spoke about embracing the journey with her health, family, & friends. Jennifer W. of DMV Does shared how her word, Bravery, made her think of her bravery in moving to a new area and stepping out to build a community. Another woman shared how her word, Principles, made her reflect on not going against her principles and beliefs and creating new principles along the way.

We closed out the event with a final yoga salutation and networking. Then each woman received a flower with a journal prompt and mantra attached.

We thank all the ladies who allowed Melanin Queen Creative to be a part of your self-care Sunday. A special thank you goes to LaTonia of Adjourn Teahouse for opening her beautiful space for us to host this event, Jennifer W. of DMV Does for sharing this event with her community, and Keisha M. for leading the tea meditation.