#black girls breathing

[postitforward]

Today’s world is a difficult one. It is becoming evermore digital and can be all the lonelier for it. And with it can come anxiety in abundance. But we have someone who we think might be able to help: Jasmine Marie, CEO and Founder of black girls breathing®, who is here to explore the many big questions in this strange new world.

We will be partnering with @blackgirlsbreathing, a safe space for Black women and girls to manage their mental health and reflect on and heal their trauma through breathwork and community. They aim to offer free and accessible mental health resources to one million Black women and girls by 2025.

COVID-19 harmed us in more ways than one, and some more than others. It widened the gap of accessible mental health resources available to Black and Brown communities at the same time many in these same groups were experiencing isolation, compacted grief, and depression. Jasmine’s work is focused on providing preventative tools to combat a taxed nervous system, and black girls breathing® is here to provide free and accessible mental health resources to Black women and girls by offering not just breathwork, but a community. So if you’re a Black woman or girl, take the pledge to take one action to better your mental health by grabbing your free mental health toolkit and signing up here. And don't forget to ask her a question, and join us back here on March 27th to see her answers.

Want to learn more about @blackgirlsbreathing?

Check out their website!

Breathe with us on March 27th @12pm EDT during their Mindful Monday Breathwork for Anxiety session on Tumblr Live

Get to know black girls breathing's founder, Jasmine Marie on her Tumblr Spotlight

Take the pledge with black girls breathing®

[novelconcepts]

In watching more interviews with Liv about Van and the escalation of Van's pragmatism to such dark degrees, I find myself genuinely baffled that anyone could ever think Van the bad guy. I mean, I'm perplexed at finding ANY of these girls The Bad Guy. The bad guy is the situation. It's being lost. It's freezing. It's starving. It's being scraped down to the barest bone of being alive. They make choices that might be snippy, or cruel, or hard-headed, sure--Shauna refusing to just hash it out with Jackie; Jackie being too stubborn to come inside; Taissa refusing to discuss her situation plainly; etc--but by the time we reach the end of season 2, it doesn't even matter. Petty bullshit doesn't matter. Jealousy doesn't matter. Those things are still going to be present and complicated, because--for all their choices, for all the distancing they're trying to do--these kids ARE still human beings. But it isn't the point.

The point is survival. Plain, simple, straightforward. Van's pragmatism is survival. It is the difference between living another day with blood on your teeth or dying pretty. It is the difference between fighting forward through the fire and the snow and the hell of it all, and laying down to die. Van knowing, in watching the ritual violence of Shauna beating Lottie nearly the death, that they will be killing and eating one another soon. Van coming up with the cards for the hunt. Van not blinking when the moment comes, Van choosing a weapon that doubles as a tool to bring the body back, Van refusing to apologize for staying alive--it's not evil. It's not Bad Guy behavior. It's purely about survival, because there is nothing else left to her--or to any of them. They can play the pretty little Sweet Angel Girl game and die, or they can get dirty, bloody, horrific and fight. Van chooses the fight. Van chooses to fight for herself, for her lover, for her team, even knowing not everyone is going to make it out...because the alternate path there is that no one makes it out. Van knew the baby wouldn't live. Van knows the rest of them won't, either. Not unless they start making the hard choices.

And, honestly, the fact that Van sees this narrative coming. Comes up with this plan. Brings out the cards. To me, that is the opposite of Bad Behavior. That is as close to justice as anyone can find in the wilderness. If someone else came up with an idea, maybe it would have come down to voting--but that would have had such a human element to it, with bitterness or hostility or whatever ultimately petty shit always comes of humans selecting who to Other. The cards don't leave room for that. It isn't fair, because the situation isn't fair, because Man vs. Nature isn't fair, but it's as close to a just system as they could possibly find. It's the kindest solution to an unwinnable game. Not to bring it back to American Gods again, but all I can think is "it's easy, there's a trick to it: you do it, or you die." Van gave them that.

[karalija]

Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII. I have loved this asshole (cinnamon roll) for 24 years. Ever since playing FF6 (it was released as FF3 in the US) back in 95’, the series as a whole has been a mainstay in me and my siblings lives. 8 holds a special place in my heart as it was released the late summer of 99’ when I started my sophomore year of high school and just defined so much of the random thoughts on 90s fatalistic gothic and hopeless romanticism I was hungry for. Every few years I go through a huge FF kick and thanks to my youngest sister Taylor streaming the FF7 remake on her twitch (stigmasabotage) I, once again, am knee deep in this obsession. I already have so many sketches done (and a few from 20+ years ago!) that I’ll be posting every few days so stay tuned!

[oxydiane]

remus: there’s only one empty chair

james: you can sit on padfoot’s lap

sirius: are you flirting with remus for me?

james: SOMEBODY has to

[satans-knitwear]

behold!!! me getting ready to leave the house!!

Treat me ~ Tip me ~ More of me

[centralflowsource]

“my body not yours”

photo credit: treehouse media - joshua franzos

[thisismisogynoir]

All of the Hazbin Hotel characters’ designs are bad beyond belief but imo the icing on the sour cake is Alastor. Who the hell(no pun intended) thought this shit was fucking okay?

I mean just look at his ass:

Who tf looked at this and thought “yup, seems legit” what is going on with his silhouette? His hair? His face(which I’ll be getting back to later bc I mean OH GOD)? His outfit? 🤮 You expect me to be happy with this? Also why the hell is he so skinny? He makes the Disney Princesses look healthy and realistic in comparison, because damn.

And that’s not even getting into the sheer anti-Blackness that goes into his character and thus his design: him being an evil cannibalistic voodoo practitioner, with his Blackness slapped onto him as a less minute attempt to make his portrayal seem “not racist” well guess what BitchziePop, it is. The man is supposedly half-Black on his mother’s side, and yet he does NOT look Black at all. He does not have Black features, nor Afro-textured hair, what a goddamn JOKE. *he also does not have a Black/biracial voice actor. so much for diversity I suppose.

And don’t even get me started on that big ass, creepy ass, goofy ass grin:

Oh dear.

[robyn-goodfellowe]

i’m rlly rlly rlly enjoying the new color palette they’ve been using on bow kid on official art lately (summer banner+winter stickers)

[postitforward]

Mental Health Spotlight: Jasmine Marie, Founder of black girls breathing®

Jasmine Marie is a speaker, breathwork practitioner, and the founder of black girls breathing®. Her work is innovating the wellness, healthcare, and research industry by making mental health services accessible to Black women while filling in the gaps of data and research available on this underserved and underrepresented demographic. Marie plans to impact one million Black women and girls with her work by 2025. She is a serial founder with a past life in global haircare brand marketing and an alum of NYU Stern. The impact and range of her work to date is expansive—ranging from underserved minority communities to stressed-out college students and executives. She’s brought her expertise to elite colleges such as Harvard Business School, Columbia University, and Cornell University, and her client list includes corporations such as Estée Lauder Companies, Under Armour, Capital One, Ford Motor Company, Facebook, and Twitter. Marie has been featured in Oprah Magazine, Good Morning America, VOGUE, Forbes, Harper’s Baazar, Marie Claire, Glamour, Nylon Mag, Wall Street Journal, and Black Enterprise, to name a few.

What is black girls breathing®? And why was it created? black girls breathing® is a safe space for Black women to manage their mental and emotional health and heal trauma in their bodies with breathwork and community.

I created black girls breathing® after finishing my breathwork training and seeing so few facilitators that looked like me yet knowing how much chronic stress and trauma (generational, societal, etc.) and decided to create it. I used my background in business to help me develop a model where we could provide this work accessibly.

Do you have any secret hobbies, skills, or interests?

I don’t think I have any secret hobbies but for a while, I would always feel embarrassed whenever anyone asked that question, as a lot of my hobbies can maybe seem boring to others lol. But I love to read. Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. I love having quiet time…any activity that allows me to feel refreshed, sit with my own thoughts and enjoy my solitude. I think because I deal with so many people’s energy that in my spare time, I just like to spend time with self. I love to cook though…it’s a very meditative activity for me that allows me to unwind from my day.

How did you get started in this work? And why is it important to you?

As mentioned above, after my breathwork training, I realized there were so few Black breathworkers. But before that, I found breathwork while being stressed out after graduating from business school at NYU and working in beauty in NYC. My nervous system was so fried I began having physical symptoms…rashes and an inability to sleep. The doctor would see me and always say, “This is stress. How can you reduce your stress?” Fast forward to me finding my first breathwork class and falling in love with the way it allowed me to just feel more space in my mind and body.

WOW — ONE MILLION Black women and girls breathing by 2025 what an ambitious goal! What impact do you see this having?

It is an ambitious goal, but in 2020, we fundraised $55k to make our work accessible for one year. After the year was done, it was so clear that we couldn’t stop there. So many Black women needed this work, and we would hear that over and over again. So I decided if I was going to do this work, I was only interested in creating real impact and a goal that would signify that. Imagining 1 Million Black women using breathwork as a tool to regulate their nervous systems, heal from compounded trauma and reduce the effect that chronic stress has in our community (health challenges linked to chronic stress: heart disease, high blood pressure, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, fertility issues, and the list goes on) will not only affect them but our community as a whole. Ending the passing down of generational trauma and normalizing healing.

What would you suggest to people who feel like they cannot find the time to breathe or practice mindfulness?

I would first affirm that it’s okay they feel that way. Western society has done a great job of making us feel that anything outside of productivity is not only a waste of time but the least important thing we should make space for. Making time for yourself for any mindful activity can be eased into and it can start with being more aware of the present moment and practicing that action on a daily. Maybe you create a routine where every morning for 3 minutes right when you get up, you take a moment to be still, notice your breathing pattern and focus on each and every inhale and exhale.

Why is Black representation important in this industry?

The wellness industry isn’t unlike other industries where Black representation is lacking. I think it’s important to see other Black women caring for themselves because, historically, we’ve been taught to do the opposite for oh so long.

Where do you find joy?

I find joy with my family and my loved ones, in intimate moments with friends, in good food and conversation, and in being able to create something and see it grow, shift, and evolve.

Want to learn more about black girls @blackgirlsbreathing?

Check out their website!

Breathe with us on March 27th @12pm EDT during their Mindful Monday Breathwork for Anxiety session on Tumblr Live

Ask black girls breathing all the questions on your mind for IssueTime on Navigating Anxiety in an increasingly digital, lonely world

Take the pledge with black girls breathing®

[chubbie-bunnie-96]

Sorry I've been so flakey and absent I'm going through a lot right now mentally. I'm alive and I'm not avoiding anyone, just stressed and trying to find my way to the surface again 🖤

Anyways, as always, feed your tum, drink you water and be kind to yourself 🖤

I love you 🖤

All of my spicy socials can be found here, if you like what you see, don't forget to tip 😘🖤

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"Sounds like Dorian alright," Randall chuckled; even as a boy, his best friend seemed to take any and all opportunities he found to try and throw a party, and although these attempts didn't always pan out, he still tried. Even as a child, Randall knew it wasn't because Dorian enjoyed being the center of these parties (unlike what some suspected), it was simply because he wanted everyone to have a good time drinking, dancing, playing party games, and just overall having fun, and that especially went for Randall, who got to enjoy some of these lavish get-togethers through Dorian, who always insisted his best friend and his mother get to join in.

(And who knew-maybe that'd still be the case once they made it to California; Dorian throwing parties. They'd probably be scaled down from the wildly over-the-tip ones held at Gracey Manor, of course, but he could see his dear friend still putting quite a few on for even the most minute of celebrations.)

"I wish I could see these dresses too," he smiled, brightening at the idea of making him and Emily matching outfits, and especially giving his all when it came to his bride's dresses; he'd never do anything by half when it came to her. It was a shame she couldn't have brought them back with her from the future, he really would've liked to see them (and see if he'd any gotten better post-mortem-Lord knew he had all the time in the world to practice and improve!)

"Did you, uh, have a favorite that I made, for a particular party, I mean?"

[dibabydoll]

His name is Willy like the movie “the free Willy”. I love him and he’s my dearest boy.

[satans-knitwear]

Sorry I'm so special and delicious. Like its my fault...

Treat me ~ Tip me

[artemisthewh0re]

Got bronchitis but it's not stopping me from writing the filthiest dbf!Jim Hopper smut

[dearjewels22]

I’m just going to keep pretending to be okay. I’ll keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water.

-Lily from It Starts With Us

[uncannypartycrasher]

Day 4! This one is very *very* loosely based on a screenshot from BotW!

In my halo drawing, I saw I couldn't properly convey distance between the background elements, a lot of it due to a centered horizon line, so I tried to address that here.

The original image was of a lake in the Great Plateau. I transformed it into a river with a more obvious perspective and added a tree to overlap on some elements. Now that I'm looking at it, with how much I focus on the grounded elements, a higher horizon line would've been better. But hey, I draw to improve anyway.

I'm not much of a switch user nowadays, but BotW was one of my favorite, and one of the rare games where I just look at the in-game scenery.