About this Event
Drawing the Breath is for anyone engaged in psychedelic healing, at any stage: preparing, integrating, or simply curious. Making a mark gives the breath a way in, without asking anyone to "do breathwork."
No substances are provided. Breath, gentle movement and marks on paper. A calm, grounding evening the week before Thanksgiving.
Your breath can leave a trace. In this workshop you draw it: the mark moves one way on the in-breath and another on the out-breath. We work with white and colored soft pastels on big sheets of black paper, so nothing has to be precious. The point is the process, not the picture.
We start with a short orientation to the art-making from Alyssa, then a gentle body-mind practice from Henry: spinal movement and chakra awareness with visualization. Then three rounds of drawing, each in its own color: your breath as it is; your breath as you choose to shape it; and a shared rhythm, set with box breathing and steady music. At any point you are free to break the rhythm, put the pastel down, or lie down and rest. We close by looking at what we made, and a guided rest ends the evening.
No art experience needed; materials are provided. Work on the floor or at a table, whichever suits your body. Wear something you can move in.
The research
A few short questions at the start and end of the evening support our research. This is citizen science in a small, practical form: what you notice helps shape how the practice develops. Taking part is optional, separate from your ticket, and you can decline any part of it without explanation.
A note on fit
This is a yoga and art practice, not therapy or medical treatment, and you take part at your own risk. No substances are involved, and we ask that you don't take anything beforehand.
Your guides
Alyssa B. Gursky, MA, LPC (they/them) is a psychedelic art therapist, researcher and artist, a co-founder of the Psychedelic Art Therapy Network, and a PYRC advisor. Henry Kandel is the founder of the Psychedelic Yoga Research Collective.
Practical
Friday, November 20, 2026, 6:30–8:30 PM. 35 Meadow Street, Unit 301, Brooklyn, NY 11206. Third floor; there is an elevator. $25. The room holds 20.
Questions: [email protected]
Presented by the Psychedelic Yoga Research Collective, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, in collaboration with the Brooklyn Psychedelic Society, with Alyssa Gursky. Art by Alyssa Gursky.
Event venue & nearby stays
35 Meadow Street, Unit 301, Brooklyn, NY 11206, United States
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