The Long Exhale-breathing through untenable times

Welcome to The Long Exhale an evening of ease, rest & connection in collaboration with MindinBody,Wildfires Bookshop & Groundswell School

Join us on Wed, April 9th, 2025 at 7PM for an evening of somatic & creative practices to support YOU & folks in community. In this workshop you will explore energy containment, feeling into boundaries & personal limits, anchoring & grounding techniques & the role of breath and breath awareness in your day-to-day. We will also explore the way engaging with pleasure & celebrating the mundane beauty of the day-to-day can act as a counterpoint and soften the experience of distress and pain within our bodies. We will also explore the impact of co-regulation in community. The intention of the workshop is to support folks to develop sustainable practices to avoid burn out & overwhelm as well as to find sustainable ways to engage in social justice practices over the long term.

Suggested donation is $35. Please donate within your capacity. Any donation amount is appreciated! No one turned away due to lack of funds.

To register:

1. select number of tickets through this event page
2. etransfer your donation to secure your spot to: Mercedes Baines [email protected] Once you etransfer please email [email protected] the name(s) & email(s) of particpant(s).
3. If you'd prefer to pay with credit card, please send a message to: [email protected] to get a secure link for payment. Please make sure you state the number of tickets, names and email address of particpants & amount you want to pay or you'll be charged the suggsted donation fee.

For more information: Mercedes Baines [email protected]

About the Workshop Leader:

Mercedes Baines (MA, RCC, CCC, CAC) (she/her) is writer, performer & somatic psychotherapist, facilitator, instructor and consultant in private practice - Mind In Body. She identifies as a multi-racial, fat-bodied, queer-adjacent, cis-gendered woman who is a trauma survivor and lives with chronic illnesses.

Her work in the performing arts (SFU School for Contemporary Arts), her training in somatic trauma healing (Somatic Experiencing) and Adlerian Therapy (Adler University), influences her approach to psychotherapy & her understanding of the healing and the creative processes. She is passionate about exploring ways to inhabit both the healing & creative processes in ways that are collaborative, embodied & integrated.

Her themes of creative practice include: intersection of race & sexuality; identity & race politics; eroticism & sensuality; body image; fantasy; gender identity; intimate relationships & trauma. Her areas of psychotherapy practice include: body image; trauma; living with a life-altering (chronic)/life-threatening illness; disordered eating; depression; anxiety; grief and loss; identity; sexuality and issues related to race and culture.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Wildfires Bookshop, 712 B 12th Street, New Westminster, Canada