RECOMMENDATIONS

FROM MY HEART TO YOURS.

MUSIC

What would we do without music, really?

Here are some playlists I created with a lot of intention and love. Feelings-based. Mood-based. You pick!

“When we listen to music that moves us, the dopaminergic circuitry of the brain is activated, which opens the mind to wonder and exploration. In this bodily state of musical awe, we often tear up and get the chills, those embodied signs of merging with others to face mysteries and the unknown… Music breaks down the boundaries between self and other and can unite us in feelings of awe… When we listen to music with others, the great rhythms of our bodies — heartbeat, breathing, hormonal fluctuations, sexual cycles, bodily motion — once separate, merge into a synchronized pattern. We sense that we are part of something larger, a community, a pattern of energy, an idea of the times — or what we might call the sacred.”

- Dacher Keltner

Dance Your Stress (let the beast out)

Feeling stressed? Angry? Frustrated? Stuck? Let the beast out. Let it move through you. Alchemize the darkness into something juicy. Transmute your fire into action, movement, and healing.

Anxiety Balms

Soothing textures, soft melodies, reassuring lyrics. Listen to this to down regulate your nervous system

Slow It Down (a romance with the self)

Needing some tenderness? softness? Slow dance with your inner child/inner lover to some sensual music. An ode to self love and wholeness.

Meet Your Grief

Feeling sad and lonely? Experiencing loss or separation? Aching from the injustice in the world? This playlist will meet your grief, allowing it to be there. Cry it out. Surrender to sacred grief

The Sufi Mystical Way

Longing for the Beloved? Feeling a desire to connect to something bigger? To the Source? Melt into the beautiful poetry and music of the Sufis and let it transport you somewhere beyond this realm.

Celebrating Ease & Joy

Receiving pleasure is also a skill. Listen to these sweet funky tunes to evoke some joy and ease in your body.

Dreamy Melodic Beats

Wandering aimlessly through the city vibes. Riding the ocean waves vibes. Daydreaming in the sunshine. Unwind to some melodic dreamy electronica, can it get any better? (best on headphones)

‘Rest is Resistance’

Get horizontal with these sleepy tunes and let yourself drift into deep rest and relaxation.

BOOKS

Here are some of my favorite books that have played a role in transforming my inner (and outer) world!

  • Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, Toko-pa turner

  • Your illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe, Yumi Sakugawa

  • The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk

  • When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron 

  • 40 Rules of Love, Elif Shafak

  • No Bad Parts, Richard Schwartz

  • The Wisdom of Insecurity, Allan Watts

  • Who is Wellness For? Fariha Rosin

  • The Body is Not an Apology, Sonya Renee Taylor

  • Sweat Your Prayers: Movement as Spiritual Practice, Gabrielle Roth

instagram pages

Here are some IG accounts/folks I have learned and continue to learn so much from. On mental health, art, culture, therapy, embodiment, decolonization, Jung, and more.

  • The Nap Ministry @thenapministry

  • Decolonizing Therapy, Dr Jennifer Mullan @decolonizingtherapy

  • Cory Muscara (Mindfulness Tips) @corymuscara

  • Soft Core Trauma, Margeaux @softcore_trauma

  • Adrienne Maree Brown @adirennemareebrown

  • The Holistic Psychologist, Nicole LePera @the.holistic.psychologist

  • Finding Awareness, Amit @findingawareness

  • Yyvette Lalonde @innerflow_wellness

  • Alok V Memon @alokvmemon

  • Bae Gonzalez @sophiacycles (Jungian)

  • Brown history @brownhistory

  • Jeff brown @jeffbrownsoulshaping

  • Jeff Guenther @therapyjeff

  • Dr justin Puder @amoderntherapist

  • Sara Kubric @millenial.therapist

  • Mimi Zhu @mimizhuxiyan

Somatic/embodiment

  • Somatic Experiencing Int @somaticexperiencingint

  • Anna, Anxiety Therapist @annatheanxietycoach

  • Ryan Kuja [trauma neuroscience spirituality] @ryankuja

  • Haylin Belay @haylin.co

  • Jenna Hamm @feltsensewpg

  • Hillary L McBride @hillaryliannamcbride

  • lindsey Lockett @iamlindseylockett

  • Magdalena Weinstein @magdalenaweinstein

  • Trauma + Somatics @traumaandsomatics

South Asian Mental Health

  • South Asian Mental Health @SouthAsiantherapists 

  • That desi feminists @thatdesifeminist

  • Brown Girl Cycle Breakers @browngirlcyclebreakers

  • Sonalee @thefatsextherapist

BIPOC Mental Health

  • Jenny Tzu-Mei Wang @asiansformentalhealth  

  • Bridges Mental Health @bridgesmentalhealth

  • Dope Black Social Worker @dopeblack_socialworker

  • Chiara Francesca @chiara.acu 

  • The Body is Not an Apology @thebodyisnotanapology

  • Laura Lu @laurallu

  • Dr Jean Cheng @jeanpsychologist

Art + mental health

  • Carissa Potter Carlson @peopleiveloved 

  • Yumi Sakugawa @yumisakugawa

  • Brit @britchida