EVENT RECAP: CNK'S POWHER FORWARD WORKSHOP ON 'MINDFULNESS THROUGH MUSIC'
Images: Footlocker
When we first dreamed of building a creative mentor program for young women, we intentionally wanted to include important topics that resonated with present day needs. As women of color, we have a lot on our plate mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. The PowHER Forward program is not only meant to teach young women through a unique lens of learning, but to create environments that empower them along the way. The very fabric of disruptive compassion is woven into the ethos of impactful change, and mentoring can sit right in the midst of both.
To celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month, we opted to focus on how we could connect our mentee group of women with our network of mentor trailblazers to elevate ways to navigate such an important topic. If we’re being honest and taking a trip down memory lane, many of us utilized music as a way to escape reality and just unplug when we didn’t really know how to at the time.
Mindfulness can be described as “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment”. If we’re getting into our mindfulness bag, music creates the perfect synergy to focus on the moment. If we’re flowing to the beat or reciting lyrics loud AF, we discovered a special connection in the latest CNK PowHER Forward workshop.
For this workshop, we wanted to meet our mentees in a familiar place, the Southside of Houston. The Footlocker community store on Old Spanish Trail was the perfect scene to collaborate with our special guests and amazing group of ladies. Our classroom activation was equipped with PowHER Forward notebooks, catered lunch, photo opportunities, and a TikTok dance break. Sidenote: we will be leaving the TikTok dancing to the Gen Zs, OK!!!!
Alelia Watson, founder of LiaSon Counseling Services, kicked off the Mindfulness through Music workshop with Houston’s own DJ Supastar. Both women introduced themselves and their journeys navigating their own mental health triumphs and challenges. Alelia and DJ Supastar were the perfect duo to keep the mentees engaged and inspired through our shared experiences. The activities laid the foundation for how each of us were not that much different when it came to using music as a tool for self-care.
The mentees even got the opportunity to add some radio drops to the mix and understand more of what it’s like to DJ on one of Houston’s top hip hop stations.
While we may not have all the same preferences in music, we built connections with each other. The power of music has moved generations for decades. It can uplift us during challenging times and bring us right back to special moments in time. We learned quite a bit about how our creative expression, which can also come through music, serves as building blocks to our growth. Pouring into our mentees to let them know that authenticity is the ‘new cool’ was a refreshing way to remind ourselves of the very same thing, especially in a digital age that can fill us up with imposter syndrome.
We are excited to continue our journey to ‘keep doors open’ for the next tribe of young women to walk through. The most important element that young women need to see alongside representation is proximity to resources. As we continuously put in the work to build this program, we aim to create that accessibility, one workshop at a time.
For more information regarding the PowHER Forward Mentor series, email us directly at cassidy@cnkdaily.com.