Ven-vé / A Series of Mini-Pilgrimages to Kelly Street Garden, Bronx, NY / Spring-Fall, 2021 / Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo and Guests

Walk 02: The Breaths it Takes Me to Get to You (Slowly) / Sunday, June 27, 1-3 PM

Kelly Street Garden / 924 Kelly Street, Bronx, NY, 10459 / FREE admission / Please wear mask and follow health protocols for Covid-19

For The Breaths it Takes Me to Get to You (Slowly), I invite neighbors to gather at Kelly Street Garden, as I arrive walking from Beck Street, while breathing in and out consciously, for a group session that includes practices such as gentle movement and mindful walking, as well as incorporating some specific breathing exercises from the Breath-Body-Mind™ (BBM) program developed by Dr. Patricia Gerbarg and Dr. Richard P. Brown. All of this is to happen outside in the garden, and in the company of plants, flowers and trees. Bring with you a shawl or thin cover (this item is optional).

The practices I will introduce you to can assist with connecting with the Earth, enhancing sleep, kindling calm from within, helping with focus and concentration, and gifting you with readily available tools that you can easily draw on during your day.

Photo: David Hinkle / copyright 2020 Nicolás Dumit Estévez

With Ven-ve, I am interested in walking as art, but also for healing, and to kindle community and links amongst communities, peoples, organizations and towns as I have done for 20 years. Ven-ve brings awareness to the cycles of life in urban gardens, from germination and silent growth to more growth and harvest; all of this calling us to thanksgiving (as in giving thanks as an ongoing and daily practice).  

Ven-ve is presented with funds as part of a regrant program awarded Kelly Street Garden by Kalliopeia Foundation, as an important part of making Kelly Street Garden a spiritual hub and cultural treasure within the Longwood/ South Bronx community.

Photo of Nicolás: David Wayne Hinkle /Courtesy of Nicolás DERE / Ven-ve© 2020 Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo