SUBJECT: #FluteBae 🦋

DATE: April 12, 2020

• This week we spoke to flutist, singer/songwriter Brielle aka AprilFoolChild. A collaborator with Solange, The Roots, H.E.R, A$AP Rocky and so many more, we are excited to share our Q&A with her and have her as our Afrohaus playlist curator this week.

  Mambo (hello in swahili) Tribe,

  KELLY'S KORNER

  I hope you are all feeling healthy and staying grounded during this time of social distancing. I've been reading Thich Nhat Hanh's "The Blooming of a Lotus" and wanted to invite you to do a quick and conscious breathing exercise before you continue to read. All you have to do is:

              - Sit in a comfortable position

              - Take 3 deep breaths to ground yourself

                      - Be sure to breath in through the nose and out through the mouth

              - Next, take a breath in and in your mind say,  "Breathing in, I calm my body"

  •             - Hold that breath for a count of 3

                - Then, take a deep breath out and in your mind say, "Breathing out, I smile"

                - As you take that deep breath out, gently smile

                - Repeat 3 more times

     

    "The heart chakra is the mediator between body and spirit, and it directly determines their strength and health"

     

    This week, we continue our journey together in learning about the Chakras. If you're just now joining us, check out our previous emails where I gave an overview of our first, second and third chakras. In brief, a chakra is an invisible center of spinning energy through which we are able to receive and transmit social, sexual and spiritual energy. There are 7 chakra locations throughout the body and each chakra represents a spiritual life lesson or challenge to help us gain a more in-depth understanding of our personal and spiritual power. Over the next few weeks, I am providing a brief look into each chakra and crystals that can help to provide balance to those chakras. I highly recommend you dive deeper and use the following overview as a guide towards your research.

                    

    FOURTH CHAKRA (HEART CHAKRA) 

    • Overview: The fourth chakra is our center chakra and deals with unconditional love and emotional power. The heart chakra is the central powerhouse of the subtle body. This is the focal point or bridge that connects the first three chakras relating to the external world to the three higher chakras associated with intuition and spirituality.

    • Location: The heart

    • Characteristics

      • Balanced Energy: compassionate, desires to nurture others, friendly and outgoing

      • Excessive Energy: demanding, overly critical, melodramatic

      • Deficient Energy: paranoid, indecisive, afraid of letting go 

    • Crystal Healing: Pink and Green stones are associated with the heart chakra. For healing, place a crystal of your choosing at your heart. My personal favorite, Rose Quartz, is the gentlest of stones and penetrates the heart and mind to soothe away worries. It carries the energy of unconditional love and helps to heal our inner wounded child.

  FOR THE COMMUNITY

  We have loved seeing you all tune in to the various Live Sessions we have been hosting on our Instagram page and this week will be no different...

  • SUNDAY 2pm EST - We are kicking off the week like we always do on #SelfCareSunday - with a live meditation led by Yemsrach Tekletsadik where she will share breathing techniques to deal with stress and anxiety.

  • MONDAY 11am EST - We will center our Morning Prayers around healing, protection and for the departed. If you have any specific prayer requests please send them to us so that we can all lift you up. 

  • TUESDAY 6pm EST - We are hosting a live concert featuring New York's King of R&B AshtnMrtn. 

  • THURSDAY 6pm EST - Personal Trainer Collis Stutzer will be sharing with us simple and easy workouts to balance our Netflix binges. 

  • FRIDAY 6pm EST - We are playing "Dinner on Us" again! Last week our winner supported Sage Vegan Bistro and Brewery in Los Angeles. Founders, Kelly and Gregwill DJ songs at random from our Afrohaus Playlist. Whoever DMs Afrohaus the most songs will be treated to dinner from a local restaurant in your community. 

1. So, AprilfoolChild, aka Brielle, aka #FluteBae, how would you describe your sound?

Whatever new age R&B with a sprinkle of alternative pop sounds like, it's that...(haha)

2. You just released your new EP titled "Butterfly," which we are absolutely loving! What was the inspiration behind this project?

Butterfly was inspired by my own mental health journey. I was in a toxic relationship last year, caring for my father who has Dementia and Parkinson's, and I'm a single mom who is bicoastal...overwhelmed is not even the word. I felt suffocated trying to manage my emotions, pursue my career and parent. I guess to help me balance it all I started writing my music like I was writing in my diary. The music came so freely working with CloudAtrium, who's also from Philly. Our musical chemistry is amazing, he really understands how to capture me as a person through the music. Ultimately though, the concept of butterflies is growth. Caterpillars evolve in stages, each song a representation of a newfound layer of growth. When we choose to elevate our lifestyles, not only do the people around us change but so do our habits, relationships, and the things we accept. I wanted to share a mental health escape for people of all ages, to remind us of our own unique beauty.

3. What accomplishment of yours are you most proud of and why?

I'm most proud of being a mom, it took me years to get here. I think my dreams of wanting to be this larger than life artist made it harder to just sink into motherhood, and as I say that I'm also proud of my growth because two years ago I wouldn't have been able to say that without judging myself.

4. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don't be afraid to be uncomfortable, that's where all the magic happens

5. You are a passionate advocate for mental health. What is the most important message you hope to convey with your voice?

Healing is not linear, it's a day by day process. A lot of people lose faith in themselves trying to be perfect, and that's the easiest way to feel defeated. Some days we are going to feel like we are on top of the world and other days it will be a struggle. Just be patient with yourself. You have to honor the journey and give it your all. I want to increase awareness of the fact that mental health doesn't look the same for everyone. I also hope to use my voice to raise funds to create more resources for us to take better care of ourselves.

6. A big part of mental health is identifying your needs to be happy. What does self-care look like to you?

Self-care for me is meditation, exercise, clean eating, skin care, music and nature.

7. How are you dealing with the current state of the world and social distancing?

Currently I've been doing pretty well with social distancing. My life is fast faced so being able to sit still and prepare for what's next feels great. I also never get to spend this much time with my family, it's teaching me a lot of love and patience. It's a great time to reevaluate where we are at as individuals and as a nation, but also to remember how important it is to carry love and purpose in our hearts.