Wellness workshops nurture Black women and girls
The first time Jori An Cotton performed spoken-word poetry, she realized just how strong a source of connection and healing it could be.
“You guys feel like this too?” she recalls thinking when people came up to compliment her after she shared her poetry at The Greenwich jazz club in Walnut Hills.
Cotton, who started writing poetry in college at Ohio State as a creative emotional outlet, says the jazz club experience was her gateway into Cincinnati’s spoken-word poetry scene. She then began writing and performing poetry she hoped others could connect to, embracing “raw human emotion.”
More than 20 years later, she’s applying her creative gifts to empower other women to find and use their voices.
Cotton started Voices of Healing Workshops and Consulting in 2019 to provide creative wellness workshops for the community. Receiving a Black Empowerment Works (BEW) mini-grant this year will allow her to expand her efforts.
The Black Empowerment Works grant program — an extension of United Way’s Black-Led Social Change initiative — is shifting from a one-year to a two-year grant cycle. To continue to invest in Black-led ideas in Greater Cincinnati during the transition, United Way awarded $10,000 mini-grants to 40 local organizations that previously applied for but did not receive BEW grants.
Cotton’s desire to hold workshops took root when she was 18 and serving with the Public Allies AmeriCorps program. Every Friday, volunteers gathered for professional and personal development circles. The sessions were a revelation.
“I loved it,” she recalls. “I enjoyed being in a circle, delving in deep and learning about myself.”
She went on to obtain a degree in social work and returned to Cincinnati with the goal of combining her passions for poetry, creativity, wellness and helping others.
Today, Cotton holds workshops for various groups in the community. One workshop, titled In Her Voice, is designed to nurture Black girls in grades 9-12 by promoting positive outlets for self-care, stress reduction and self-expression.
Cotton says she likes to keep her workshops intimate — no more than 10-15 people. She begins by encouraging the girls to let go of the day’s troubles and discuss their highs and lows. Then they jump into a writing or mindfulness activity, with time for sharing and reflection at the end.
The workshops also include snacks and pampering self-care rituals such as sugar scrubs, tea drinking and facials.
At the end of the school year, the girls have the opportunity to perform as openers for a national recording artist. Last year, they opened for female rapper Rapsody; this year, for R&B group Tank and the Bangas.
The thread running through it all, Cotton says, is people tapping into their own creativity and mindfulness to gain confidence and inner peace.
“Anytime you get in front of one or more people (and perform), you’ve built your confidence. You stood up there in front of hundreds of people and shared your feelings. Nobody can take that away from you.”
Using Black Empowerment Works mini-grant funding, Cotton hopes to bring in yoga instructors, nutritionists and other wellness specialists to further enrich the workshop experience.
And Cotton plans to continue the creative wellness workshops as well as spread the knowledge she’s gained about creativity and wellness.
“I want people to be able to tap into the joy and freedom inside of them.”