Black Girl In Om founder Lauren Ash just released a new sleep meditation EP. Here, she shares her own ultra-relaxing night routine: baths, yoga, and audiobooks included.
Before Bed: Lauren Ash, Founder of Black Girl in Om, Winds Down With a Soothing Bath and Yoga Nidra
Lauren Ash founded Black Girl in Om seven years ago. Since then, the platform has provided hundreds of Black women with wellness workshops based in yoga, meditation, and journaling. This year, Ash—who’s trained as a yoga and meditation instructor—adjusted her business for the online requirements of the pandemic, creating a members-only digital community for women of color who are, as Ash puts it, “interested in investing in their healing and affirming their wholeness.” It’s called The Circle, and features a curated monthly curriculum that includes guided meditations, playlists, journal prompts, and live talks with special wellness expert guests.
Most recently, though, Ash has launched an effort that will be music to most ears: a sleep-focused guided meditation EP. Produced in partnership with Tempurpedic, the EP, titled Beauty Sleep, pairs relaxing lo-fi music with Ash’s gentle voice. (Those who listen might be surprised to learn that she completely freestyled each meditation.) Ash explains that she was inspired in part by the events of the year—“2020 showed me the true urgency around centering rest as a spiritual practice”—but also by her grandmother, Lillian. “Growing up, my grandmother really taught me the importance of getting good rest. Something my mom didn’t necessarily learn, because at the time, my grandmother was raising six children and her main focus was providing material needs and making time for her own rest,” Ash says. “With the EP, I’m able to offer generational healing.” (The first time she showed her mom the EP, she immediately fell asleep.) “Growing up, I have such vivid memories of my grandmother and how she viewed her bed as a sacred space. It was always impeccably made. It had so many pillows and was so high off of the ground,” Ash remembers. “To me, that showed she really prioritized her time to unwind.”
Below, Ash details how she honors her own bedtime with nightly rituals that help her wind down, from soothing baths to inspiring audiobooks. “In our society we often convince ourselves that we deserve rest once we’ve gotten a certain amount of things done or worked for a certain amount of hours,” Ash notes. “But I want to help people understand that you deserve good rest simply because you exist.”
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Akili King
