8:46

On May 25th 2020, Derek Chauvin held his knee on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, resulting in Mr. Floyd's death. Over and over again, Mr. Floyd told officers, “I can’t breathe”. 

Why do we do pranayama? Pranayama ensures more oxygen to our lungs and is good for our hearts too. Pranayama helps the functions of our nervous system. Besides being good for our lungs it helps the brain to work more efficiently. It helps to calm us and make us more aware. 

I am dedicating this month to practice an 8 minute, 46 second pranayama every day in honor of George Floyd. It is actually longer than you may think. With each inhale, I plan to meditate on the gift of life and the gift of being able to breathe. I plan to be aware and conscious with each breath of the healing that the Prana and oxygen is carrying throughout my body. On each exhale or holding the breath out, I plan to think of how precious life is. As George Floyd lay dying, he called out to his mother, so I also intend to mentally think of the MA mantra. 

I invite you to do this with me during the month of June. 
#blacklivesmatter

With love & light, 
Izzy (Dhyan Bhajan) 



Want to do more? We invite you to donate to one of the following local organizations: 

St. Clement’s Episcopal Church - Izzy's childhood church and where she sings, plays piano and organ for weekly services. St Clement's has continued to provide food to needy families despite halting church services due to Covid. 
You may donate by sending a check to St. Clement's Episcopal Church, PO Box 2307 Harvey, IL 60426

Assatas Daughters - Black and woman led, organizes young Black people in Chicago by providing them with political education, leadership development, mentorship, and revolutionary services. 

Chicago Freedom School - Connects Chicago youth with their history and provides youth leadership, activism and social justice education