Moments of Rest: Herbal Sound Meditation
Meet the Participants
Florence Cecile (she/her/hers) is a Filipina-American artist, DJ, and doula that finds her center at the intersection of music and healing. She is guided by the idea of deep listening—to our bodies, the land, our ancestors, and each other. Her sound spans ambient, dance, and experimental genres, carving out intimate spaces for warmth, movement and meditation.
Born & raised in Chicago, she currently resides in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. She has served as a panelist for Kinding Sindaw, hosted radio shows at Newtown Radio and Hi-Note, and performed at venues across the city including as Red Pavilion, Jupiter Disco, and Mood Ring. She can be reached at florence cecile.cargo.site
Luz Lorenzana Twigg (she/hers) is a Filipinx American playwright, dramaturg, folk herbalist, and doula. Her writing explores diasporic identity, ritual, ancestral healing, ecological mythmaking, and theatre as a living archive. Plays include America Is in the Heart, The Whale and the Redwood, The Trouble With Paradise (forthcoming: 1319 Press), and Electra. She is published in Decentered Playwriting, a teaching volume of decolonial playwriting techniques from Routledge. MFA in Playwriting: Columbia University under David Henry Hwang and Lynn Nottage
This year, PlayCo’s “Month of Rest”, our slate of community programming to promote restfulness and combat burnout, reemerges as “Moments of Rest”–decoupled from the timeline in recognition of our perennial need for mindful recharging. For our inaugural event, PlayCo invites you to join us for an evening of herbal and musical meditation led by facilitators Luz Lorenzana Twigg and Florence Cecile. When we rest intentionally and communally, we make space for creative possibilities. Together, we will make an herbal infusion for folks to take home featuring sweet, accessible herbs for creative unwinding. Following a light social hour, Luz will lead us in a meditation with hawthorn, a gentle, heart-opening plant, with a dreamy soundscape curated by Florence Cecile. After that, folks are invited to share messages they received, journal, or slip out quietly.
Hawthorn is a thorny tree in the crabapple family. Their hardy, thorn-riddled branches brave the winter before giving way to gorgeous, apple-like blossoms in the spring. As a heart-opener, hawthorn is a beautiful plant to meet in this particular season of mid-February. She embodies this transition from the crone-like sleep of winter to the maiden-like unfurling of spring. As we sit with her, folks will be invited to plant seeds for the year (if desired), find stillness in her embrace, or simply relax and take in the sounds of rest.
PlayCo prioritizes free community programming as part of our mission and values, and all are welcome to attend this workshop. We also rely on donations to keep community programs like this workshop free of charge for all. If you are able, please consider a suggested donation of $10 (one time or monthly) by visiting the link here. Monthly gifts help us plan in advance and maximize your impact. You can also make one time donations to @playco via Venmo.
Note: Hawthorn is generally accepted as a very safe herb but is mildly contraindicated for those on blood pressure-lowering medication due to its hypotensive action. Chamomile will be available as an alternative for anyone with these conditions wishing to participate.