Visual Meditation

The Gift of Discovering Stillness & Power within You

By Jessica Cohen

I walked down an unfamiliar street on a cold brisk day in Toronto, bundled from head to toe. There was a feeling of curiosity as I explored this new place, but more prominently with each step I took there was a feeling of unrest inside my body. I was passing time before heading to the theater for my evening's performance. While being on tour brought a certain sense of adventure and an opportunity to experience new cities, it was also taking its toll on my nervous system. The late nights performing at a high intensity, a restless perfectionist mind in what felt like a breeding ground for such a mental state, and never a place to return to at the end of the day that felt like “home” was contributing to this build up of tension and stress inside my whole being. So as I was continuing down my path that cold day, some warm lights inside a studio space caught my eye. I turned to find a beautiful studio with tall windows that was compelling me to step inside. I entered in with intrigue, and found myself in a new meditation studio that had just opened in the area. A class was about to begin, & so I decided to join.  

The teacher was guiding us in a visual meditation. It had been a very long time since I had actually meditated, though I most certainly would have liked to be perceived as someone with a regular "self-care" morning routine - in true perfectionist form.

The lights went down. The music entered-in. 

A humming, a buzzing, and a soft and sensual pulsing began to rise from the base of my toes and through into the center of my belly. Whoa, my belly - Where so much tension had been held my whole life, was begging to breathe and release, to feel its power. My palms began to fill with this vibration of dancing cells, and it was rising so high to the top of my body that I began to feel myself quietly shaking. I started to giggle, followed quickly by tears that streamed down my face, which returned into giggles, and moved through this ecstatic rhythm between joy and grief.

A dance within. After all this time dancing outside, my insides were begging to experience the same ecstasy. 

My body was waking up after all this deep sleep.
It had been so desperately waiting for me to stop the noise, the movement, the chaos, and to just listen.
How humbling. 
My body was asking me to return. 
To remember.  
To Know. 

As we were brought back into the room by the teacher, we sat still in the quiet. He looked at everyone and asked, “What did you feel?”. There was some discomfort to speak, no one really ready to share or express their experience. I was trying to understand what had happened within me before bursting out to the teacher, “ I think I just had an orgasm!” - In true Jessica form, I’ve never been so great at appropriately filtering my thoughts. 

The class erupted into nervous giggles, but I still believe that was the best way to describe the type of openness of expression I felt within my sleeping, burned out, stressed filled body at that moment. I understood with a quiet knowing that there was great power & healing to be found inside of this new discovery. 

We stayed on tour in that city for many weeks and I continued to explore this practice. I began to notice a difference in my performances, my relationships, my sleep, my happiness. 

It was as though something unlocked for me in that moment, in that space, in that deeper breath. The tour took a very different direction in my journey from that point forward. It was no longer about my performance, my role, but about a journey back to my Self. 

It is truly spectacular what course the power of intention, mindfulness, and presence can allow you to discover. And I have come to explore this concept of allowance - Allowing our intention, our breath, our stillness, and our inner voice to guide us forward on our journey. 

After that tour, I returned to NYC, and things were just no longer the same. The practice, the inner quiet, the louder inner voice, and the many teachers that arrived for me over that time changed my perspective of my course and I was drawn back to Sausalito to explore a new chapter in my story, beyond the stage. 

I began to work with an incredible teacher & therapist and discovered the power of hypnotherapy, which took that ecstatic sensation I had been experiencing through my meditation practice into a much deeper and richer subconscious space - An access point within and an unlocking into true healing from the subconscious level. This is the place we must access for our true healing and connection to our true power. This is the place we return to ourselves within, where we return to our true Knowing.

Through my own immersion in this work I felt the strongest pull and calling to build this practice and offering to share with you. 

Diving into the Practice 

In my class every week we find ourselves cozy inside the magical oasis that is CloudBreak-Yoga for an hour of total bliss and release within our bodies. It is my intention for my class to feel deeply held in the space, and allowed to truly let go and rest in a way that we are not offered the opportunity to in our daily lives - To give back to your body, and fill up your cup. With mindfully curated music I take you on a guided visual journey, one in which you are able to completely surrender to the experience. Empowered by a theme, you are offered the opportunity to tune into your own inner voice and restore your cells, your breath, and your total being as you're led to tune into your highest Self. This Self has a knowing, a wisdom, and the ability to release what is no longer serving you. Until you experience this type of release, you might not realize how much your body and your mind are holding onto as you experience your daily encounters. Perhaps this is just a time for you to be truly relaxed and unbothered by the outside world, and you will leave with a humming inside your body. It is a true reset. It is very rare that we offer ourselves that type of nourishing experience. A place where we can arrive, truly arrive, and we need not “give” anything. We can merely receive. Allow yourself to receive. 

I adore guiding this practice. I adore experiencing this journey alongside you all. I feel the power of it as we pass each other on Bridgeway on a foggy morning, outside Golden Gate Market, or inside the studio. I feel the connection we are all building inside this exquisite place that we all call home. It is a true honor to be allowed to create this experience alongside you all, to guide you within, and to feel my own cup filling through the pleasure of it all. 

A Gift to Bring to You

 “You have no idea how hard I’ve looked for a gift to bring to You. 
Nothing seemed right. 
What’s the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean. 
Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. 
It’s no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these. 
So I’ve brought you a mirror. 
Look at yourself and remember me.”
- Rumi

Testimonials 

“Jessica is a lovely woman who dives deep into her life’s journey with us! She has great courage and understanding from a higher power within her to guide the class with beautiful music in a comfortable setting. It’s important to me to ground myself and listen to Jessica’s voice and music weekly. I believe Jessica is a healer!”

- Matt Cornfoot

“Jessica's class is the embodiment practice I didn't know I needed! Her voice is the perfect guide that leads you to the depths of your subconscious self. The imagery, sensations and messages you receive while in this state of deep relaxation are most certainly from your highest self. The connection to this depth of being is what keeps me coming back week after week!"

  ⁃ Brooke