🎸 Meet Jay before Sunday's session

Can we first talk about how gorgeous swans are in the winter?

I’ve been seeing them in lakes and in my dreams. When swans are on the scene, it’s hard to tell one state from the other. They take my breath away.

Not just one or two swans, but whole groups gathered together in ways I don’t see in the warmer months. 

I learned that young swan cygnets travel with their parents through their first winter. This is when they learn migration routes, where to land, where to find food, and how to survive the season.

Swans are less aggressive and territorial in winter because they need one another. They become more social, congregating in large communal flocks, especially near open water and abundant food. They drink, feed, preen, and protect their peace as a community. 

And that way of living allows them to move unhurried and unworried.

Watching swans in winter reminds me that this is the season to stay close to what sustains us. 

And that we too, can become more gorgeous for doing so.

This coming Soul Care Sunday, we embody the spirit of the swan…and a new sound.

What I love about jazz standards is that the music isn’t in a hurry. Softness and spaciousness are mastery.

You can hear it in Sarah Vaughan’s version of Polka Dots and Moonbeams.

Notice the way she lingers in each phrase. How she allows silence to be part of the song. Notes stretch and soar with vulnerability and steadiness. Rhythm is felt, not forced. Nothing is trying to impress you. The music moves with trust and ease. And it feels so good, maybe because it’s a gentle reminder that you can too.

This is the quality of rest we’re cultivating in the room at Soul Care Sunday.

I’m so happy to introduce you to guitarist Jay Yoo, who will hold us in this practice on Sunday.

Jay is active in the Toronto music scene, performing at festivals, clubs, and concert series across Ontario. His tender, fluid guitar lines move easily between jazz, pop, and cross-cultural sounds, including projects with Korean traditional musicians. Patient and deeply musical, his playing invites you to pause...unrushed, open, and grounding.

If this season is asking you to stay close to what sustains you (and you haven’t already reserved your spot), you’re warmly invited to join us this Sunday. 

We’ll move unhurried, rest unworried, and savour slowness and spaciousness in quiet companionship. 

A graceful reset for your nervous system. We hope you will feel nourished for the following weeks ahead.

✨ Soul Care Sunday
🗓️ Sunday January 18, 10:30am-12pm
🎶 Solo Guitar by Jay Yoo 
📍 Society Clubhouse at 967 College St, Toronto
🎟️ Register here

May your pace be guided by love, not fear.

With gratitude,
Karen

P.S. If you can’t make it in January, our next gathering is February 8 in the east end. A new venue, and a new musician — cellist Daniel Hamin Go. Be one of the first to experience it.

P.P.S. We want to share Balm’s restorative music rituals with as many people as possible. If you’d like to bring this work to your community, workplace, or event, I’d love to hear from you. I talk more about this aspect of the work on LinkedIn — happy to connect there too.