17 Supervisors from the Community Work Programme in Laingsburg, Western Cape, completed the very first Breath Water Sound Program in the town, facilitated by VTP graduates Janishtha Gagjee and Vijay Gagjee

Breath Water Sound is a free workshop offered by the International Association for Human Values (IAHV), a registered non-profit organization, that seeks to address the challenges of economically and emotionally distressed communities by empowering them. The workshop incorporates simple, yet powerful breathing techniques to help alleviate physical and emotional stress, as well as simple meditation techniques which help individuals to manage stress and to be more effective in their work.

Some experiences shared by workshop participants:

“I feel good. I think I try to understand my body. I’m a very stressful person and I think I learned a lot in this class about myself, and how to handle things from now on, so it was very helpful for me and my Self. I think from now, I only can be a better person, in my house, in my workplace or wherever I’m going.”

“When I was pregnant with one of my kids, I went to the sister for my usual examination, and she asked me when I lay on the bed, “Why are you breathing through your stomach?” That moment I didn’t understand what the question was, what it means, but from the first session you gave us at the office, I started to breathe through my lungs and not using my stomach, and I can feel the difference in my body. Last night, after I do the practice, one of my kids come and disturb me, but I scream at him and say “Go away, I’m busy”, and he wants to know, “Mummy, why? With what are you busy?”. I said “Just go, I will call you when I’m finished”, and then before I start again, I think about all the things we do through the week and that wasn’t necessary to scream at him. I should have ignored him and go on with what I was doing. So I start over and he came again, then the dog barked and I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t do this, but I will carry on and I just ignore it and after that, I’m so calm when he come in. “Mummy, why are you smiling?”. I just smiled to him and I ask him “Give Mummy a hug” and he give me a hug, and you know, I just feel better. I think it will be a very good thing for us to do the practice. I’m a smoker and I try to stop smoking, but I think it will help, if I do the practice more and more.”

“I think it worked quite well. The body has stamina, energy. It works! I used to smoke every 2 hours, but now I’m smoking three for the day.”

“When I first attend this class, I was feeling very stressed, but now after these past days, it feels like I found my inner Self, my inner peace. No more stress. Now I can focus on something else. I’m feeling great, thank you very much.”

“Voor ek na die klasse toe gekom het, toe was ek baie gestres, gespanne, maar ek het regtig peace gevind. Ek is baie dankbaar aan julle. Baie dankie vir wat julle hier gedoen het.”

“The sessions helped me in fact because at night I couldn’t sleep. I go to sleep and then I lay maybe like a hour, half an hour. But after I done the sessions at home, I’m getting sleep very soon. It helped me a lot.”

“Die sessies het vir my baie geleer, hoe om jou eet gewoontes te “handle”, hoe om ander mense to hanteer en nie jou stres op hulle uit te haal nie, en nou weet ek hoe om my gesondheid te sorg.”