Submitted by Soultry Sisters Arts + Wellness Collective

Join Soultry Sisters Arts + Wellness Collective to care for your mind, body, soul, and community with our monthly walking club and mindful movement series!

SoultrySisters.com/stepnstride

As Black and Filipina women, we understand that women of color experience disproportionate health inequities and lack access to culturally-tailored arts and wellness resources. There is a lack of BIPOC-led arts and wellness spaces in North County San Diego.

Folks who attend our events share that they have to prioritize their basic needs and find it a challenge to access essential arts and wellness enrichment programs that would benefit their social, emotional, physical, mental, and collective health. Attending wellness classes and events are usually expensive and seen as a luxury when they should be affordable and accessible to all.

Soultry Sisters is a community-based organization that empowers diverse and multigenerational women to live creative and healthy lives in North County, San Diego and Washington, D.C.  Soultry Sisters’ mission is to empower women of color to LIVE VIBRANT & SHINE BRIGHT through soulcare, creative expression, sustainability, and collective healing.

We curate events, workshops, mixers and meetups for women centered around arts, wellness, and sisterhood. Our vision is to provide arts and wellness resources that are affordable and accessible to women of color. Soultry Sisters is a community that cultivates meaningful experiences, and fosters genuine connections to share, celebrate, and heal through sisterhood.

Self-care is the practice of giving attention to our personal needs. It is vital as it allows us to do the inner work necessary to truly connect with and understand ourselves.

Soulcare is the holistic approach to nourishing our mind, body, soul, and community. It helps us maintain our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual & collective health. Soulcare allows you to find balance in your routine, avoid burnout, invest time in your health, and give your best self in your work and community.

Soultry Sisters curate spaces to make meaningful connections and reclaim our arts and wellness cultural practices from our diverse backgrounds. We cultivate an equitable space by offering sliding-scale and free tickets to limit financial barriers from accessing our programs.

Movement is Medicine.

Mindful movement is one of our favorite soulcare practices. We believe mindful movement like walking is a spiritual practice.

In 2021, we started our Step N Stride Walking Challenge as an open invitation for our community to virtually walk with us. More than 80 folks have joined our Step N Stride Challenge and walked 30-45 miles each month consistently over the last two years. As a collective, we walked over 30,000 miles in 2023.

Co-founder Alyssa “Ajay” Junious shares, “Walking daily has become a spiritual practice for me. It's a time where I pause to think of all the things I’m grateful for and honor my time with nature. It’s the one soulcare practice that continues to provide me lessons I never expected from a walking practice.”

Walking provides a time for meditation and reflection. Having a walking buddy or movement community provides social and emotional support (communal care). Studies show that forward movement (walking, running, and more) suppresses the brain’s fear response and promotes being more courageous and confrontational.

Additional benefits of walking include:

• Connecting with nature,
• Promoting mindfulness,
• Lowering stress,
• Cultivating a sense of belonging, and
• Helping you commit to your soulcare rituals for your own wellbeing.

We received positive feedback from participants stating they appreciated making meaningful connections with like-minded people. Being a part of the Soultry Community has helped provide accountability for their wellness goals, a safe space for their healing, and cultivated a sense of belonging. Our programs provide a unique experience for the San Diego community to celebrate their individual and collective healing while maintaining accessibility and centering diverse, inclusive voices.

One attendee shared, “I've been looking for community. I started my wellness journey feeling alone & out of place because I hardly ever met people who looked like me or could understand my socioeconomic background. This space was comforting & I appreciate the Soultry Sisters for building community for us, by us!”

If you are looking to build a walking practice, join Soultry Sisters virtual Step N Stride Walking Club where we strive to integrate walking as soulcare into our daily lives.

Sign up for our monthly Step N Stride Walking Club at SoultrySisters.com/stepnstride.

Mindfully move with us!