A sweet Sunday morning in Toronto.
Jay and Cecilia filled the room with the spirit of Studio Ghibli, live and intimate, music for the hero in all of us.
People lay under blankets, coloured, rested, went somewhere inside themselves. None of them alone. ��The room at Pluto held it all, the quiet, the feeling, the being together without having to perform any of it.
Some of the words the group shared as we closed: supported, connected, playful, empowered.
One person told me she cries at every Soul Care Sunday.
Someone else sent a message saying “I left feeling nourished, whole, and soft. So grateful for the community.”
Another said it’s refreshing to do something in the city that wasn’t centred around a glass of wine or a coffee.
This is what Balm is for.
I’m so grateful for the people who keep coming back, and the ones who showed up for the first time. You make this real.
And I know you carry that love, peace, and harmony back out into your worlds. You are the balm.
—
Soul Care Sundays happen monthly.
If this is the kind of thing you want more of, the newsletter is a good place to start.
đź’Ś balm.beehiiv.com or link in bio @karenchoi.co
—
In this video:
🎸 @jay.m.yoo
🎤 @cecilia_sings_
🪷 @karenchoi.co
🛸 @enterpluto
🫶 @we_balm
Soul Care Sunday invites you to step out of the rush and into your own rhythm to breathe again.
A soft room, live music, gentle movement, and a caring community space where nothing is expected of you.
Just 90 restorative minutes to reset your nervous system so you can go back to all that you care about with more of you.
You simply show up. We’ll take care of the rest.
✨ Soul Care Sunday
🗓️ Sunday December 7, 10:30am-12pm
🎶 Cello and piano by @rosyland.presents
📍 Society Clubhouse at 967 College St, Toronto
🎟️ Eventbrite link in bio
#SoulCareSunday #intentionalliving #winterwellness #torontowellness #TorontoCreatives #embodiedliving #musicforhealing #nervoussystemreset
What if you being “fully here” wasn’t just enough…it’s the absolute best.
Soul Care Sunday is an invitation to meet yourself where you are, and in community with others.
We do this by tapping into gifts you already have:
- movement
- breath
- sound
- creativity
- awareness

You’re here for a reason. Let’s honour that.
xo
Karen
Videography by @morrealedigital
P.S. Soul Care Sunday happens once a month in Toronto. Go to link in bio for dates.
#intentionalliving #torontocommunity #torontowellness #TorontoCreatives #belonging #soulcaresunday #nervoussystemregulation #presentmomentawareness
Karen and I have been dreaming up something tender, grounding, and a little bit magical.
A morning where movement meets memory.
Where breath softens the body.
Where sound opens the room.
Where writing becomes a way back to yourself.
Soul Care Sunday: Rise & Write is a guided experience for writers, the writing-curious, and anyone longing for a gentler way into reflection.
Come as you are. Bring a journal. Let the page meet you where you are.
Join us in Toronto.
Tickets @ luma.com/vxbrbsvp
#islandscribe #islandscriberetreats #riseandwrite
It breaks my heart when I hear people say that they’re not creative. 💔
Or when a creative person says they have no more juice left. 🥺
By the time they sit down to work on their own thing, there’s nothing.
They’re so practiced at attuning to other people’s stuff that they can’t reach their own creative signals.
Constantly in output mode turns everything into a product, a job, a metric, a should.
The idea of making something just for the fun of it, with no audience, no outcome, feels so foreign, it’s uncomfortable. Too indulgent. No more pleasure.
I’ve been there before. It feels like wandering through a desert. Desolate. Despair. Depressing. Yes, it’s that dramatic.
But it was writing with a 2H pencil everyday that helped to bring that spark back.
Which is why I wanted to build a whole experience around it.
We’re closing this season of Soul Care Sunday with the Island Scribe on May 24 at Pluto in Toronto.
Come for some much needed Creative Rest. Details in the link in bio.
You have things to say.
Emotions to process.
Things to make sense of.
Moments you don’t want to forget.
Figure out what you actually think.
Release without consequence.
Feel less alone with what’s inside.
Bear witness to your own life.
Return to yourself.
On Sunday May 24 in Toronto, my friend Simone Dalton and I are holding space for exactly that.
Balm for Your Writing Practice is a 90-minute morning of movement, breath, voice, and guided writing.
And we gather because as Simone says, “Writing alone is hard. Writing together changes everything.”
Early bird tickets are $65 until Sunday May 3.
Link in bio at @karenchoi.co
Truly,�Karen ✍️
✨ Join us Sunday April 19 for a peaceful morning that will feel like a retreat in Toronto.
You’ll be guided through gentle movement, breath, and voice to help you let go of any tension in your mind and body. So you can arrive fully in the present moment.
Then Cecilia and Jay will carry you with sweet melodies.
Music will lull you into a sweet space of rest where you can reconnect with yourself and reemerge with blessings from your inner world.
💖 For those who know Cecilia and Jay, share in the comments something you appreciate about them and let’s fill them up with genuine compliments!
P.S. The track you hear is from their album “Hodu Seasons”. Check it out wherever you listen to music.
I opened a small number of $25 tickets for Soul Care Sunday this weekend.
We need soul care more than ever, and I don’t want cost to be a barrier.
Behind the scenes of everyday life, most of us are carrying more than we say.
Some of us are moving through exhaustion, trying to build meaningful lives in systems that aren’t built for our wellbeing.
Some of us are moving fast because stillness feels unsafe.
Some of us feel a quiet call toward something different, but everything is so loud, it’s hard to feel your gut, or hear yourself think.
Either way, something in you is asking for space…and we’re listening.
Balm is a shared space for rest, reflection, and return.
Let’s slow down together and let live music by Cecilia and Jay do what it does when we finally stop pushing through. @cecilia_sings_@jay.m.yoo
There will be gentle guided movement, breath, and voice to help you arrive fully.
And then, nothing to do but lie down. Journal. Colour. Simply listen and daydream to sweet songs from Studio Ghibli.
If this feels like something you’ve been needing…come as you are. We’ll take care of the rest.
🎟️ Tickets and details via link in bio @karenchoi.co@we_balm
Truly,
Karen
This is Balm.
A response to the overwhelm and overstimulation.
A respite from the masks and the noise.
A sanctuary for the soul.
Big love to everyone who’s joined us to connect with the peace within, between, and beyond.
Gratitude to my fellow musicians and facilitators who’ve held a sacred space for rest and renewal. Your presence is grounding and uplifting.
We gather again on Apr 19 and May 24 at @enterpluto
Check link in bio @karenchoi.co@we_balm for details.
Truly,
Karen
@danielhamingo@rosyland.presents@jay.m.yoo@theopenscore@music.by.glo@soundscapesbytrish
For the ones who hold so much.
An intimate gathering for rest and return.
Reconnect through live music, guided movement, breath, voice, and gentle community.
We’d love to welcome you in.
🌸 Sun Apr 19, 10:30am-12pm
🎶 Jay Yoo & CECILIA @jay.m.yoo@cecilia_sings_
🫶 Hosted by Karen Choi @karenchoi.co
đź“Ť Pluto in The Magic Building, Toronto @enterpluto
🎟️ Tickets at link in bio @we_balm
The feeling of being behind can be so disorienting.
You’re trying to change your present circumstances and responses, but the nervous system is operating from older data.
Does this resonate with you?
Part two coming soon.
xo
Karen
