Reclaiming Wellness: Wanting Without Knowing

Wanting Without Knowing: Creative Wellness as a Practice of Introspection and Embodiment is a 1-hour somatic and creative wellness experience that explores how creativity can support mental health, emotional regulation, and self-connection, especially during moments of uncertainty, transition, or longing.

Rooted in how we relate to one another and listen to the body, this session invites participants to experience creative wellness not as a talent or outcome, but as a practice of slowing down, noticing, and being with what’s truly present, even when clarity hasn’t arrived yet.

Through brief reflections, guided somatic check-ins, and low-stakes creative practices, participants will explore what it means to want something without fully knowing what it is, and how the body, imagination, and creative expression can offer insight without forcing answers. This approach is especially resonant for Black communities navigating stress, grief, change, and ongoing demands to “figure it out.”

The session weaves in inspiration from Black speculative fiction writers and cultural thinkers, offering moments to pause, reflect, and try things on together. No artistic experience is required, just curiosity and a willingness to show up.

What to expect:

• Gentle movement to help you arrive
• Media (quotes and excerpts) to engage with to spark insight and witnessing
• A creative moment (guided by me) to practice alongside each other

You’ll leave with:

• A deeper understanding of creative wellness as mental health care
• Simple, accessible practices for introspection and embodied awareness you can use daily
• And a felt sense of connection to yourself, your body, and your community

Ashanti Hazina Bio

Ashanti Hazina is a Black, queer expressive arts therapist and creative wellness practitioner based in the East Bay, Richmond, CA. Their work is deeply informed by relational, liberation-centered, and body-autonomy frameworks, focusing on how people relate to themselves and one another, and how meaning is made through connection, alongside the wisdom of Black queer speculative fiction authors who write about freedom, community, and existential possibility.

For the past five years, Ashanti has immersed herself in movements such as Traditional African Dance forms and creative arts as a path to self-discovery. As the founder of We Say Ase, in the last two years, Ashanti has honed this practice into supporting others through introspective art-making as tools for emotional regulation, self-expression, and embodiment. And most importantly, to be in practice together.

NOTE: Dinner will be provided at this event.

This event is a part of our Reclaiming Wellness Mental Health Spotlight Series. This event series features guest speakers discussing a range of wellness topics designed to help you live a healthier life. Stay tuned for more!