The Meaning & Reason of Four Stone Harmony

Like so many youth today, I was an anxious and sensitive child. My mom would give me "worry stones" that she gathered from Lake Erie. She told me to hold the stone and rub my thumb over it every time I had an anxious worry or upset thought. My mom convinced me that the worry would be transfered into the stone. We would then take the collection of worry stones back to Lake Erie and skip them out into the water, washing my worries away.

Though she may not have realized it, my mom was giving me a beautiful gift. This simple act introduced me to the idea that I am not married to my thoughts or feelings. I am so much more than my thoughts and reactions to situations. Discovering yoga, mindfulness, and bodywork in my mid-20s, I realized what value this could have had earlier in my life as well. Yoga and mindfulness practices help ground us into our bodies, regulate our emotions, focus and quiet our thoughts, and connect us to ourselves and the world around us. I began to think that if I had been given more of these tools at a young age, my childhood may have carried less anxiety and more empowerment.

Harmony Through the Arts & Yoga & Mindfulness
Thankfully, my parents supported me in my love of the arts. Music, dance, and theatre were integral parts of my childhood and teen years. I believe this involvement allowed me to channel some of those misunderstood thoughts and feelings into productive, positive activity. My passion for the arts continues today, and with Four Stone Harmony, I hope to spread that love to youth and families.

Music, movement, and mindfulness work beautifully together to form a framework for connection to oneself, to others, and to the world. With this connection, we learn to develop focus, concentration, compassion, and empathy while increasing skills in language, coordination, balance, body awareness, and much more. The skills we learn as children are those which we become best at and embody the rest of our lives. It is my goal with Four Stone Harmony to offer experiences, techniques, skills, and most importantly joy, for youth and families, so they can create a better world.

Four Stone Harmony promotes connection, creativity, community, and compassion in youth and their families. They offer children and teen yoga classes centered in mindfulness with a spirit of playfulness and fun. For infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, they lead caregiver participation music classes developing basic song and rhythm skills based in yoga and mindfulness principles. They also offer positive, non-competitive dance sessions for various ages including musical theatre movement and preschool combination classes.