“Kup Kup” comes from the Ilokano term “arakupen,” meaning “embrace.” It's a term of affection that Jamie’s grandmother used to invite her into a long, warm hug and a term that Jamie and her daughter, Maggie use with each other. We imagine this soak to be like the warm hug of all of our ancestors and a reminder of our deep connection to land and spirit. 

There is a connection between low magnesium levels and long COVID. This formula is to help create a bath ritual to calm the nervous system but also support the immune system and the inflammatory response from COVID that is exacerbated by low magnesium levels. Combined with the Vitamin C rich plant extracts and aromatherapy, this will also provide an anti-inflammatory rich mineral soak to help bring the body back to homeostasis and aid in providing the deep rest our bodies truly need.

Pa/Hinga Balm:

The base will be marunggay, ginger, lemongrass and CBD, all of which are ancestral plants that remind Jamie and Robyn of care from their matrilineal lines. Marunggay and ginger is something both Robyn and Jamie associate with healing. It’s the medicine that both their mothers and grandmothers would offer during times of fatigue and sickness. Now that Robyn’s mother has joined the ancestors, she leans on her Hmong mother-in-law for comfort and care during challenging times. Lemongrass is what she associates her mother-in-law with most. Just as importantly, CBD, as a hemp-derived cannabinoid, has long-been medicine for both Filipinos and Hmong people.

This balm is to help create a ritual where you can engage with touch, scent and experience this life through our senses. It will help create a pause to remind our bodies that we should slow down and take a moment for ourselves. We cannot think our way out of dysregulation and trauma. We can use bottom-up regulation by showing our bodies what it really means to relax and to just be.

"Tabi Tabi Po" Hydrosol:

This hydrosol is made from an ancient cedar tree that greets visitors to the Amado Khaya Healing House where the Collective Pa/Hinga Sessions will take place. “Tabi Tabi Po,” which can be loosely translated as “Excuse me,” is a phrase many Filipinos are taught that they must state when entering an area–typically in a forest – that may be habitation of folkloric spirits. Not asking for pardon, it is believed, can result in a person suffering some kind of malady. The use of the honorific, “po,” is meant as a gesture of respect. For us, “Tabi Tabi Po,”  is a reminder that we, as Filipinos in the diaspora, are all guests/settlers on stolen land. The phrase invites the question, how can we ask for permission and be in the right relation to the land we are on or are visiting for rest and play?

The Pa/hinga Sessions are deeply inspired by Tricia Hersey’s book, Rest is Resistance (Little, Brown Spark, 2022) and her work as founder of the Nap Ministry. Hersey is a Black poet, performance artist, and activist who continues to be a prominent voice for the call for collective rest. Beyond Hersey, however, Jamie and Robyn have felt called to support collective rest, for members of the Filipino as well as the broader BIPOC community, especially activists and artists at the frontlines of social justice.  The Pa/hinga series products will be incorporated into the Collective Pa/hinga Sessions and also available for purchase on-site or separately. 

Jamie and Robyn are accepting pre-registration for collective rest sessions to take place at the Amado Khaya Healing House beginning in 2024.  Individual pre-registration may be considered, however, Robyn and Jamie are encouraging group sign-ups of up to 6. Whether it is the staff of a non-profit organization, a group of (chosen) family members or some other collectivity, small groups are highly preferred and encouraged. Jamie and Robyn are especially interested in  helping facilitate the collective rest sessions of those who identify as “Pinay,” at least in their inaugural set of Pa/Hinga Sessions As they continue to hold space, it is Robyn and Jamie’s intention to extend invitations of collective Pa/Hinga to other women of color.