Recess Sessions
cultivating the art of intimate attention
a soft place to strengthen your sensitivity~
In these sessions, we will practice cultivating more nourishing attention to our bodies and relationship with ourselves.
For much of my life, if I could manage, control, or anticipate my circumstances… only then could I relax and feel safe. Anyone who has a white-knuckle grip on trying to control life knows just how exhausting (and ineffective) it becomes. We may give it our all and do everything the “right” way while our external situation doesn’t budge or gets even “worse.”
When we’re in states of stagnancy, exhaustion or overwhelm, many of us were taught to try to solve our circumstances. We over-think, over-give, and frantically try every possible solution to ensure we are doing our due diligence to fix things, heal ourselves, or eradicate uncertainty.
Surrender can feel like failure, irresponsibility, immaturity or some other morally charged idea. But, surrender, in this context, is not giving up or avoiding tension. It’s giving yourself to your experience as fully as you’re able, lapping up every sweet (and sour) drop, and opening your heart wide to this life while it’s yours. It’s a practice of being present with your current reality while retaining the ability to take creative action.
With time and a sprinkle of consistency, gently developing these skills can support your vitality, creativity, and ability to respond to life with greater choice. You slowly drop who you thought you needed to be at your ankles and step into your own sumptuous skin.
This is your reminder that you don't have to get better at managing your life before you're allowed to experience it and, dare I say, enjoy it.
This service doesn’t promise that you will always enjoy things, but you may be able to look at what you’re not enjoying with clearer, more compassionate eyes. Sometimes it is softening this lens that creates space for enjoyment to seep in, or for a tough situation to exhale just a little bit more.
this practice can deepen qualities like
-
Attunement
This is how well you notice your internal experience—your sensations, emotions, energy, needs, and limits—and recognize what might otherwise go unnoticed.
-
Inner Authority
This is how you choose with discernment, trusting yourself as the authority on your own experience rather than defaulting to external demands, habitual reactions, or perceived expectations.
-
Playfulness
This is how you explore with curiosity, experiment with possibility, and discover what lies beyond what you already know.
A more intimate relationship with yourself can nurture more meaningful relationships with others
You might find yourself…
staying connected to yourself during a disagreement, feeling more grounded in your own perspective while remaining open to someone else’s.
allowing a difficult interaction to breathe, finding more ease with uncertainty rather than feeling compelled to resolve it immediately.
recognizing your needs before you’re running on empty, feeling more at home in your body and having more to give when you choose to.
approaching your to-do list like a human instead of a machine, making everyday life feel more livable and less like a series of demands.
discerning whether you genuinely want and have the capacity to help, experiencing generosity as a choice rather than an obligation.
recognizing when you’re pushing past your limits out of habit or fear of disappointing someone, creating more room for self-trust and honest boundaries.
learning to sit with difficult emotions, feeling less at their mercy and more able to stay present with yourself and others without rushing to fix, flee, or defend.
becoming less preoccupied with how others perceive you, feeling freer to express yourself and connect without so much self-monitoring.
This might be for you if you are…
The over-thinker who is tired of constant analysis and turning themselves into a project to solve or fix.
The highly attentive-to-others person who is hungry to better understand their own needs and signals.
The stuck creative who wants a low-pressure way to explore and be inspired by their inner world.
The person in a season of uncertainty who is craving space to discover what’s next for them instead of rushing themselves to figure everything out.
This might not be for you if…
You want structured steps, measurable goals, or guaranteed outcomes.
You want someone else to interpret your experiences for you.
You prefer analytical conversation over sensory and imaginative exploration.
You’re looking for a substitute for psychotherapy or medical care.
The Who
Three doorways inward…
Perceiving
We will practice bringing attention to the subtle qualities of the space around you, noticing shifts, impressions, and sensations that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Sensing
We turn toward the body with curiosity and openness, exploring physical sensations like heat, tightness, movement, and ease without needing to change what we find.
Exploring
We wander through the natural world of the psyche, following enchanted visualizations into landscapes, encounters, and possibilities shaped by imagination and intuition.
Each session is 30 mins & will be a unique blend of these practices, intuitively tailored to you and the moment.
The How
Kara Lee
When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with a progressive disease. Cue learning to navigate immense discomfort, uncertainty, and the confrontation of mortality during years when most people are snackin’ on peanut butter sandwiches and building LEGO sets. After three decades of living in this body and trying all the things… celery juice, pharmaceuticals, spiritual practices, and total disassociation… I hit a rock bottom. My body wasn’t bending to my will. My life didn’t look like the wellness girlie story that I just knew was possible and was obsessed with making my story. Instead, I was brittle, beat down, and more symptomatic than ever. And, guess what? I’m still sick. What’s changed is how I experience the cards I’ve been dealt. I’m not five steps ahead of myself clinging to a cure, I’m not waiting for my life to look a certain way before I allow myself to be utterly in love with it.
The blend of practices I offer aren’t quick fixes or promises to turn you into some better, exalted version of yourself. They are simple, subtle practices that help us honor our limitations and discover the ordinary magic that’s always available to us when we’re willing to remain curious and softly pay attention. What they’ve given me isn’t a clean bill of health, but more access to what’s here rather than what’s missing. What I know is that there’s a whole world of experience available to us when we stop treating the life we have as an obstacle to the life we want.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Sessions are 30 minutes.
-
Currently, I only offer sessions virtually via Google Meet.
-
The pace is entirely up to you. Like learning to play the piano or speak a new language, cultivating subtle perception takes time and repetition. The more you practice, the more familiar these ways of relating to your experience may become.
You might love meeting daily, every week, once a month, or once a season.
My general recommendation is every other week, allowing space for integration while maintaining a rhythm. That said, there's no prescribed schedule—just what feels supportive, sustainable, and interesting to you.
-
Meditation is one influence behind my work, but Recess Sessions weave together a variety of approaches.
My influences include Psychic Psychology, a practice developed by John Friedlander and Gloria Hemsher that explores subtle perception and our relationship with personal energy; Pilar Lesko’s work with intuition, energy, and the unseen; Jon Kabat-Zinn’s teachings on mindfulness; and my own enchanted lens and kinship with the natural world.
It’s a little science, a little mysticism, a little moss-covered magic.
-
Absolutely! But, there are two reasons I think working with a practitioner is worthwhile:
Shared presence supports follow-through. It's often easier to show up and engage in a practice when someone else is there with you.
Humans influence one another. Our attention, emotional states, and ways of responding are shaped partly by the people around us. Just as one tuning fork can set another vibrating, spending time with someone who approaches their inner world differently can offer a new reference point for your own. Their presence can support regulation, creating space to settle into your experience and explore different ways of responding.
-
Not at all. The only prerequisite is a willingness to get curious about your own experience. You don't need to know how to meditate, visualize, or do anything in particular.
-
There's no right way to experience a guided journey. You might see images, sense a feeling, notice a thought, or simply follow along with the words. Imagination takes many forms, and there's nothing you need to get right.
-
It varies! You might feel relaxed, more at ease, or unexpectedly inspired. You might become aware of tension you hadn’t noticed before, encounter an emotion that wants your attention, or find that not much stands out at all.
There’s no particular state you’re supposed to reach or feeling you’re supposed to leave with. The invitation is simply to notice what’s here, with curiosity, and see what you discover.