Paddle for the Peaceful

COEUR d’ALENE — Reggae reverberated gently in the background.

The sky was just a little cloudy, the air a welcoming 80 degrees. A 9 mph breeze wafted. People gathered on Sanders Beach were stretching their bodies — then relaxing — enjoying the company of community and allowing the week’s tensions to drift away.

Welcome to Paddle for the Peaceful, a group of locals gathered on a lazy Saturday morning for an internal vacation.

At 10 a.m., Alesha Blackwolf of Dreamtime Sound Healers led the group in yoga on the sand. They came prepared with paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, rafts, tubes and a flotilla of other assorted flotation devices and participated in a leisurely “paddle and play” close to the Tubbs Hill area.

After the group finished taking in the dribs of dappled sunlight on the water, the group played music and held a picnic.

“It’s just a way to get people out and enjoy our lake together, enjoy our community together,” Blackwolf said. “This is a way to hit a bunch of people at once and say ‘let’s play.”

Blackwolf is a “sound healer” and moved to Coeur d’Alene 15 years ago from Maui. She tries to host a relaxation day like this once a year with the holistic community — her “rainbow tribe,” as she calls them.

“I do these kinds of things because that’s what we did on Maui, and I don’t know why people don’t do these kinds of things here,” Blackwolf said.

Sound healing is believed to activate each of the body’s chakra, a focal point of spiritual power within the body used in Hindu and Buddhist meditation. The practice leverages various musical elements to bolster physical, mental and emotional health and well-being.

“A sound bath is using vibrations and sounds to help harmonize your body,” said Jesse Glassman, a local resident who was enjoying the peaceful beach day.

She has two children; Casch, her 10-year-old son, and Zayta, her 3-year-old daughter, both of whom have experienced meditation as well as sound baths. Glassman thinks it is important to raise her children in a holistic and spiritual way. She wants them to build a better understanding of the world and what it has to offer.

“I just can’t wait to see what they do and become,” Blackwolf said.

Nicole Ronningen, who recently moved back to the area with her husband and four children after traveling across the United States in a motorhome, attended the day to get some sunshine and spend a little time with like-minded people.

“Other than being able to see Alesha, we just moved back into the area, and we are wanting to cultivate community and community gatherings are a priority for my family and [me],” Ronningen said.

Blackwolf also helps organize the annual SoulShine Full Moon Beach Gathering. It will be from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16, on the North Idaho College beach. The suggested donation is $25; proceeds will support Ellen Brown and Joelle Tanguay, a mother and daughter who suffered severe injuries after their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver last year.

Tickets can be purchased directly through Blackwolf via email: yogawithalesha@gmail.com.