A Birch Bay couple focused on meditation and other wellness techniques are looking to spread their knowledge to the community.
Traysiah Spring and Thomas Bakken met while attending a meditation retreat in San Diego, California led by Deepak Chopra, who is world famous in meditation and alternative medicine practices. That was about 10 years ago, and since then they have taken meditation teacher training, published two books together on plant-based eating and spirituality, and held meditation and wellness classes.
“Everybody is a little bit different and will find their own path,” Spring said. “We’re just offering this particular meditation and this particular way of eating.”
The couple previously guided meditation classes at Semiahmoo Resort and the Blaine Senior Center, but have enjoyed keeping their classes remote since the pandemic because it allows them to connect with people across North America. The meditation classes are free and held at 8 a.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Spring began meditating with her family when she was 11 years old, which catalyzed her on a journey of learning about spirituality and exploring a silent place within herself. For Bakken, the journey began 15 years ago, and when he saw how it uplifted him, he began a meditation class at a juvenile correctional facility where he was working.
“I saw the effect on them and I felt the effect on myself,” Bakken said. “It didn’t fix everything in my life. It didn’t take away the stress, but I took a moment away from the stress and it allowed me to look at things differently.”
Bakken said meditation has given him a moment to respond, and not automatically react in life.
The pair lead a class on wellness practices after the meditation class on Saturday and they hold a spirituality book club after their Sunday meditation class.
Spring and Bakken published their first book together, “Clean Green Eating: Plant-Based to Feel Great” in June 2021, which covers how to transition into whole food, plant-based eating with over 100 recipes.
After dealing with diabetes for several years, Spring began curing it in a natural way. Within a few months of eating plant-based foods without sugar and gluten, she brought her blood sugar down to normal. Spring also watched her mother Samantha heal herself from only having three months to live with stage 4 pancreatic cancer through changing her diet and alternative medicine.
Bakken had high blood pressure, and through clean eating, exercise and meditation, brought his blood pressure down to normal.
“You can really manage health challenges with what you eat in a big way,” Spring said. “It makes a difference what you do. Your daily routine, your daily practices, what you eat.”
Spring and Bakken recommend one of the most important things someone can do for themselves is to have a healthy daily routine. The couple, who follow Ayurveda, a holistic medical system that originated in India, said people will feel more balanced waking up around 6 a.m., eating lunch as the main meal of the day at noon, and going to bed before 10 p.m. They also recommend having a morning meditation or quiet time and then doing gentle movement, such as yoga or tai chi, to set the tone for the day.
In June, the couple published “Adventures in Awakening: 7 Levels of Discovery: Level One - Who Am I?” which is the first in a seven-part book series they’re writing on meditation and inner exploration. The second book in the series is expected to be released later this year.
“You don’t have to feel like you have to change everything,” Spring said. “Just do it little by little, step by step.”
For more information on the free meditation classes, visit adventures-in-awakening-academy.com. Visit cleangreeneating.org for plant-based recipes and information on clean eating.
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