Joyful Return

Plant Infused Breathwork Journey

Saturday August 16th | 5:30-7:30PM | Baltimore, MD

Joyful Return is a ceremonial space for collective healing and reclamation. Through the sacred pairing of Sacred Herb and somatic breathwork, we invite you to enter an expanded state of consciousness—where the body remembers, the heart softens, and ancestral wisdom rises to the surface.

Facilitated by Charlotte James and Jevon Hamlet, this circle is offered as a healing justice practice—an intentional space to tend to the wounds of intergenerational trauma. We work with Sacred Herb not simply as a tool for relaxation, but as a master plant teacher, revered by ancestors and criminalized by our society.

For generations, Black and Brown people have been punished for our healing, sacred and celebratory relationship with this medicine. And now, as Sacred Herb is commodified, legalized, and sanitized for profit, our cultural knowledge and spiritual practices are often erased or appropriated. Joyful Return is an act of resistance and remembrance—an opportunity to engage this plant in the way our lineages intended: with reverence, care, and connection.

Together we will:

  • Ground in a collective container rooted in safety, consent, and ritual

  • Share in a ceremonial dose of Sacred Herb (participation optional)

  • Engage in guided somatic breathwork to release stored trauma and return to the body

  • Access expanded states of awareness to receive insight, clarity, and ancestral guidance

  • Integrate through movement, sound, stillness, and community reflection

This is not a space to “transcend” your experience, but to deepen your relationship with it. This journey calls us back to ourselves—our bodies, our breath, our truths—and invites us to metabolize grief, reclaim joy, and remember who we are beyond the systems that seek to contain us.

Whether you are a seasoned journeyer or new to this work, you are welcome here. Come exactly as you are. Return with joy.

Important Information:

  • This ceremony is open to individuals of all backgrounds and experience levels who are committed to walking a path of radical love and liberation.

  • Please arrive on time to fully immerse yourself in the journey flow. We will be unable to admit folks after the opening invocation and agreements. We will ask everyone to remain with the circle until closing.

  • Dress comfortably in clothing you can gently stretch and move in

  • Bring a blanket, yoga mat and/or cushion for seating during circle

  • Due to the sacred nature of the event, we kindly request that participants refrain from using electronic devices including phones and smart watches during the course of the gathering.

  • Your registration donation includes a blended smokable of herb + flowers that bring us to elevated states without busying the mind or exhausting the body.

  • This journey will take place at Michele Blu Yoga Studio in the Bromo Arts District, Baltimore City MD.

Come with an open heart and a willingness to connect deeply with yourself, others, and the unseen world. All levels of experience with cannabis and breathwork are welcome. Come as you are, return with joy.

This journey will be facilitated by Charlotte Duerr James, founder of New Old Ways, and Jevon Hamlet, Certified Respiratory Therapist and Breathworker.

Jevon was born into a difficult relationship with the breath. He inherited his mother’s asthma. The challenges presented by asthma would go on to mold him and direct him towards a life as a healer. 

Jevon completed his degree in Respiratory Care Therapy in 2006 and began practicing at the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital. Over the next two decades, he would go on to work in a variety of clinical settings including: Emergency, Intensive Care, pediatrics, neonatal, geriatric, and homecare. Through all this diverse experience, it was homecare that would have the most profound impact.

After spending many years in patient homes building intimate care-based relationships, Jevon gained a framework for a more nuanced understanding of how the breath, or lack of breath, shapes us all.

During the pandemic Jevon became aware of the ancient practice of breathwork. He would go on to study Breathwork at Alchemy of Breath, a training program for Breathwork facilitators. Despite his years of experience as an RT and training as a facilitator, he remained reluctant to share his gifts with the world; he was convinced that he wasn't ready or that others were more qualified. For too long this fear held him back. 

Today, after more than 40 years as a breather, he is stepping more deeply into his power so that he may share his gifts with those who are ready to receive.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFO, PLEASE NOTE: If you suffer from any serious condition you should check with your medical practitioner prior to breathing with us. The breath style we use is not advised for:

1.       Cardiovascular disease/heart conditions

2.       Detached retina or glaucoma

3.       Diagnosed brain or abdomen aneurysm

4.       Epilepsy

5.       Diagnosed bipolar or schizophrenia

6.       Uncontrolled diabetes or thyroid conditions

7.       High blood pressure

8.       Delicate Pregnancy

9.       Recent surgery or injury

Likewise, if you are on any heavy medications you are advised to seek medical counsel prior to joining us.

* If you do have any of the above conditions, please let us know. You are welcome to stay and breathe from your nose and can still benefit from your journey. It’s just best to consult with the doctor first before.