My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts

by Resmaa Menakem

—BODY AND BREATH PRACTICE— Go to a quiet, comfortable place where you can be alone for about ten minutes. Sit down and take a few deep, slow breaths. Feel free to either close your eyes or leave them open. You are about to invite the presence of an ancestor. You don’t know who this will be. You also don’t know how he or she will appear—as an image, a memory, a sensation in your body, an emotion, or a flow of energy. All you know is that this person lived at least three generations before you and died before you were born. They might be a great-grandparent or an ancestor from the distant past. You do not get to choose who this person will be; he or she will choose you. Just sit quietly, following your breathing, and invite this unknown person into your presence. Don’t plan to converse or interact with this ancestor. Don’t try to identify or figure out anything about him or her. Simply observe this person’s presence and notice how your body responds. If your ancestor doesn’t appear quickly, that’s fine. Just continue sitting and breathing. Give the person up to five minutes to make an appearance. If he or she appears as an image, what does he or she look like? Is the person female or male? How old does he or she appear to be? What is he or she wearing? What expression is on his or her face? Does your ancestor seem safe and settled? Happy? Fearful? Distressed? If your ancestor is moving, what is he or she doing? Is the person alone, or with a companion? Whether your ancestor ...