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

by Resmaa Menakem

COMING INTO THE ROOM Sit comfortably in a chair. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Imagine you’re floating in space. Below you, planet Earth turns slowly. Watch it turn for a few seconds. Slowly descend until the part of the country you’re in fills your field of vision. Stay directly above it, like a GPS satellite, so that it doesn’t move beneath you. Keep descending until you’re looking down on whatever city, town, mountain, valley, or other area your body is sitting in right now. Continue your descent until you’re looking down at the top of the building you’re in. If you’re seated outdoors, descend far enough so that you can see your own body below, as if you’re viewing it from a helicopter. Keep dropping slowly and steadily, until you can see your body in detail, as if you’re about ten feet above it. Observe your body’s posture, any movements it makes, and the clothing it’s wearing. Slowly and smoothly, descend the rest of the way, and slip inside your body. For a few breaths, simply be aware of being in your body. Relax and let the chair support you. Then notice the sensation of the chair against your legs and thighs. Then notice how it feels against your back. Open your eyes. Orient yourself by looking around you, including behind you. Return to the here and now.