Learning To Exhale: Stress, the nervous system, and Black Women’s Rest
Black woman with aqua green braids in seated position with eyes closed, palms in her lap, learning to exhale.
Now, obviously, we all have the naturally stress induced hormone: cortisol, and we could all do a better job of reducing/managing our stress levels.
But the quality of our health and wellbeing is not determined by individual choices such as lifestyle and diet. For Black women, elevated cortisol is directly connected to systemic racism, sexism, and daily pressures coming from all angles.
Arline Geronimus, a Michigan based public health researcher and professor, coined the term “weathering” in 1992 - the year I was born - to describe the effects of systemic oppression on the body.
For almost four decades, Geronimus has studied the way the stress of systemic injustices, material hardship, exploitation, and marginalization impact the body’s systems. Her research has shown that Black women “age biologically long before they are chronologically old.” So no Black don’t crack, but our reproductive, neuroendocrine, nervous, and cardiovascular systems are worn down on a cellular level.
By age 50, my mama knew this in her bones. When she told me “stress will make you sick” a short time before she died of stage 4 lung cancer, she must have known that the accumulation of stress over the course of her life was a result of the way society positioned her as a Black woman - not merely her individual choices.
Self care alone won’t get us out of this mess, but as Audre Lorde penned self preservation is necessary for our collective survival and resistance beyond individual pampering.
Some radical self-preservation strategies for reducing stress that I love:
Community organizing
Organizing around our visions, making demands, and implementing the strategies that will carry us forward is paramount. I’m grounding myself and how I organize in healing justice, which are strategies at the intersection of liberation, collective care, and safety.
Breathing practices
I take an unruly amount of deep breaths in a day, especially during an intentional break or whenever someone is on my last nerve. This allows my nervous system a chance to reset. Added bonus: aromatherapy! If you want to explore breathwork more deeply and in community, check out Black People Breathe by Zee Clarke.
Movement
Girl Trek is an international nonprofit organization and movement encouraging Black women and girls to walk 30 mins a day, 5 days a week to save their lives. Whether it's a 30 min. walk, some poses on your mat, or twerking in the mirror - I do all three regularly - get moving!
Reclaiming ancestral food ways w/ special attention to heart health
Asia Dorsey, who runs Bones, Bugs, and Botany is a brilliant rootwoman seeding embodied liberation through ancestral food and herbal medicine education. Our food ways speak to the soul and nourish us with genius medicine - we must reclaim it and continue to evolve it for the generations to come.
Rituals for winding down
At Unearthing Tradition, I help Black femmes and gender expansive folks embody wellness in mind, body, and spirit through imperfect, but intentional and realistic practices. Check out this free download and learn more about my services here.
