5 Tips for a Stress-Free Black America

The stress of racism in Black America is like that big boat ride at the amusement park. We are swung around in a circle. Then suspended upside down in hope or horror. Except on this ride, some people fall out of the boat.  We repeatedly watch the emotional roller coaster under the stress that we will experience the same fate.

 

Media engines reignite racial trauma with haunting and incendiary discussions about Black identity. Often the tired debates end in circular accusations with no real systemic changes.

 

How do we maintain a healthy Black mind & body in a racial-ized existence? The conventional western yoga solutions are asana, deep breathing and singing incomprehensible songs in a circle.

 

But as a recovering racially-stressed out black woman, I can testify that yoga is not enough! I have identified five ways to live stress free in Black America. It’s time to rebuild your sanity amid America’s racial calamity.

 

1. Unplug

Break the media addiction. Sit in silence with your own thoughts. Practice developing your own opinions. Research proves that Black  Americans experience elevated levels of stress while watching racially inflammatory media dialogues when compared to other racial groups.  The televisions arrest our thinking by playing with our emotions. (Source: Fisher Collins)

 

2. Create a “Safe Race Space”

“Safe Race Spaces” function as a cathartic neutral zone that give you authority to step outside of a prescribed identity and exist free of external racial definitions. I created the “Safe Race Space”  solution as a no man’s land to  say, be and feel whatever comes up. Here no one is policed by a petulant activist, condescending liberal or an expectant conservative. Here you are free to be you.

 

3. Grieve & Regroup

Don’t be ashamed to feel hurt after experiencing racism. Grieving is about letting the unbridled emotional pain move through you and have its way. Cry individually or collectively. Collective mourning is not about political action. It is a technique practiced in S. Africa, Sierra Leone and Liberia after the war of social traumas. Men and women sang, wailed and let out their deep seated pains while consoling and acknowledging each other’s pain.

 

4. Move on YOUR terms

Take a day to move your body on your terms. Most Black Americans were brought to the colonies for other people’s pleasure. Hundreds of years later, we are still singing, dancing, sexing, running and jumping to stay employed and to entertain. Moving on your terms allows you to reclaim true freedom. This is an individual process that does not need approval, acceptance or apology.

 

5. Live on Purpose

Wake up each day with a deep-seated confidence in your purpose on the planet. See your existence outside of the American race-based context. what we have named “America” is just one land mass on a planet with unknown possibilities. Believe and live in the truth that your beautiful and  black self is purposefully placed to create a positive impact on the world.

 

For more on self-managing American racism:

Register for the online Sistah Vegan Conference on Sept 14, 2013 $35

Try the Sistah Vegan’s Racial Tension Headache Smoothies by Dr. Amie Breeze Harper

Study Black Grief & Soul Therapy by Dr. Nicholas Cooper Lewter

Learn about the Sources of Stress & Relief for African Americans by Dr. Catherine Fisher Collins

Compare healing techniques in A Human Being Died that Night by Pumla Gobodo Madikezela

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