Key takeaways:
Mindfulness is the practice of connecting with — and not judging — your thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
Mindfulness can help Black people cope with the effects of historical trauma and present-day stress.
Mindfulness allows you to become more present in your daily life. And it helps you develop a deeper sense of connection with yourself and others.
The Black community has had to face unique challenges and trauma. Being able to deal with these challenges takes strength and resilience. Indeed, the toll of these stressors cannot be ignored. Self-care practices like mindfulness offer a powerful way to address them.
Mindfulness can help contribute to a more vibrant and healthier Black community. Making it a priority can help you heal from trauma and reclaim your overall well-being.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of living more fully in the present moment. It helps you connect more deeply with your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judging them. Mindfulness can help with:
Greater self-awareness
Stress relief
Improved mood
Overall wellness
Managing your emotions
Experts believe mindfulness can help you make more intentional choices and respond to challenges in a better way.
What are the benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction?
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) was originally developed for those with chronic pain. But it has evolved into a powerful mental health and wellness tool. MBSR blends mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and body awareness to help manage stress and anxiety.
For the Black community, MBSR can provide several other benefits, including:
Reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and self-care in the Black community: It helps to combat the myth that seeking help is a sign of weakness and can make it more acceptable and accessible.
Managing chronic health conditions: This is helpful for the Black community, in which there is a higher likelihood of conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.
Having more compassion and empathy: This can help you cope with the social stressors you face in your daily life.
Fostering a greater sense of community: A sense of belonging can help you connect with others who share similar experiences.
Improving coping skills: This can help Black people process historical and racial trauma, reducing its negative effects.
Increasing empowerment: This is useful for developing a greater sense of control over your life and your responses to the challenges you may face.
MBSR can have a wide range of benefits for the Black community. Research is ongoing on the full impact it can have and how best it serves the needs of the community.
Mindfulness techniques and self-care practices
The beauty of mindfulness is in its versatility. It allows you to choose practices that are best for you and your unique circumstances. Whether you prefer a calming meditation or an energizing mindful stretching, there’s something for everyone. Here is a short-list of six mindfulness-based techniques.
1. Guided meditation
When your thoughts become a noisy distraction, meditation on your own can seem like an impossible task. But guided meditation can provide an invaluable solution to this problem.
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Following a live or recorded meditation guide can help to achieve a state of stillness and presence. This allows you to direct your attention toward the present moment, rather than thoughts that drain your energy. With practice, you can develop more awareness to live with greater intention.
2. Mindful stretching
Mindful stretching is when you match slow, intentional movements with your breath. It helps to relieve stiffness and tension in the body and promotes emotional release. It is a powerful way to train both your body and mind.
No matter if you're a beginner or expert at yoga, mindful stretching can help you reduce stress and increase well-being.
3. Grounding techniques
If you have unwanted thoughts or emotions, grounding techniques can provide a lifeline. These techniques redirect your focus to the present moment and your immediate surroundings. Grounding helps to distract you from distressing feelings to keep you calm when you’re experiencing anxiety or feeling overwhelmed.
Grounding techniques include:
Meditation
Visualization
Physical activities (like stretching)
Breathing activities (like the 4-7-8 breathing exercise)
Awareness activities (like the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which reconnects you to all five senses)
By grounding yourself, you can better manage difficult emotions and stressful situations.
4. Urge surfing
To manage urges, it's important to recognize that these feelings are temporary and will eventually pass. Urge surfing is a mental technique that allows you to acknowledge and experience urges without giving in to them. You gain more control over your behavior and build resilience.
This can also help with self-awareness as you learn to observe uncomfortable feelings without judging them. With time and practice, it can strengthen your ability to resist impulses and make more positive choices.
5. Watching your thoughts
Watching your thoughts is when you observe and are aware of your thoughts but are not consumed by them. The goal is to notice your thoughts as they arise but not to become emotionally attached to them. By watching your thoughts in this way, you can gain insight into your mental patterns and habits. This allows you to have greater control over your thoughts and emotions.
This practice can help you have more intentional thoughts and behaviors, which can result in a more fulfilling and purposeful life. Watching your thoughts can also help to reduce stress and anxiety by allowing you to see and challenge negative thought patterns.
6. Body scan
With body scanning, you become more aware of your physical sensations and emotions. By scanning each area of the body with your mind, you can find any tension, discomfort, or emotions that you’re having. You can do this while sitting or lying down. It involves taking slow, deep breaths for more relaxation and focus.
Body scanning can help you connect with yourself more deeply to promote relaxation and reduce your stress.
Why is mindfulness important in the Black community?
Historically, the Black community has experienced significant trauma and stress from systemic racism, discrimination, and other challenges. This can have notable physical and emotional health consequences. Mindfulness is important because it can provide a tool for managing stress, anxiety, and trauma. And it can contribute to greater overall well-being.
Mindfulness practices have not always been designed with the Black community in mind. But there is a growing movement toward culturally responsive and inclusive mindfulness practices (check out some of these examples below). These help to acknowledge and address the unique experiences of the Black community. They help to create spaces that are safe and affirming for Black people to engage in mindfulness.
Mindfulness resources for the Black community
Once you decide to practice mindfulness, having access to the right resources is important. There are several organizations that promote mindfulness and well-being within the Black community.
Here are some resources to help you develop a deeper sense of self-awareness.
Black Girls Breathing: This site offers virtual breathwork and meditation classes for Black women and girls.
Black Zen: This is an online meditation group that offers guided meditations and resources for the Black community. It aims to create a space for Black people to learn mindfulness and find support in meditation.
Shine: This is a self-care app for guided meditations, affirmations, and articles supporting mental health.
The bottom line
The importance of mindfulness within the Black community should not be overlooked. It can help you cope with ongoing stress and social trauma unique to the experiences of Black people.
Mindfulness is a promising tool to improve your mental and physical well-being. Talk to your healthcare provider about your stress and if mindfulness practices are right for you.
Why trust our experts?
References
American Heart Association. (n.d.). Meditation to boost health and well-being.
Biggers, A., et al. (2020). Promoting mindfulness in African American communities. Mindfulness.
Burnett-Zeigler, I., et al. (2019). Acceptability of a mindfulness intervention for depressive symptoms among African-American women in a community health center: A qualitative study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
Büssing, A., et al. (2012). Effects of yoga on mental and physical health: A short summary of reviews. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Call, D., et al. (2014). Effectiveness of brief mindfulness techniques in reducing symptoms of anxiety and stress. Mindfulness.
Hofmann, S. G., et al. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Keng, S., et al. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review.
Niazi, A. K., et al. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction: A non-pharmacological approach for chronic illnesses. North American Journal of Medical Sciences.
Palta, P., et al. (2012). Evaluation of a mindfulness-based intervention program to decrease blood pressure in low-income African-American older adults. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Schuman-Olicier, Z., et al. (2020). Mindfulness and behavior change. Harvard Review of Psychiatry.
Sun, S., et al. (2022). Mindfulness-based interventions among people of color: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research: Journal of the Society of Psychotherapy Research.
Therapist Aid. (2021). Urge surfing.
Woods-Giscombé, C. L., et al. (2011). Mind-body interventions to reduce risk for health disparities related to stress and strength among African American Women: The potential of mindfulness-based stress reduction, loving-kindness, and the NTU therapeutic framework. Complementary Health Practice Review.
