Can Breathing Help Heal Black Racial Trauma?

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By Joseph Williams, Word In Black

Waiting to exhale? Wellness expert Zee Clarke believes intentional breath work can help relieve the stress of being Black in America.

The mindful practice of breathwork has been proven to reduce chronic stress. (Liz Courquet-Lesaulnier via Zee Clarke)

It’s something we do from our first moments of life until the moment we die. We do it some 17,000 times a day, without having to think about it. In fact, you’re doing it — breathing — right now, while reading this very sentence.

Yet wellness expert Zee Clarke believes that this simple act, when done intentionally using specific rhythms and techniques, holds the key to relieving stress, lowering anxiety, and promoting healing from racial trauma — especially the invisible, day-to-day strain of being Black in America.

[…]

“It’s so important for Black people to use these tools in our daily lives,” says Clarke, a Harvard University-educated MBA who has worked in the high-pressure world of Silicon Valley alongside tech CEOs. She preaches the gospel of “mindfulness and breathwork for BIPOC communities to reclaim our flow at work and in life,” according to her website.

Indeed, science backs up her faith in mindfulness and breathing as a health-giving superpower that can counter the insidious effects of systemic racism.

Check out the full article to learn how you can reclaim your body by breathing.

A healthy body and mind are imperative for Black people’s continued fight for freedom.

Follow their progress with more Breaking News.

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