Through my doctoral research, I have come across some incredible Black, Indigenous and People of Color researchers and authors. Here are some of their books I have loved to read to understand trauma, healing, and embodied practices.
Read MoreJessica Barudin will weave stories, Kwakwaka’wakw values, and research to describe Indigenous contemplative and meditative practices. She will offer reflections of healing intergenerational and historical trauma and strengthening community wellness through Yoga and Ceremony. She will speak to her experiences of co-creating trauma-informed curricula with First Nations womxn and the early impressions of her doctoral project “(Re)Connecting through women’s teachings, language and movement: Culturally-adapted yoga for First Nations Womxn and Girls”.
Read MoreRecently I learned from a Nuu-chah-nulth Elder and medicine man, Dave Frank, who marveled at how our brains are intelligent by design, by stating “Our brains are so smart. Our brains can block out trauma and repress the memories - but our body, our organs and our skin hold the memory of that trauma. That trauma memory lives in the cells until we release it” (oral communication, October, 2020). Trauma reorganizes the brain and how it manages perceptions and cognition by altering how we think, what we think about, and even the ability to think (Bessel van der Kolk, 2015).
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