Reclamation and emancipation in mindfulness and nature-based contemplative practice: A Sankofa-oriented collaborative...

Area of Science:

• Psychology and Contemplative Studies
• Social Justice and Health Equity
• Cultural Psychology

Background:

• Standard mindfulness interventions often lack cultural relevance and fail to address systemic oppression.
• Communities impacted by social injustices require interventions that acknowledge and respond to their lived experiences.
• Colonial-cultural trauma and ongoing oppression necessitate tailored approaches to well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how the experiences of two Black women psychologists shaped emancipatory contemplative practice programs.
• To design programs for Black and other racially minoritized groups addressing colonial-cultural trauma.
• To identify pathways for culturally resonant and liberatory mindfulness interventions.

Main Methods:

• Collaborative autoethnography, a reflexive and relational qualitative approach.
• Guided by the African wisdom of Sankofa (return, retrieval, revitalization).
• Narrative construction based on authors' experiences of cultural reclamation and liberation.

Main Results:

• Development of two distinct contemplative practice programs: one focusing on 'soulfulness,' the other on 'embodiment through water.'
• Identification of four emancipatory pathways: returning home, sacredness of culture/spirituality/nature, movement/flow, and release/resistance/reimagining.
• These pathways embody a liberatory-decolonial ethos for healing and well-being.

Conclusions:

• Mindfulness and contemplative practices for minoritized communities are enhanced by cultural resonance and addressing oppression.
• Integrating the four identified emancipatory pathways can improve program design and delivery.
• Prioritizing reclamation and liberation fosters inclusive, transformative, and justice-oriented well-being initiatives.