Finding Your Ancestral Practices & Decolonizing The Body with Kelsey Blackwell

Listen on iTunes | Listen on Spotify | Subscribe to the Podcast

Today on the podcast we’re discussing somatic practices to help recognize and unhook from the embodied impacts of systemic oppression with Cultural Somatics Practitioner, Facilitator, and Author Kelsey Blackwell.

When we start contemplating the question… How did we all get so disembodied, one quickly arrives at a few core factors. One of them is colonization & white supremacy. The impact these systems have on *every* *single* *body* is profound. Whether our identity is black, white, or persons of culture/color.

From perfectionism, body shame, keeping silent, controlling & generally feeling like we’re not enough. Many (most) common challenges modern women face have roots in the culture & practices of past/current colonization.

Exploring how these systems are alive & living within us is a key inquiry if we are to shift from the “I have so much work to do on myself” mindset, and into the greater realization that ‘it’s not you, it’s the system”.

This conversation is also a wonderful exploration into reconnecting with your ancestral lineage in embodied ways – even if you hold multiple lineages or have no idea what your lineage actually is.

One of our schools teachers, Sharon Kaur, recently pointed me in the direction of Kelsey’s work on embodied liberation – thank you Sharon.

“We know we are a colonized people when we do not speak the native tongue of our lineage; when we do not know our lineage; when we do not know our foods, spiritual practices, rituals, and ceremonies; when the social politics that historically governed our people has been erased or consumed by white-value systems” – Kelsey Blackwell

During this podcast, we discuss:

• What is a colonized body?
• Kelsey shares her personal discovery from “there’s something wrong with me” to rediscovering the movement & songs of her lineage and the power of decolonizing practices
• The Patterns of Emboidment in colonized bodies & how it shows up
• We speak about ‘narrowing the body’, into smaller size & space
• How can we find our sincere ancestral practices when we are amelange of people & places
• If you’re seeking initiation or a textbook of practices for your lineage Kelsey offers some significant perspective shifts
• We dive into three delicious embodied, decolonizing practices lead by Kelsey

Kelsey works specifically with women of colour, however all identities will take something away from this rich conversation.

About Kelsey

Kelseyblackwell.com | instagram.com/decolonizingthebody/

Kelsey Blackwell, MS is a cultural somatics practitioner and author dedicated to supporting women of color to trust and follow the guidance of the body so we may powerfully radiate our worth, dignity and wisdom in a world that sorely needs this brilliance. As a facilitator, coach, and speaker, she has brought abolitionist embodied practices to such diverse groups as riders on Bay Area Rapid Transit trains to students at Stanford University to the offices of LinkedIn. She works 1:1 with clients as well as leads the eight-week group program, Decolonizing the Body.

Kelsey is the author of the viral article, Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People, published by The Arrow Journal. She is a Certified InterPlay Leader, Strozzi Certified Somatic Coach, and holds a master’s degree in Publishing from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. In addition to being impactful, Kelsey believes working towards personal and collective liberation must also bring joy. She lives in San Francisco, California.

“The body is a source of wisdom. Yet, the society we live in demands we distance ourselves from this knowledge. Structured by white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, and other harmful systems, we’ve been taught that logic is more valuable than feeling; that we all must quiet aspects of our bodies to get ahead – to survive. When we connect to and follow the wisdom of the body, we’re engaging in a radical act. Never has this wisdom been more needed than now. For all oppressed peoples to claim our space, worth and dignity, to demand that we thrive too stares in the face of systems entrenched in oppression and violence. Creating the more liberated society we long for begins by examining and consciously choosing to embody what we truly value.” – Kelsey Blackwell

Resources

• Kelsey Blackwell – website
• Kelsey on Instagram
• 📚Decolonizing the Body: Healing, Body-Centered Practices for Women of Color to Reclaim Confidence, Dignity, and Self-Worth by Kelsey Blackwell
• ​​🎵 Decolonizing the Body playlist on Spotify
• Kelsey’s lineage of learning – Interplay & the Strozzi Institute
• Feminine Embodiment Coaching – an emotional embodiment & vulnerability-based professional training for coaches
• Find a Feminine Embodiment Coach in our Professional Directory
• School of Embodied Arts
• Leave a podcast review on iTunes here
• Thought or reflection to share? Leave a comment on Instagram here