Before the world started using words like “somatic experiencing” or “nervous system regulation,” our people were already experts in the science of survival. They’ve gone and put brand names on our medicine, but they didn’t invent the cure. We carried it in our bones across oceans.

We need to talk about why we dance—really dance—and why it has never been about how we look to the people watching.

The Medicine in the Movement

For a Survivor of violence, abuse, or the systemic weight of racism and genocide, the body is often a place where “the story” gets trapped. When you’ve been through the fire, that trauma doesn’t just vanish; it settles in your hips, it tightens your shoulders, and it clouds your spirit.

We FELT that before we had words for it. We FELT that even when doctors turned us away and told us that it was in our heads. We FELT that when they kept telling us that all we had to do was lose weight and we were at our lowest high school skinny weight.

We didn’t just dance for the rhythm; we danced so that the pain wouldn’t rot inside us.

It’s Not a Trend, It’s Blood Memory

Modern psychology is finally catching up to what your grandmother and grandfather already knew. When you see our people shaking, catch a spirit, or moving with a ferocity that looks “aggressive” to the untrained eye, you are witnessing somatic release.

• Rhythmic Shaking: This is the body’s natural way of discharging the “fight or flight” energy that gets stuck after a trauma.

• The Pulsating Funk: That heavy bass and syncopated rhythm weren’t just for a good time. The rhythm acts as a metronome for a dysregulated heart, bringing the nervous system back into alignment.

• Communal Trance: We have always known that healing is a collective act. (Native American and other Indigenous culture Pow Wows, church, cookouts, clubs, rent parties, basement parties, skating rink, dance teams, Soul Train line, jumping rope, hand clapping, line dancing, our unique marching band style; bands like Earth, Wind, and Fire or The Jacksons-where choreography and singing go hand in hand.)

Moving together reminds the body that it is safe, seen, and supported.

Correcting the Narrative: Soul Train and the Funk

I see the young people online looking at old footage of Soul Train. They see someone dancing with every fiber of their being—sweating, eyes closed, muscles straining to the funk—and they make jokes. They say, “Cocaine was a helluva drug,” because they can’t imagine that kind of intensity coming from a place of pure, sober necessity.

But they don’t understand the “Pressure Cooker” of the time.

When you spend your week navigating a world that denies your humanity, that 1970s bass funk line was your ventilator. Your oxygen. Your connection to your “last good nerve”.

Those dancers weren’t “high” on substances; they were high on the relief of finally being able to shake off the indignities of the world. It wasn’t an aesthetic. It was a biological imperative. They were dancing for their lives.

A Call to Return to Your Body

To the Survivors who have been dancing in their kitchens, in the clubs, or in the privacy of their rooms just to make it to tomorrow: I see you. Your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Do not let them tell you that you need a “method” or a “certificate” to heal. You have the wisdom of the Diaspora flowing through your veins.

1. Avoid dancing for the “look”: Close your eyes. Don’t worry about the line of your leg or the grace of your arms.

2. Find the vibration: Let the music hit the parts of you that feel numb or heavy.

3. Shake it off: Literally. Shake your hands, your feet, and your torso. Let the “tremor” happen. That is your nervous system letting go of what you no longer need to carry.

Our ancestors didn’t survive the Middle Passage, global colonization, the Trail of Tears, the fields, and the Jim Crow South by just “thinking” their way through it. They moved through it. Sang through it. Hummed through it.  It’s always the right time we reclaim that power within you.

“Your body remembers the trauma, but it also remembers the rhythm of the release. It remembers the healing. Listen to the blood memory.”

Affirmations for Reclaiming Your Rhythm

• “I don’t need a clinical label to prove my healing; my rhythm is my birthright, and my body already knows the way back home.”

Use this when the world tries to make your survival feel like a new science instead of an old soul-truth.

• “When I shake and move with the music, I am not just dancing; I am shaking off every lie, every heavy hand, and every indignity the world tried to settle in my spirit.”

Use this when you feel the weight of the day—or the decade—clinging to your shoulders.

• “My intensity is my medicine. I give myself permission to move with a ferocity that clears my blood, regulates my heart, and restores my soul.”

Use this when people misunderstand your power or try to tell you to ‘calm down’ when your spirit needs to ‘move through.'”

• “I am connected to a long line of Survivors who danced in the face of the fire. Every step I take is a sacred echo of their strength and a testament to my own.”

Use this to remind yourself that you are never dancing alone; the ancestors are in the room with you.

• “I move for the feeling, not for the look. My body is a sanctuary, not a stage, and I am the only audience that matters when I am dancing my way to freedom.”

Use this to ground yourself in the internal work of healing, letting go of the need for anyone else to understand your ‘why.'”

<p>The post Somatic Healing and Ancestral Wisdom: How the African Diaspora Heals Trauma Through Movement first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

Notice how people speak about sacrifices made for art vs. how they speak about sacrifices made for their favorite football or basketball player…..

Dancers understand this almost instinctively.

Anyone who danced the way Prince danced—
with that level of athleticism, speed, torque, elevation, repetition,
and especially in heels—
understood early on that this was not a path designed for extreme longevity of the body.

Not because of ignorance.
But because of honesty.

Dancers learn quickly that the body keeps score.
It speaks through ankles and knees.
Through hips and spine.
Through feet that ache long after the lights go out.

And still—there is choice.

Prince chose thriving over postponing life.
He chose expression over rationing joy.
He chose to pour himself fully into the years he had,
rather than live cautiously for a future that was never promised.

That choice was not denial.
It was clarity, especially as a Black creative who lived through many of his peers leaving this world too soon with earth shattering gifts still unwrapped.

Most elite dancers know they are not training for deep old age onstage.
They are training for now—
for presence, excellence, impact, and truth in motion.

This is where agency matters.

Some people choose a long life defined by calm, soothing, and physical preservation.
That is a valid choice.
It is not, however, every artist’s choice.

Others choose to use the body fully—
lovingly, fiercely, and with intention—
knowing that devotion leaves marks.

Neither path is foolish.
They are simply different lives.

Prince did not dance because it was safe.
He danced because it was who he was.

Dancers recognize this immediately,
because many of them have made the same quiet agreement with their bodies:

They will listen.
They will care.
And they will also live through them.

Thriving is not the same as lasting forever.
Sometimes thriving means burning bright—
skillfully, deliberately—
and leaving a legacy that outlives the body itself.

That, too, is wisdom.

<p>The post The Bold Choice to Live AND Thrive first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

I am a fan of how people from the African diaspora give love and how we embrace others. 

There are seasons when life feels like a storm that just won’t let up.
The winds change before you can catch your breath. The rain keeps coming.
And you begin to wonder if the sun even remembers where you live.

Connection isn’t always loud or obvious.
It can live in the smallest gestures, the ones that whisper, You’re not alone.

When the storm is strong, you don’t have to go looking for a crowd.
You only need a few hearts that understand the sound of thunder —
people who know what it means to hold on.

If you can’t find them right now, keep your heart open.
You might meet them in unexpected places:
in the quiet corners of an online group,
in the smile of an elder who’s weathered storms before you,
in the shared silence of someone who doesn’t need words to understand.

Community isn’t always built in sunshine.
Often, it’s born in the rain —
where compassion grows roots,
and where our souls learn to recognize each other by the light we carry,
not the storm that surrounds us.

Hold on.
You are seen.
You are surrounded.
And even in this storm, you are part of something sacred and unbreakable.

@nicole_doyon signed up for a yoga retreat & left with an experience I could have never predicted. My outlook on life will forever be changed ♥️ don’t take a single thing for granted, tell people you love them, & be a good human. Praying heavy for my Jamaican family and everyone affected by Hurricane Melissa 🙏🇯🇲 on a lighter note, it would be me who gets herself into a cat 5 😂😭 ready for anything now! #hurricanemelissa #jamaica ♬ growth – Gede Yudis

Jamaica Red Cross Society

Pull up Jamaica

• Local national society affiliated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) — mobilising volunteers, shelters, emergency supplies. American Red Cross+1

• Trusted because of its longstanding humanitarian role in Jamaica and direct local networks.

• Website: jamaicaredcross.org

• Global Empowerment Mission (GEM)

  • Has a dedicated “Hurricane Melissa” response page: extensive aid supplies delivered in Jamaica in the first week. Global Empowerment Mission

  • Strength lies in logistical capacity (warehouses, local Jamaican team) and commitment to long-term recovery.

  • Good for donors who want both immediate and sustained impact.

• All Hands & Hearts

  • Active in Jamaica for Hurricane Melissa relief: food/supplies distribution, cleanup & rebuilding operations. All Hands & Hearts

  • Clear about volunteer opportunities and direct impact; useful if you’re also thinking of on-the-ground involvement (or spreading the word).

• Send Relief

  • Disaster response arm of the North American Mission Board; has a specific response page for Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. Send Relief

  • Focuses on logistical support (shelters, food, rebuilding) via trusted church-partner networks.

• GiveDirectly

  • Offers cash assistance directly to affected families — allowing them to prioritise their needs (food, shelter, repairing homes) rather than pre-determined donations of goods. GiveDirectly

  • Especially valuable where logistics of goods may lag; cash gives dignity and flexibility to survivors.

• American Friends of Jamaica

  • U.S.-based nonprofit working with local partners in Jamaica; named in media articles as a response partner for Hurricane Melissa. TIME+1

  • For donors in the U.S., may offer tax-deduction benefits depending on status.

• Hurricane Melissa Relief

  Rebuilding Lives. Restoring Hope.

<p>The post They Went to a Jamaica Retreat Before a Hurricane and Found Belonging first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

Yoga isn’t about bending your body into impossible shapes.
It’s about remembering that your body is yours — capable, responsive, sacred.

People sometimes ask, “If yoga doesn’t build muscle, why do yoga practitioners look so strong?”
Because yoga builds something deeper than muscle. It builds relationship.

Every pose is a quiet conversation between body and spirit:

“Can you hold me steady?”
“Can you breathe through this?”
“Can you trust me again?”

That steady engagement — holding, breathing, releasing — tones the body and retrains the nervous system to see movement as safety, not threat.
It strengthens muscles, yes, but more importantly, it strengthens trust.

Survivors often carry tension where freedom should live.
Yoga teaches us to move that tension through breath and focus, not punishment.
It reminds us that power isn’t about domination or perfection — it’s about presence.

So even when the muscles don’t bulk up, something undeniable shows on the outside:

Photo by Timothy Yiadom

the glow of someone who’s been reclaimed by their own body.

That’s strength.

That’s healing.
That’s what survival looks like — steady, rooted, alive.

<p>The post Reclaiming Strength: What Yoga Teaches Survivors About Power first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

@mandyevans360

love me some double Dutch!

♬ original sound - Mandy Evans

 Double Dutch is such a sacred metaphor — playful on the surface, but underneath it’s about rhythm, timing, breath, courage, community, and ancestral endurance.

✨ Affirmation ✨
“My feet remember. My rhythm is ancient.
When I step into the ropes of Double Dutch, I am not just playing — I am dancing with my ancestors.

The quickness, the syncopation, the speed in my footwork is a blood memory carried across oceans, a whisper of African dance flowing through me.

I am living proof that joy, survival, and brilliance can be woven into rhythm. Each jump is resistance.

Each step is resilience.

Each turn is celebration.

I move with all who came before me, and I will not be stopped.”

@mandyevans360love me some double Dutch!♬ original sound – Mandy Evans

Blood memory….love, respect, and appreciate one another abundantly!

<p>The post Survivor Affirmation: Moving My Feet In Rhythm is a Sacred Metaphor first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

Is this wise advice or what?! She laid this out plain.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dr. ShantaQuilette Develle MBA, PhD CFE, EA, CPLC (@heyshantaq)

<p>The post Wise Words from Dr. ShantaQuilette Develle MBA, PhD CFE, EA, CPLC first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

PracticallyCalm on IG @themultiplemom on X

Many Survivors carry trauma not just in memories, but in their muscles, breath, posture, and stillness. This snippet reveals how real healing begins not by forcing the story out, but by listening to what the body has already been saying. If you’ve ever felt tears rise without knowing why—or calm arrive before words—this is for you.

---

Me in my daughter be jumping imaginary rope in the house for somatic movement.

Her: mommy I’m sad. Let’s jump rope.

Us ropeless: pic.twitter.com/QQhzUtTlvq

— Princess | Mindfulness | Conscious Parenting (@themultiplemom) July 23, 2025

Self hug for overstimulation for sensory seeking folks. pic.twitter.com/kCWoyQ381o

— Princess | Mindfulness | Conscious Parenting (@themultiplemom) April 26, 2024

<p>The post The Missing Link in Healing Trauma: Somatic Awareness first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

Photo by Hanna Morris/Unsplash.com

“Even in stillness, I can move.

Even in pain, I can sway. My body remembers peace.”

Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught to sit still.
To hide our grief.
To silence our joy.
To stiffen our bodies in the face of fear.

But your body remembers the truth:
Movement is medicine.

Especially soft, rhythmic, ancestral movement—like swaying.

✨ Why Swaying Helps You Heal

You don’t need special tools.
You don’t need to explain.
Just let your body move—gently, like the trees.

When you sway side to side or front to back, here’s what happens:

🌬️ Your breath slows
💓 Your heart rate settles
🧠 Your brain shifts out of fight-or-flight
🎶 Your inner rhythm aligns with peace

Swaying activates the parasympathetic nervous system—the part that says:
You are safe now. You can rest.

🌿 This Is Not New

• Our grandmothers rocked babies on tired hips and in strong arms

• Our ancestors swayed in prayer, in protest, and in praise

• Our bodies danced long before we spoke the language of trauma

Swaying is not just calming. It’s co-regulation.
It’s remembrance.
It’s resistance against the world’s demand that we numb ourselves to survive.

💛 For Survivors Especially…

If you’ve ever:

• Felt frozen or disconnected from your body

• Struggled to self-soothe during flashbacks or panic

• Needed something gentle and real to bring you back—

Try swaying.

No judgment.
No performance.
Just a sacred conversation between your body and your breath.

🕊️ Try This

• Find a quiet space, sit or stand

• Close your eyes if it feels safe

• Begin to sway slowly—side to side, like a lullaby

• Let your breath follow the motion

• If you feel emotions rise, just breathe. You are safe with yourself.

💬 Reminder:

You are not broken for needing softness.
You are not weak for needing rhythm.
You are beautifully human.
And your nervous system deserves compassion.

#SurvivorAffirmation
“Even in stillness, I can move. Even in pain, I can sway. My body remembers peace.”

1. Activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System (Rest-and-Digest Mode)
   Gentle, rhythmic movements like swaying stimulate the vagus nerve, which signals the body to shift out of fight-or-flight and into a calm, relaxed state.

2. Mimics Soothing Early-Life Experiences
   From the womb to rocking in a caregiver’s arms, swaying is often one of the first rhythms our bodies remember. It offers a deep sense of safety, connection, and co-regulation.

3. Improves Vestibular Balance and Body Awareness
   The motion engages the inner ear and vestibular system, grounding us and promoting a sense of stability—especially important for trauma survivors who may feel disconnected from their bodies.

4. Regulates Breathing and Heart Rate
   Rhythmic swaying can naturally synchronize with slower, deeper breaths. This coherence between breath and motion slows the heart rate and reduces cortisol (the stress hormone).

5. Engages Bilateral Stimulation
   Like walking or EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), swaying left to right offers bilateral stimulation, which helps process emotions and soothe the nervous system.

🌺 Traditional & Cultural Wisdom

• Many Indigenous, African, and diasporic traditions use swaying in dance, ritual, and prayer—not just for celebration, but for healing.

• Rocking, humming, and swaying are ancestral tools for self-soothing and spiritual regulation—long before we had modern neuroscience to explain them.

🧘🏾‍♀️ Ways to Incorporate Swaying

• While standing or seated, gently sway side to side or front to back

• Add slow humming or music with a steady rhythm

• Use it during prayer, meditation, or quiet reflection

• Rock while seated in a chair, on a yoga ball, or in a rocking chair

• Hold a child, or imagine being held—co-regulation works across generations

✨ In Summary

Swaying is a nervous system regulator.
It is soft, rhythmic, ancestral medicine.
You don’t need tools or equipment—just your body, your breath, and a little space to move.

🧡
[survivoraffirmations.com]
Where healing speaks your language.

<p>The post 🌿 Swaying Is Sacred: A Nervous System Reset Rooted in Our Bodies and Our Histories first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

Guess what y’all?! Cold water has some type of super power. Maybe this is why folks love swimming?

from Sora

There are days when your body feels like a house on fire.
Your heart races.
Your chest tightens.
Your thoughts scatter like dry leaves in the wind.

That’s not overreacting.
That’s not weakness.
That’s your nervous system sounding the alarm.

But there is a quiet trick—an ancient and biological balm—
that reminds the body:
“You are not in danger anymore.”

That balm is cold water.

🧠 Here’s the (Sacred) Science

When you splash cold water on your face—or take a short cold rinse at the end of your shower—three powerful things happen:

1. The Vagus Nerve Wakes Up

The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It’s like your body’s spiritual telephone line—connecting your brain to your heart, lungs, gut, and more.

Cold water—especially to the face or neck—activates the vagus nerve, which signals the body to switch from:

⚠️ Fight-or-flight mode
to
🕊️ Rest-and-digest mode

It’s like telling your body:

“We are safe.
You can breathe now.”
“The storm has passed.”

2. Brown Fat Gets Activated

Brown adipose tissue—aka brown fat—is your body’s built-in heat generator.
It burns calories and produces warmth.

Cold exposure:

• Wakes it up

• Triggers metabolism

• Balances blood sugar

• Brings the body back online in a calm, healing way

This isn’t a weight loss gimmick—it’s your body learning to regulate again.

3. You Create a Micro-Controlled Shock

Cold water gives your nervous system a safe jolt. A “reset.”

It’s not trauma—because you’re choosing it.
So your body gets the message:

“We are not helpless.
We are in control.
We are powerful.”
And the system reboots.

💧 This Is Why Elders Knew

They didn’t have neuroscience.
But they knew.

Cold compress on a crying child.
Cold cloth on a woman in grief.
Jumping in the river when overwhelmed.
“Splash water on your face, baby.” (I remember hearing this one.)

They were calming storms with the wisdom of instinct.

💬 Say This With Me:

My body listens to water.
My breath returns in rhythm.
My mind softens at the edge of cold.
I do not need to fear my fire—because I now know how to cool the flame.

🌿 Try This Practice

The 30-Second Calm:

1. Fill a bowl with cold water. Add ice if you’d like.

2. Dip your face gently—or just splash cold water onto cheeks and neck.

3. Breathe in slowly. Exhale longer than you inhale.

4. Repeat 3 rounds. Say aloud: “I am not in danger.”

Notice what shifts—not just in your body, but in your spirit.

✨ Final Truth:

You were never too sensitive.
You were never “dramatic.”
Your body was just overwhelmed.
Your nervous system needed reassurance.
Your fire needed a river.

Now you know:
Cold water calms the storm—because it speaks a language your body remembers.

And every time you listen,
you come home to yourself again.

<p>The post Why Cold Water Calms the Storm first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>

Let’s make one thing clear:

You are not crazy.
You are not lazy.
You are not broken.

You are in a body that has been trying to protect you in ways no one explained.

So when you gain weight, lose sleep, forget things, crave sugar, feel wired and tired at the same time?
That’s not betrayal.
That’s biology trying to save you.

🧬 Let’s Talk Hormones—and Trauma

1. Cortisol: The Survivor’s Shield

Cortisol is your body’s stress hormone.
It’s like your internal alarm system—it keeps you alert, ready, braced.

💥 After trauma or chronic stress:

• Your cortisol stays high.

• Your sleep gets lighter.

• Your belly holds more fat (especially around the middle).

• You crave sugar and carbs (fast energy = protection).

But cortisol isn’t the villain.
It’s the first responder.
It just wasn’t meant to stay on high alert forever.

2. Adrenaline: The Sprint, Not the Marathon

Adrenaline helps you escape danger—fast.
It makes your heart race, your pupils dilate, your muscles tense.

But when trauma keeps you in fight-or-flight?

• You feel anxious for “no reason.”

• You overreact to small triggers.

• You burn out quickly, then crash.

• You live in a state of near-panic or emotional flatness.

Adrenaline was designed to get you out, not to stay in.

3. Insulin: The Silent Protector

Insulin helps regulate your blood sugar.
But in trauma, your cells get resistant to it—because your body thinks danger is around the corner and wants to store energy.

That means:

• More belly fat

• Crashes after eating

• Stronger cravings

• Slower weight release, even if you’re “doing everything right”

This isn’t because your body hates you.
It’s because your body loves you so much it prepared for famine, threat, and chaos—again and again.

💡 Healing Rebalances Everything

When you start regulating your nervous system…

• Cortisol lowers

• Adrenaline settles

• Insulin sensitivity improves

• Hunger and fullness cues return

• Weight may shift—but peace always does

Your hormones don’t need punishment.
They need reassurance.

That’s why:

• Gentle movement helps (not punishment workouts)

• Breathwork heals (long exhales = safety)

• Consistent meals and sleep routines re-teach the body rhythm

• Safety, stability, and softness do more than any supplement

💬 Say This With Me:

My hormones are not attacking me—they are adapting for me.
I no longer fight my body—I partner with her.
Every shift in my energy is a message, not a malfunction.
I create the conditions for healing.
I trust the wisdom within me.

🧠 Final Truth:

Your body never turned against you.
She turned toward you—armed with chemicals, rhythms, and messengers that did everything they could to keep you alive in a world that felt unsafe.

Now that you’re choosing healing?

She’s ready to soften.
To balance.
To release.
To return.

All she needed was the signal: “We are safe now.”

<p>The post Your Hormones Are Not Betraying You—They’re Trying to Protect You first appeared on Survivor Affirmations.</p>