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Sounds True Presents
Begin Healing Historical and Racialized Trauma
We live in a society where the white-body is the standard by which all bodies are measured—both philosophically and structurally. As a result, racialized trauma becomes embodied and gets transmitted to later generations as an accepted, standard, and morally acceptable way of being. Through this deeply transformative work, Resmaa Menakem confronts the charge of racism by guiding the way on how to begin to heal this trauma for ourselves and future generations.
JOIN US AND:
Find out what Somatic Abolitionism is and how it helps dismantle white-body supremacy
Learn how to use somatic practices to work with different trauma responses
Understand how to build an anti-racist culture through the body
FEATURED IN
YOUR COURSE INCLUDES
Complete Talks on Video
A collection of embodied knowledge that empowers you to develop racial literacy
Guided Practices
Resmaa Menakem walks you through simple body practices you can implement in daily life
Lifetime Access
Learn at your own pace with lifetime access to all course materials
Bonus Expert Interviews
Dive deeper and enhance your training through additional expert insights on racialized trauma
ABOUT YOUR TEACHER
ABOUT YOUR TEACHER
Resmaa Menakem
Healer, New York Times Bestselling Author, Trauma Specialist
Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP, is a therapist with decades of experience, currently in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota, specializing in trauma, body-centered psychotherapy, and violence prevention. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr. Phil as an expert on conflict and violence. Menakem has studied with bestselling author Dr. David Schnarch (Passionate Marriage). He also trained at Dr. Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute.
The Somatic Abolitionism Philosophy
Healing Racialized Trauma Begins with Your Body
Somatic Abolitionism is a living, embodied anti-racist practice and cultural building—a way of being in the world. The foundation of the teaching lies at the intersection of healing trauma through somatic practices and eliminating racial injustice from the inside out. More than exclusively a goal, an attitude, or belief, Somatic Abolitionism is an emergent form of growing into a fuller energetic human experience.
Before you join, you might be wondering:
What Is Somatic Abolitionism?
Somatic simply means body-centered. Abolitionism was the widespread (and also widely opposed) movement to end enslavement in America during the 19th century. Today, Somatic Abolitionism is an individual and communal effort to free our bodies—and our society—from the long enslavement to racialized trauma.
Why Do We Need Somatic Abolitionism?
Nearly all of us are infected by the virus of white-body supremacy: the falsehood that the white body is the supreme standard upon which all other bodies are measured and judged. Today the white-body supremacy virus remains with us—in the institutions that govern us and the social contracts under which we live—depleting and eroding our health and happiness.
What Does Somatic Abolitionism Do?
Somatic Abolitionism heals our bodies of the white-body supremacy virus and inoculates our bodies against new infections through cultural container building. It begins in your body, then ripples out to other bodies and to our collective body. Through repetition, you build resilience, discernment, and the ability to tolerate discomfort when confronting the brutality of race.
How Are These Concepts Applied?
Rather than provide nonexistent quick-fix solutions to these complex dynamics and issues, Resmaa weaves together scientific research, case histories, and his own insights and experiences to present a broad perspective that enlightens and empowers you to cultivate and support your own healing journey.
Who Will Benefit from This Program?
This is an exceptional opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about intergenerational trauma healing, exploring the effects of racism and white-body supremacy within your body, and developing self-regulation skills to cultivate Somatic Abolitionism personally and communally. No matter the body you are in, this is the course for you.
“Trauma decontextualized in a person looks like personality. Trauma decontextualized in a family looks like family traits. Trauma decontextualized in people looks like culture.”
Resmaa Menakem
MSW, LICSW, SEP
Put Wisdom into Action
Specific Content Includes:
The opening session sets a course for healing historical and racialized trauma carried in the body and soul. You will explore the deeply experiential practices that inspire personal, cultural, and systemic transformation.
- Familiarize yourself with Resmaa’s work and his aspirations for its impact
- Confront the impact of racialized trauma, unhealed pain, and body constriction from white-body supremacy and how it moves through generations
- Discover terms, dispel myths, and approach the lifelong work of healing intergenerational trauma with compassion and curiosity
Module 2 introduces us to Somatic Abolitionism as a living, embodied anti-racist practice and cultural building that can help you heal racialized and intergenerational trauma from the inside out.
- Unpack white-body supremacy and the falsehood that the white body is the supreme standard upon which all other bodies are measured and judged
- Learn how to listen to your body and orient and ground yourself so you can better identify and respond to somatic elicitations and trauma responses
- Develop embodied racial literacy that supports you in developing a life and community centered on abolishing white-body supremacy
Your body has multiple intelligences that go beyond cognition and reasoning. Explore how we naturally pick up on a wide variety of energy flows that send signals to our nervous system.
- Get introduced to your body’s different intelligences, what they are, how they help you, and ways they relate to confronting race and white-body supremacy
- Discover and expand your body’s natural intelligences to receive and discern messages, interpret subtle changes inside of your body, and cultivate somatic awareness
- Find out how to metabolize the traumatic impacts of racism, work through it, and grow up out of it using somatic healing methods and practices
Somatic Abolitionism is not something that can be achieved using tools. We must approach this work with play, exploration, and inquiry. Module 4 shows us how to tend to and condition our body to deal with white-body supremacy using the five cultural somatic toys.
- Practice the five cultural somatic toys and learn how to work with your soul nerve and vagal nerve to build resilience and increased racial agility
- Give your body permission to process the trauma and horror you’ve experienced as an individual and as a human being part of a larger collective
- Develop understanding, nuance, and tolerance for whatever shows up in your experience by cultivating presence
You will explore the distinction between “clean pain,” the necessary discomfort that mends and heals, and “dirty pain,” the pain of avoidance, denial, and repeating harmful patterns with no intention of changing them.
- Discover how the perpetuation of white-body supremacy is connected with people’s refusal to experience clean pain around the conversation of race
- Heal and make room for growth in your nervous system by learning somatic practices that will help you settle in your body in the midst of conflict and uncertainty
- Get clear about who you are, what you value, and what’s important to you by learning how to practice “soul scribing,” a form of deep introspection
You will explore how the virus of white-body supremacy lives in our nervous system and fractures into trauma as a result of historical, intergenerational, and institutional wounding passed down through generations.
- Learn how to recognize, accept, and move through trauma by exploring the edges of discomfort and tempering the bodymind
- Benefit from noticing when you’re bypassing or avoiding, so you can move through the experience of healing with courage and hope
- Understand how healing racialized trauma and working through pain can usher in an antiracist culture for future generations
Walk through practices and methods you can draw upon to ground and anchor yourself when you encounter resistance or disagreement in conversations about race.
- Condition your body to remain settled and calm in the face of threats by building self-worth and the ability to handle the energy of discomfort
- Cultivate strength, resilience, and resourcefulness by noticing the sensations in your body and allowing yourself to rest and reflect before reacting
- Metabolize and discharge excess energy held in the body, so you can develop a greater capacity for facing and abolishing white-body supremacy
Somatic Abolitionism requires action—including repeated individual and communal application. Learn how to build a communal container where you can practice this transformative work with others.
- Discover how Somatic Abolitionism heals your body of white-body supremacy, ripples out to other bodies, and then to our collective body
- Collectively build resilience, discernment, and the ability to tolerate the discomfort that comes with confronting the brutality of race
- Integrate the concepts of this course to support one another and hold space for the feelings, experiences, and sensations that arise
Resmaa Menakem leaves you with a special message on how this is not the end of this work. And, the continued study of Somatic Abolitionism is required to help you apply these concepts in connecting with your community.
4pm PT/7pm ET to 5pm PT/8pm ET
Enroll Now and Receive These Three Bonus Conversations:
Developing only an individual response to a communal horror is inadequate. We must develop communal understanding and a communal practice to overcome white-body supremacy. Here, Resmaa Menakem shares an urgent call for all of us to collectively, with other bodies, practice Somatic Abolitionism and create change for the better.
Resmaa Menakem engages Rev. angel Kyodo williams, esteemed Zen priest and recognized teacher in the Japanese Zen lineage, in an inspiring conversation about the spiritual social evolution and practices you can use to support your transformation.
Here, Resmaa Menakem talks with activist, author, and thought leader Nova Reid about how each of us can be the change we want to see in the world. They encourage us to courageously confront the charge of racism so we can heal trauma for ourselves and future generations.
Frequently Asked Questions
This course is for anyone who wants to heal trauma through somatic practices and eliminate racial injustice from the inside out. These body-based and mindfulness practices can help you build presence and discernment in your body, settle your nervous system during the heat of conflict, and begin to heal personal and collective racialized trauma.
There is a palpable charge associated with race. This course is designed to help you work through that charge, so you can grow and begin to look at life through an expanded lens.
As you experience the embodied practices and processes of Somatic Abolitionism, you can build body intelligence and feel more settled and present when tough moments or tough conversations arise. Though what’s shared in this course is not meant to be (and cannot be) a quick fix, you will have lifetime access to the material, so you can come back to it as often as you wish.
This course was designed for all bodies of all colors.
Racialized trauma is a systemic issue that needs to be addressed by everyone, regardless of the body they were born into. We are all impacted by white-body supremacy. Resmaa works with diverse audiences around the world, and his method of teaching is inclusive to all peoples. Of course, you’ll likely confront uncomfortable emotions that can arise when doing this work. This course will help you build resilience around race and begin to work though racialized trauma–both for your own benefit and the benefit of future generations.
Racialized trauma impacts society as a whole, so it’s a great idea to team up with others and take this course as a group or community, if you can. We know that’s not always possible, so the course isn’t designed in a way that requires a group.
The individualistic norms of the United States can keep us thinking we need to do everything alone. But we don’t always heal alone–and sometimes it’s not possible to heal without the support of others. This course is a great opportunity to work through challenging internal issues while being held alongside others.
This course is available on-demand, so you can move through it at your own pace and on your own schedule. This kind of deep work requires more space and time than typical online courses, so the curriculum is available immediately upon purchase, and you can experience the course in a timeframe that works for you.
You can explore this online course risk-free for an entire year. If it fails to meet your expectations for any reason, simply contact us at support@soundstrue.com for a full refund.
We do not want there to be financial barriers for anyone looking to access the material we offer. If you need assistance to take this course, you can apply for a free or reduced-cost scholarship via the Sounds True Foundation.
If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Sounds True Foundation to help us fund more scholarships, you can donate. Thank you for your support!
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If you have any questions, please visit our Help Center to find answers to commonly asked questions.
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