Black Women Meditate

How we came to be

Marilyn is of Surinamese black descent. In 2010 she was introduced to Vipassana meditation, which helped her cope with the loss of her father. In meditation, she found a way to deal with his traumatic and sudden death.

"After having encountered extreme racial aggression in the workplace.. , I could not see myself living like this. 'This' could not be 'it'. Attending Vipassana retreats and meditating made me realize that there is a way for us to effectively deal with trauma, even overcome it and grow in this society. We can turn inward. Not outward, as we so often do now.

Insight meditation has helped me to deal with life's setbacks. It has shown me a way out, given me refuge and taught me more compassion for all beings. This I strive to pay forward."

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Who we are

Black meditators

We facilitate insight meditation sessions in which Black women (and others) can find a Safe space to, among other things, meditate together but also share about experiences in predominantly white environments.

What we do

We meditate

We provide group insight meditation sessions of max 6 people. Also we facilitate one-on-one insight meditation sessions and provide group coaching on meditation from several locations in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In daily life, you’re sometimes going to feel emotional, fearful and be overwhelmed. Meditation helpt you lower your stress and equips you with ways to connect to yourself, helping you to focus on the present, which then helps relieve things like stress, anxiety and feelings of overwhelm.

We try to provide a trauma informed healing space for people to engage in the healing process that is necessary for collective liberation. We see this as a means to heal our racial trauma and internalized oppression.

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Why we do it

Because representation matters

Black Women Meditate is an Amsterdam based, safe environment for black women, who wish to commit to deepening their meditation practice, without distraction of the white gaze, micro-aggressions (that aren't that "micro" at all) or other behavioural encounters that limit our personal growth and our development in Wellness.

Black Women Meditate originated out of the dire need to see more ladies who look like us in wellness environments.

After having spent years meditating, we, and many others like us, noticed there is a very limited amount of black women in meditation and wellness. A strange conclusion, as we also aknowledge that in western- European society it is often black women who get 'the short end of the stick'. One would think we would find some solace or refuge in group meditation more often.

Marilyn:
“We are easily out of touch with ourselves because our mind easily wanders. We are often detoured by others and concerning ourselves far too much with events outside of our bodies and minds, that we have no control over. By focussing literally on nothing, but ourselves… we become free of daily struggles and strive. By turning inward we heal ourselves and are less affected by (generational) trauma, negative from the current outside world and even from that fostered within ourselves.”

Oh and we get it.... You're now wondering if you, as a non- black person, might join during our meditations. The answer is: 'Yes, of course you can'. You too are most welcome. We do not discriminate any races. All are welkome, regardless of race, color or creed.

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Where to find us

Locations

Currently you are welcome to join our meditation at holistic wellness centre Healing People, Meeuwenlaan 327, in Amsterdam Noord. Every Monday evening at 19:00 o' clock.

The insight meditation will take place with a minimum of at least 3 people. If you register, please keep an eye out for our emails.

In the near future we will have more meditation locations in the city centre and south east of Amsterdam.

If you have a neat, clean and quiet space that we can regularly use for insight meditation sessions, please contact us. We are ever expanding our locations to meditate together with likeminded people. Reach out so we can have a chat, or join our meditation sessions.

Meditate as a family

Metta

Besides facilitating insight meditation sessions in which Black women (and others) can find a Safe space to meditate together.... We also provide short meditation sessions for children as of 7 years old.

By reading, storytelling and short breathing exercises we get children more familiare with mindfulness and meditation.

Negative emotions don’t serve children in the moment. When children learn these meditation tools, techniques, and practices at a younger age, they’re better equipped to experience what could potentially be the stresses of adult life. You and your child will have the ability to maintain your sense of calm and peace and that way you don’t get both overwhelmed.

The earlier children learn these skills, the better. In our opinion it should be part of a hobby, like once a week. Children should at least be doing some sort of meditation or mindfulness exercise to get them connected to their own thoughts. This will help them verbalize their thoughts more clearly and bring you both closer together.