Hello fellow BIPOC adoptees,

Thank you for joining me last Friday for the BIPOC Adoptee conference session online! It was beautiful to connect in this way with people from all over the world. I appreciate you showing up for yourself and contributing to the space in whatever way felt right for you. And, for trusting me to do this work with you.

Below is a summary of the session and a few things to keep in mind moving forward. If you feel called to share your work, my email is at the bottom.

Exploration

The session centered on exploring non-verbal language. We began with embodied exploration, followed by art reflection, and finally arrived at words

The Body

I shared that when I referred to the “the body,” I didn’t mean just the physical body, but also the emotional, mental, energetic, and spiritual bodies. While they’re not separate, it can be helpful to refer to them individually to better understand which one feels more familiar or speaks more often.

How the Body Speaks

We talked about how to describe the ways the body communicates, which can help us build a broader language for what we experience. Some examples I shared:

  • Temperature: cold, hot, humid

  • Pressure: light, hard, soft

  • Movement: fluttering, tickling, pulsing, running

  • Colors

  • Imagery

  • Sound

Feelings, Sensations & Emotions

All emotions have sensations—but not all sensations are emotions. In this work, we try to stay curious and non-judgmental. That can feel vague or even unsettling, especially for adoptees, but part of the practice is describing what’s surfacing rather than labeling it (e.g., “sad,” “disappointed,” “grief”). The goal is to expand our body’s language so that we can map out what our body is saying at any given time.

Homebase

Before diving deep into the body, we explored finding a “homebase”—a place where you feel safe and grounded that you can return to during the exploration. We experimented with swaying, rocking, hugging, and gentle touch to notice what helped us feel anchored. For some, common grounding techniques like closing the eyes or deep breathing might be activating instead of calming, so it’s important to find what truly feels safe for you.

Narrative

We explored our relationship to our narratives—stories we hold in the body. We did some “brain-dumping” to name them. Some examples shared in the session included:

  • I’m too introverted.

  • I’m not enough.

  • I’m a procrastinator.

  • I’m too sensitive.

  • I’m not American/[insert birth country here].

  • I don’t make good decisions.

  • I’m abundantly optimistic.

Narratives aren’t inherently positive or negative—they can be both or none. The key is noticing how they or serve us.

Charge

Before the movement exploration, each of us selected a narrative to work with—ideally one with a little bit of emotional or energetic charge, but not so much that it would feel overwhelming. Charge is simply the “vibration” or energy a narrative holds. .

Guided Movement Exploration

I led a guided movement exploration to help us drop into the body and use it as the vehicle for discovery. You were always welcome to return to your homebase at any point. Throughout the session, I offered questions—not to answer, but to encourage curiosity. We moved and interacted with the narrative and noticed how/if the relationship with it shifted, even if subtle. We paused to check in and observe what was present in the body.

Art Reflection

We continued with non-verbal expression by using art as a way of reflection. This helped us stay in the body while giving language to our experience and create something we could witness visually.

Words

This is often where the meaning-making begin. We gave our experience words—maybe a list of words, a short reflection, a poem, or a story. For some, words may not have come yet, and that’s completely okay too.

What Now?

Exploration work is an act of deep listening and noticing. It helps us recognize what’s present in the moment. If you were to do the same session again tomorrow, you might hear or feel something entirely different. That’s the nature of this practice.

I suggest keeping your artwork somewhere visible for the next couple of weeks. It may continue to speak to you. You might feel inspired to add to it, move with it, or create something new in response.

Playlist

Click HERE for the Spotify playlists of tracks that we used in the session, plus additional ones in case you feel inspired to move and dance.

Last But Not Least…

You may have already noticed that this work usually takes a little bit of time to settle into the body. A gentle reminder that you can always return to your homebase whenever you need.

If you feel called to share your artwork, reflections, or any other takeaway with me- please do. My email is: annaegrundstrom@gmail.com. Let me know if you’d like a reply or if you’re simply sharing for your own process.

You can also reach me at the email above for question, comments, or if you wish to be added to the email list receiving updates about my Adoptees Only sessions online.

Open skies and love,
- Anna