Epigenetics and Intergenerational Healing Practices

Some time ago, a friend of mine and I had lunch. During our time together, she asked if I had ever heard of epigenetics. I had not. She described that she was the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and she was exhibiting behaviors indicative of post traumatic stress disorder. However, she had never experienced trauma first hand. She wondered if it could be a result of epigenetics — the idea that trauma can change the expression of the DNA in our cells, and these changes can be passed from parent to child. Epigentics, I learned after some searching, is the study of inheritable changes in gene expression, and it has changed the ways in which scientists view genomes.

I had already gotten hooked on genealogy in my own life. I used a software package that is now defunct (and I had to recreate the whole dang thing in Ancestry.com). Before both of my grandmothers passed, I had the chance to spend hours with them, gathering notes on all the photos they had in boxes and listening to their stories. I learned about generations of addiction, workaholism, perfectionism, and a long line of angry men. I also learned about how courageous, entrepreneurial and resilient my people were. I could definitely see how the patterns had been passed down, and I had received lots of therapy about many of them. But I wondered if the patterns were a result of trauma. Had I actually inherited them genetically? Was there something I needed to do somatically (physically) to release those burdens, because workaholism seemed to be pernicious in my life. (The book The Body Keeps the Score was part of my awareness about how trauma stays in our bodies.)

Almost seven years later, the topic of epigenetics surfaced for me again. Do you know how something comes into your awareness, and then it seems to be everywhere? I read two books, and both referred to a study that was published by Rachel Yehuda and her colleagues entitled, “Holocaust Exposure Induced Intergenerational Effects on FKBP5 Methylation” (Biological Psychiatry 80, no. 5, September, 2016: 372–80). The study showed that damaged genes in the bodies of Jewish Holocaust survivors, resulting from the trauma they suffered under Nazism, were passed on to their children. Further research confirms Yehuda’s conclusions. Earlier research on mice confirmed the same results, and those studies demonstrated how memories connected to painful events get transmitted not just to children but also grandchildren. My friend had been on to something.

By the way, the two books I read were:

Wounded into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma by Rabbi Tirzah Firestone

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

Rabbi Firestone says, in chapter two of her book, “Knowing what our forebears went through helps us to better understand and have compassion for our family legacies and our own selves. … Once we are cognizant of our history, we can better choose positive responses to our trauma legacies.”

Resma Menakem reminds us that we don’t just inherit trauma, we also inherit resilience. It is built into the very cells of our bodies. “Like trauma, resilience can ripple outward, changing the lives of people, families, neighborhoods, and communities in positive ways,” he says (page 50).

Menakem’s powerful work shines a light not just on personal and intergenerational trauma but also on historical and institutionalized trauma. He says that when we heal our own trauma, individually and collectively, we don’t just heal our bodies. It helps us refuse to pass on the trauma we inherited, and in turn, we help heal the world.

I am involved in various social and climate justice movements, and I began to notice that my friends and leaders were talking about ancestors and how the ancient ones can help us personally and collectively. That got me curious. And sure enough, my practice of Celtic spirituality led to working with ancestors. All around the world, people have cultivated relationships with the wise ancestral guides in their lines to help heal turbulence within their families. In most modern societies, however, we’ve lost touch with the healing power of ancestor work, and with our deep spiritual connection to those in our lineages who can have a strong impact on our personal and cultural wellbeing.

All of these these things converged, and I began to do this intergenerational healing for myself and my family. Those experiences have been powerful and continue. (Future blog posts to come about those experiences.)

I have been working with others, leading them in intergenerational healing practices. Meditation, visualization and ritual allows us to honor healthy wise ancestors and ask them for healing help. Somatic practices like breathing, movement, chanting and singing help us move trauma from our bodies and embrace a settled way of being.

If any of this sounds interesting to you, read more about the practices here.