Blackfullness: Where Mindfulness Meets Cultural Connection

A culturally syntonic mindfulness app designed by Black Women

Mindfulness has long been celebrated for its ability to reduce stress, improve emotional balance, and support overall mental well-being. But while its benefits are well-documented, traditional mindfulness practices often fail to address the cultural realities, lived experiences, and systemic challenges that uniquely impact Black communities. For many, this oversight creates a disconnect—between the promise of healing and the actual lived experience of those seeking it.

Mainstream mindfulness can sometimes feel detached, even exclusionary, when it doesn't reflect the daily truths of navigating racism, microaggressions, and generational trauma. What’s needed is a mindful practice that not only acknowledges these realities, but actively honors the strength, resilience, and joy found within them. Enter Blackfullness—a groundbreaking mindfulness app designed with intention and cultural relevance, Blackfullness offers a space for Black individuals to reclaim rest, stillness, and self-awareness in ways that feel authentic and affirming. By centering the Black experience, Blackfullness bridges the gap between traditional mindfulness and true, culturally responsive healing.

This episode features Dr. Natalie Watson-Singleton, a licensed clinical psychologist; Associate Professor of psychology at Spelman College; and the Diversity and Inclusion Education Director with the Nia Project at Emory University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is also the owner of her own psychotherapy and consulting practice, NWS Wellness and Consulting, LLC. Dr. Watson-Singleton has expertise in African Americans’ health disparities, and she also examines ways to culturally modify mindfulness interventions to increase its access among African American communities.

To learn more about Dr. Watson-Singleton, click here.

More Works by Dr. Watson-Singleton:

• NWS Wellness

• Protocol for a pilot study assessing a virtual mindfulness intervention for postpartum African American women

• African American women’s perceptions of mindfulness meditation training and gendered race-related stress

• Emotional Benefits and Barriers of Psychological Services Scale: Initial construction and validation among African American women.

• Does exposure to race-related stress lead to attention biases? Examining the moderating roles of anxiety and racial identity among Black adults.

Season 2 Episode 21

Running Time:  27 minutes