Ancestral Bone Mapping & Healing: Reweaving the Soul Through Bone, Beauty, and Ancestral Nourishment with Iya Affo

Through rhythms of beauty, grief, and intergenerational wisdom, this presentation and conversation explored healing through the languages of somatic ritual, trauma-informed neurobiology, and ancestral remembering.

Iya Affo is a Culturalist and Historical Trauma consultant. She earned Western certification as a Trauma Specialist and is a descendant of a long line of traditional healers from Bénin, West Africa. Iya serves as an Executive Board Member for the Arizona ACEs Consortium, is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Arizona Trauma Institute, and is the founder of Heal Historical Trauma Culture & Indigenous Wellness Academy. She has visited more than 30 countries; living in Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Native American, and Yoruba communities, embracing aspects from each culture for personal evolution. She strives to transcend tolerance through cultivating love and respect in hopes of facilitating the decolonization and subsequent healing of indigenous people from all over the world. Iya advocates for the harmonization of Traditional Medicine and Western Medicine for true holistic healing.

ALTÆR is a sacred invitation into ancestral medicine, where the body is honored as shrine, and the bones are read as living scrolls. Culturalist and Historical Trauma Consultant Iya Affo brings her deep-rooted knowledge and ceremonial practice to this space. As a featured presence in The Eternal Song film and founder of the Heal Historical Trauma Culture & Indigenous Wellness Academy, Iya carries experience across many Indigenous communities and advocates for the harmonization of Traditional and Western medicine as a path to collective wholeness.

ALTÆR: The Bones Remember – Eight week course with Iya Affo

Topics:

00:00 Introduction and Greetings

00:42 Introducing Iya Affo

01:44 Acknowledging Ancestral Lands and Ancestors

04:25 The Importance of Ancestral Healing

09:38 Understanding Coherence and Healing Practices

18:06 Exploring Bone Mapping

28:11 Personal Story: Ancestral Memory and Birth

32:45 A Difficult Labor and Ancestral Memory

34:33 The Impact of Historical Trauma on Black Women

38:47 Bone Mapping and Spiritual Genetics

43:57 Roles of Men and Women in Ancestral Healing

49:53 Healing Practices and Rituals

57:31 Integrating Indigenous Knowledge with Western Therapy

01:03:20 Closing Reflections and Future Courses

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