An Adinkra-Guided Inner Work Journal
Adinkra House
Narrative Identity · IFS · Polyvagal · ACT · Akan Philosophy
Week 1
SAHN-koh-fah
"Go back and get it"
7Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenkyiri
It is not taboo to go back for what you forgot.
8Your autonomic nervous system operates in three primary states. The ventral vagal state is your social engagement system — where you feel safe, connected, and capable. The sympathetic state activates fight-or-flight. The dorsal vagal state is shutdown — collapse, numbness, disconnection.
You cannot process difficult memories or emotions when your nervous system reads the environment as unsafe. The window of tolerance — the zone where you can feel without being overwhelmed — is where real integration happens.
This week's prompts are designed to help you notice which state you're in and gently expand your capacity to stay present.
Week 1 · Sankofa
Your body has been keeping records long before your mind started making stories. Close your eyes. Scan slowly from your head to your feet. Where do you feel tension, warmth, numbness, or openness? Label each area on the outline below.
Week 1 · Sankofa
We carry stories that were given to us — about who we are, what we deserve, what's possible. Some of those stories served us once. Some never did. List them, then choose which ones stay.
Week 3 · Ananse Ntontan
In IFS, protector parts developed for a reason. They kept you safe when you needed it. Have a conversation with one. Write as yourself, then switch — write as the protector. Let it speak.
Week 1 · Closing
Sankofa teaches that looking back is not retreat — it is retrieval. You have been doing the work of retrieval this week. Before you move forward, plant your feet.
Name 5 things you can see. 4 you can touch. 3 you can hear. 2 you can smell. 1 you can taste. Take your time. There is no rush.
What are you carrying forward from this week? Write freely below.
20Eight weeks of structured inner work. 30 Adinkra symbols. 40 exercises.
Secure payment via Stripe · Instant download