I often get asked some version of this question: Can I have fun while I’m healing? And the answer is absolutely yes. But I think the way I understand that answer has changed over the years. Healing can take so much energy. Mentally.Physically.Emotionally.Spiritually.Relationally. Sometimes our body is working really hard just to get through what is happening. And I have not found it helpful if the answer is to tell myself, “Come on. Go have fun. Think positively. Enjoy your life”. Sometimes...
12 days ago • 3 min read
I was reading something from Nate Postlethwait recently, and two things he said really hit home for me. He said: “cPTSD is not a result of not handling things well. It’s a result of continually experiencing things your mind and body weren’t meant to handle at all”. And: “‘Family is everything.’ No, healing is. And if the family is who caused the trauma, they don’t always get to participate in the healing”. There was a time when being able to name these kinds of truths felt like the answer....
19 days ago • 3 min read
I remember the first time I thought……with almost complete disbelief and at the same time 100% belief: "I'm not crazy." I had started remembering suppressed and repressed trauma. As some of those memories came back, other moments from my life started making sense too. I remembered times I had acted "weird." Times my reactions seemed way too big……or way too small. Times I couldn't explain why I did what I did, felt what I felt, or reacted the way I reacted. I had definitely wondered if I was...
26 days ago • 3 min read
Today, as I was going through some vagus nerve exercises, gathering some to send a client, I came across one called Superhero Pose. Before I share about this exercise, let me briefly explain vagus nerve exercises: They are movements that can awaken, support and help our vagus nerve come online so that our body can move into a new state. For instance, if we are anxious, it can help us calm down. If we are stuck, it can help us move into action. And as I looked at this particular exercise, I...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
I've been thinking a lot lately about what people mean when they say, "Just trust your body." I've said those words too. And while I believe they hold so much wisdom, I've also come to believe they're only part of the story. Because for many of us—especially those who have experienced trauma—living in our body is beautifully healing...and incredibly complex. There isn't just one voice inside us. There are parts of us that remember trauma. Parts that learned how to survive. Parts that still...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Whenever there's a full moon, (and tonight, July 29th is a full moon) I find myself asking a version of this question…. What am I ready to let be illuminated? Other questions… What am I ready to let the moon shine a new light on? Am I in a place to fully turn toward something? To see it and then let it move through my system? To let things either nourish me on the way through? Or let things that are not serving me leave and, on the way out, grab whatever is connected, as I say, "Good...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Lately I've been thinking about, and noticing, vibration. Everything we hear is vibration. The rumble of thunder. The sound of someone's voice. The hum of a fan. Even the sounds we create ourselves through humming, singing, or breathing. Researchers are continuing to discover how sound and vibration influence our nervous system. Certain vibrations appear to support relaxation, reduce pain, and stimulate pathways connected to the vagus nerve, which plays an important role in our body's ability...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Over the last five months, I've been living with a level of back pain that has changed almost every part of my life. I can't hike. I can't run. I can't bike. I can't raft. I can't do many of the things that have always helped me feel like...me. I also haven't been able to stand for long periods of time, sit comfortably, make dinner, shower without pain, or do many of the ordinary, everyday things I've always taken for granted. I know many of you reading this live with chronic pain. While I...
2 months ago • 5 min read
There was a moment during a bodywork session this week that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. I was receiving osteopathic manipulation while my *friend and *colleague was gently working with the fascia around my pelvis. As she began, she quietly said, "Your pelvis feels incredibly tight. It almost doesn't want to move." She knows my trauma history, so she gently added, "That makes sense. Those parts of you probably haven't felt safe." The moment she said those words, something...
2 months ago • 3 min read