How are you friend? I hope this message finds you well. Sometimes we go into the New Year with some depletion due to the hustle of the holidays (or any germs that we encountered - I am feeling that one)....so today, I'd like to offer that we check in and explore what is happening in our heart/spirit, body and mind right now..... Is there depletion or something else? Can I get to awareness somatically, what are the sensations, where are they, what is my breathe doing? Can I accept it, sit with...
2 months ago • 3 min read
I know we don’t like to talk about our shame… And, I invite us to notice what comes up in our body, even when we read or say the word shame. Is there a fluttering, heaviness or weight in your chest? Your throat? Your stomach? Something else? Does your heart start beating faster? Do you immediately want to hide? I do….Shame feels like a black pit in my lower back that sucks all the air out of my chest. I want to curl in on myself and hide. Those are some possible sensations. What about...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Gabor Mata said, “Trauma affects your capacity to gauge safety.” Today I want to share 5 tips for things we can do in our here and now, to create safety, especially when our ‘safety gauge’ is a little off due to trauma from our past. Here are some questions to ask to gain awareness of where our safety gauge is right now. **And if you are finding yourself in trauma right now as you start reading this….jump down to Tip 5, regulate and then go back to Tip 1. (These first 4 tips are to use when...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Have you ever noticed how resistant we as humans are in doing things that we know are helpful for us? For instance, I know that when I am angry, grounding helps me calm down, and I also know that when I’m mad, the last thing I want to do is ground. (This happens when I’m excited about happy and fun things I’m doing too). When I am in this state of mobility and action, I often don’t want to stop. It’s like I have the momentum going and parts of me think that the only option is an abrupt stop,...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Last week I wrote about the power of being witnessed. The loving kindness meditation is another great tool for being witnessed. It offers 3 different ways to witness and hold space within oursleves. I offer this in my Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery class and I’d love to share it here. You can adapt the meditation by changing the order or by only doing a portion of it. I invite you to Orient and Center yourself by checking in and noticing the physical space around you. Then an invitation...
7 months ago • 3 min read
This quote from nicolajanehobbs, is one that I love to reflect on when I start to feel guilty about resting...... "If you feel guilty for rest, remember, you're not just resting for you, you're resting for all of us. You're resting to normalize resting in a society that worships busyness. You're resting to help lower the collective bar of what we are expected to get done in a day. You're resting so your inner chaos doesn't cause chaos around you. So your inner peace ripples out to those you...
8 months ago • 3 min read
Thankfully, when I find myself in a trauma response state, I now have tools to help me process. But I remember a time when getting a voice message from my mom would send me into a spiral of thoughts, emotions and “I don’t even know what is happening in my body right now” sensations that just made me feel crazy and out of control. I would want to say all sorts of things…. And then I’d let myself think or say out loud to myself - or to others - all the things I wished I could say…. And soon I’d...
9 months ago • 3 min read
Trust can be a minefield when connected to trauma. The minefield can be centered in trusting ourselves, trusting others or a little bit of both. Ourselves…. Wondering, can I trust my body, my response, my experience, my reality….? And I’m sure you can add so many more things that you question about trusting yourself. Others….. Can I trust the people I am in relationships with? Family, friends, kids, spouse, partner, community, neighbors…..and again, I’m sure you can add more people to this...
9 months ago • 2 min read
“One of the defining features of trauma is loss of choice over what happened to you. Threatening experiences can leave you feeling trapped, helpless or powerless. When you do not feel you have a choice, you can begin to feel trapped and immediately your nervous system perceives a threat.” Dr Arielle Schwartz This is why focusing on choice, and helping us develop ways we can notice our choices, can help us experience moments of empowerment as we heal. As I just shared these thoughts on choice...
9 months ago • 2 min read