I saw a friend today, something hard was happening and our hug offered space for a release of tears and painful energy. So much info can be given in a hugā¦ Many hugs are given and received with pure support and love as the motivator. When this is the case, itās beautiful, healing, connecting and releases all the good oxytocin hormones that our bodies, hearts and minds need and thrive on. And often having someone to witness us actually helps us process and release things we aren't able to...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
When disaster strikes, it can shake us to our core. The fires in Los Angeles have left devastation in their wake. Homes and lives are uprooted, individual stories tug at heartstrings, and the images of destruction might feel too much to process. Itās tragic, heartbreaking, and frightening to witness such loss. Iām curious where you are at with it allā¦(Iāve been all over the placeā¦).Do you find yourself having all sorts of thoughts, emotions, and sensationsā¦noticing you follow the news info...
4 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
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...
4 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read
I know we donāt like to talk about our shameā¦ 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 doā¦.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...
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Gabor Mata said, āTrauma affects your capacity to gauge safety.ā Today I want to share 5 tips for things we can do in our here and now, to create safety, especially when our āsafety gaugeā 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 thisā¦.jump down to Tip 5, regulate and then go back to Tip 1. (These first 4 tips are to use when...
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 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 Iām mad, the last thing I want to do is ground. (This happens when Iām excited about happy and fun things Iām doing too). When I am in this state of mobility and action, I often donāt want to stop. Itās like I have the momentum going and parts of me think that the only option is an abrupt stop,...
7 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 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 Iād 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...
9 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 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...
9 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 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 āI donāt even know what is happening in my body right nowā sensations that just made me feel crazy and out of control. I would want to say all sorts of thingsā¦. And then Iād let myself think or say out loud to myself - or to others - all the things I wished I could sayā¦. And soon Iād...
11 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read