You are your own best resource

Hello and Happy New Year! Do you choose a word for the year? I started doing this a few years ago and it’s been a really sweet guiding practice for me throughout the year. For 2022, my word is EMBODY and I am excited to align my work and personal life with the goal of being in my body and aware of my physical experiences and sensations, as well as embodying the practices I teach in a fuller way. I am looking forward to how this word will guide me.

As I’ve studied attachment theory for the past 7 years, I have learned that safety is an absolutely critical factor in feeling secure, supported, and stable in our bodies and relationships. Stephen Porges, the developer of Polyvagal Theory, has said that safety actually IS the treatment when it comes to working with trauma, attachment wounding, and relationship ruptures. We can’t overestimate how important it is to experience a felt sense of well-being as often as we are able.

When we develop a secure relationship with our bodies within an environment that feels soothing and comfortable, we can learn that safety is always available to us. Our own bodies can be our most beautiful, accessible, dependable resources. Sometimes we have experienced trauma and our bodies have learned to feel mistrust and fear around deepening into the quiet of our minds and hearts. That is a normal response to something scary, and our brains are doing what they were designed to do: protect us. We also recognize that after some time, these patterns are no longer supportive when we are not in the same place of danger or fear, and the patterns of survival can interrupt our patterns of attachment with others. This experience is deeply frustrating but also workable.

We can support our bodies and brains in seeking out a different type of experience, one that is slow, mindful, and rooted in modern neuroscience—and one that doesn’t require us to try to resource completely on our own. The power of community in healing our nervous systems and creating safety and security is important.

If this sounds like something that would feel supportive for you, I am so excited to share this upcoming VIRTUAL offering with you!

Our goal is to provide you with several experiences: the tools that allow you to create a sacred, cozy, comfortable space in your physical environment, as well as practices that support you in embodying security and safety in the ways that feel practical and effective.

I am looking forward to seeing you there!

Warmly,

Elizabeth