Eliza Shumack Art Therapy Yoga Counselling

People who have experienced complex trauma can be readily triggered by something which to others may seem minor, or which may not even be noticed. It can help to understand why this happens and what you can do to support yourself and the person you care about.
https://blueknot.org.au/supporters/supporting-through-triggers/

Beautifully said 💚💚💚

Self-expression…

…getting what lies within, out so you can see it in a new way…or simply releasing it!

Art is an expression of self. Making your unconscious conscious. It is personal.

I will always tell clients to only accept feedback IF they choose to as often we have already gained exactly what we need to see in that moment of time…it is enough…and another’s input can totally change what you see or simply be too much.

However, sometimes it is helpful to hear others perspectives. It is a choice.

I am choosing to ask, “What do you see?”

Just a few of the 100s of intersections in our lives:

We've made a conscious effort in our family lately to make sure that low stress is our number one priority. Sometimes I feel like it's easy to say it but then suddenly the to do list becomes really long and all these things that aren't getting done put a constant, invisible pressure on us.

So with low stress as the trumping priority and an agreement that it really doesn't matter if a project takes 3 years instead of 2 months, for me it's about removing them totally from the list until we're actually able to do anything about them.

It's so easy to confuse the end point with the gold but I'm constantly reminded it's the journey along the way. It seems wild to be too stressed out to even be present for the journey and for me through that lens, it's much easier to let go of what things 'should' look like.

What can you remove from your list that is just adding invisible pressure? How can you support yourself to be more present for the journey?

Come join us for our next retreat to learn some great stress reduction tools as well as get some time out and relaxation for yourself!

Diving into Health (Feb 17 - 20) Blueys Beach 💚💚

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image:

Just under 6 weeks away til this!!
Our August retreat is for women in business who wish to bring their heart’s vision more fully into the world.
We are close to fully booked but looking forward to welcome our last couple to join us ❤️
Reach out you can see yourself here!!
Embodied Impact
August 26th-29th
Byron Bay
Women Of Impact with Prue Blennerhassett with Banksia Wellness Retreats

Reposted from “It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.”
L.R. Knost - Two Thousand Kisses a Day: Gentle Parenting Through the Ages and Stages.

Hippolyte Daeye - Mother and Child, 1915-16.

Anger is a secondary emotion which means that a primary emotion - like sadness, fear, worry or anxiety - can be found underneath the anger. Because these primary emotions can make us feel vulnerable, many of us tend to avoid these feelings and subconsciously shift into anger mode which gives us a sense of control and power in the face of vulnerability and uncertainty.

Another wonderful live session with .yoga.counselling in the 50 hour Advanced Yoga Training in Trauma, Mental Health and Body Image.

I am so inspired by the people that have come together to learn and share wisdom around these topics.

In a time when uncertainty feels even more exaggerated, I believe the work Sarah shares is pivotal in resourcing us all with tools for integration.

I am wholeheartedly grateful to be working with this beautiful woman. ❤🧡

The next online training in Oct is open for bookings! Highly recommend 🙌

❤️❤️ Sarah Ball

How to talk to your daughter about her body, step one: Don't talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works.

Don't say anything if she's lost weight. Don't say anything if she's gained weight.

If you think your daughter's body looks amazing, don't say that. Here are some things you can say instead:

"You look so healthy!" is a great one.

Or how about, "You're looking so strong."

"I can see how happy you are -- you're glowing."

Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body.

Don't comment on other women's bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one.

Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness towards yourself.

Don't you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don't go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don't say, "I'm not eating carbs right now." Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself.

Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that's a good thing sometimes...

Prove to your daughter that women don't need men to move their furniture.

Teach your daughter how to cook kale.

Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.

Pass on your own mom's recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love of being outside.

Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It's easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don't. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world, if she wants.

Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.
~ Sarah Koppelkam

Meet Bianca, our movement specialist! A Chiropractor and functional movement teacher, she holds a warm and open space for all that join her on retreats and in her private practice.

The functional movement workshops she holds gives people a chance to reflect on movement patterns in their life and take practical ideas home with them to encourage positive shifts.

Join her on our next retreat for Mothers from May 20th - 23rd in the Bangalow Hills. Only a few rooms remaining so let us know if you'd like one of those spots to be yours!

Burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion that can impact your career, friendships, and family interactions. Continual exposure to stressful situations, like caring for young children, an ill family member, working long hours, or working in high stress “helping” professions such as such as medicine, nursing, psychotherapy, education, social work, law enforcement etc can cause burnout.

Some ways to prevent or manage burnout include:
• Regular exercise
• Eating a balanced diet
• Practicing good sleep habits
• Asking for help
• Taking a break

There are so many ways to inspire creativity and this is one that I've been using quite alot of late.

Flipping through images and reflecting on what you're drawn to, what you feel in your body when looking at the images, what it reminds you of..visuals are a powerful tool for reflection.

I love how many different ways we can inspire and interact with our creativity and I also love my job ❤🧡💛

I'd invite you to do the same. Carve out time to interact with visual stimuli (anything at all- images you see on the street, paintings on your wall, cards in a gift shop) in a way that invites you on a journey of reflection and creation. Being curious and open.

A beautiful weekend visioning for our upcoming retreats with Bianca .

Constellation and art processes, creativity, movement, meditation and yummy food. Feeling thoroughly refreshed, supported and most of all grateful for the connection and support from my wonderful friend. ❤🧡💛

Hopefully we'll see you on retreat soon!

If we want our children to practice self care, we need to model it for them first.

Research shows that listening to music for one hour over a period of 7 days increases feelings of power and decreased pain, depression and disability related to chronic back, neck and or joint pain.

"We shall rescue the entombed heart. We shall bring it to the surface, to the light and the air. We shall nurse it and listen respectfully to its story. The heart's story of pain and suffocation, of darkness and yearning. We shall help our feelings to live in the sun. Together again we shall find relief and joy."

Michael Leunig

I offer both online and face to face sessions! Get in contact to book your initial session or have a chat about what this might look like 🌾

“Chaos is the first step in the creative process.” (Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor).

I enjoy the realm of controlled chaos. For me, art making is a dance between both forces. And I’m very comfortable moving between worlds…with art materials I desire a certain amount of chaos and yet too much chaos can halt the creative process altogether.

We each have our own rhythms in this realm. And the more we make art, the more comfortable we may become in our process. Some artists need an immaculate space to create. Others can barely walk through the studio without stepping on a half-finished canvas or empty paint tube!

Get to know your needs and patterns. Where do you create? And what’s your relationship with controlled chaos?

'To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.' Joseph Chilton Pearce

Just begin. One mark at a time.

Everytime that voice comes up to tell you you're not doing it right or to not even bother, thank it for being there but let it know it's not needed right now.

And then get back to the marks on that page.

One mark at a time.

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(Pinterest)

This photo does not do it justice. The brightest rainbow I have ever seen 🤸‍♂️🌿🌈

Shame the pot of gold landed in my neighbour's backyard..

And also just touching base to let you know I'm back to work next week after the Christmas break. Contact me directly to book your individual therapy sessions (both in person and online).

~ please note that I'm now only working Thursdays (both online and in person)

~ I offer a few after hours appointments so if you are not available during the day get in touch to see if one of those later appointments are available

~ NDIS self managed as well as private paying (discounted rate for 5 sessions)

~ the next online group series is beginning the end of Feb 2022

I look forward to walking alongside you in your explorations 🌿

I'd love you to join me for the next online workshop series - 'Exploring Relationships as well as Relational patterns'.

This workshop series is designed to give you space to explore specific relationships within your life as well as your relationship patterns. Offerings will include Art Therapy, yoga and visualisation and I will put forward a number of different tools to assist you to explore your experience of relationships over the three weeks.

We are relational beings. There are so many ways we are affected by our relational nature and giving space to explore relevant relationships within your life can be supportive on so many levels.

Whether it is your relationship with your partner you’d like to look at, maybe your child, mother, colleagues, friends, even your relationship with yourself. Allowing yourself time and space to shine the spotlight on these relational aspects of our lives is a powerful tool to make use of.

Please get in contact to reserve your spot! 🌾🌿🎨✨