Laura Marchetti Yoga

Yep!

And we wonder why so many people die of diseases when we spray out foods with chemicals that kill all the insects. Without insects and pollinators, bird and bee numbers plummet, the whole cycle of life subsides, the rivers are polluted, yet this is seen as normal as long as we have cheap food!

You are what you eat!

“Body awakening is not exactly like pure consciousness awakening, even though the body is consciousness. Body awakening is more like the body starts to become alive. It comes out of this sort of deep freeze. The stuck points open up, and the body becomes what it really is, which is an extraordinary sensing instrument for spirit.”
~ Adyashanti
August 8, 2010
The Full Aliveness of Being
https://bit.ly/3HxQ9wr

Spot on!

In essence, Dr. Peter Levine is emphasizing the profound resilience inherent in every individual. He suggests that just as our bodies have a natural capacity for self-correction, so too do our emotional and spiritual selves possess the ability to heal and renew.

This concept is particularly poignant for those of us navigating trauma, as it offers a comprehensive approach to healing that encompasses all aspects of the self.

Therapeutic practices such as mindfulness, creative expression, and holistic approaches can help us navigate this psycho-spiritual renewal. These modalities provide us with tools to navigate our healing journey and cultivate resilience in the face of adversity.

For support in your healing journey, head to our website (link in bio) and explore our courses, certificates, and directory of therapists and practitioners.

There's still time to sign up for next Sunday's workshop. Address has now changed to Muswell Hill, London N10. For details, pls DM or email: [email protected]

This is the movement we've been practising in class this week!

Looking for wavelike movement inspiration? Look no further than that model of fluid grace -- the Elephant Seal.

In order to move its bulk across the land, the seal must eschew standard limb motion for something much more primal and powerful: a spinal wave shared by all vertebrates. If you look carefully, you'll see this same kind of wave motion at work in healthy humans as well.

We'll learn how to prime, refine, and be inspired by this in June 8th's Unwinding and Becoming. For more info follow this link (https://bit.ly/35t11Kv) or see details below.

From this fascinating article by Tennett et al 2018*: " Although elephant seals are proficient swimmers and deep divers, their extreme size and aquatic specializations limit terrestrial movement. .... [On land,] The seals moved using a series of rhythmic undulations produced by dorsoventral spinal flexion. The traveling spinal wave moved anteriorly along the dorsal margin of the body with the chest, pelvic region and foreflippers serving as the main points of contact with the ground."

Let's be inspired by our aquatic friends, and apply this to a human body plan on June 8th!

⚡Embodied Anatomy: Unwinding & Becoming ⚡
A course for somatic explorers, movement teachers, and embodied healthcare practitioners.

Saturday June 8th from 10a-2p Pacific
4 CE hours • Cost: $75 USD
In person, online, or view in your own time
For more info & to sign up:
https://bit.ly/35t11Kv

*REFERENCES:
Terrestrial locomotion of the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris): limitation of large aquatically adapted seals on land? (Tennett et al 2018)
https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/221/18/jeb180117/19448/Terrestrial-locomotion-of-the-northern-elephant

Indeed!

Change the way you look at things -
and the things you look at change.

Superb! I can totally relate to the "chaos in creative disorder" bit!

"Every act of creation repeats the original act of creation. To create something is to put something in the world that wasn't there. And every time that happens, there is actually, whether people know it or not, an association to the original creation. So naturally, the original creation was chaos and creation. So we have to experience some of the chaos in creative disorder when we're seeking creative work, whether it's as a practice, as an art, or as a way of helping the world move into its next stage."
- Michael Meade

I know I have shared this amazing video
before, but the more I delve into somatic movement, the more sense it makes...and there are ancestral connections with Yoga, of course. Thanks Tiffany Thorne for adding a different perspective 🙏

PS: video by Emilie Conrad, founder of Continuum Movement

Intrinsic Movement What happens when the spine returns to its fluid origins? Bone is connective tissue. It is filled with fluid. What we are seeing is the the choreography o...

“We have a tendency to think in terms of doing and not in terms of being. We think that when we are not doing anything, we are wasting our time. But that is not true. Our time is first of all for us to be. To be what? To be alive, to be peaceful, to be joyful, to be loving. And that is what the world needs most.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

John Singer Sargent - Nonchaloir (Repose), 1911.

Early Bird until Sunday!

The deep and inquisitive nature of somatic work has the potential to reconnect us with parts of ourselves that, once given a voice, can bring about true transformation and healing. It's a deep dive into uncharted territory, but it's only through that process of loving, mindful exploration that we can gradually find resolution.

Body Mind Centering®, as well as Scaravelli inspired Yoga principles will be woven through as usual. Please get in touch if you'd like to book a space. Also, feel free to send me your suggestions about specific areas/issues you'd like to work on - nervous system regulation is always at the core of what I teach, but we can also shine a light on other aspects of ourselves.

Body Mind Centering® and BMC® are registered service marks of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, used with permission.

Healthy erythrocyte versus crenated one.

Crenation is caused by dehydration, which distorts the cell. The main function of erythrocytes of course is to distribute oxygen to body tissues and carry the waste carbon dioxide back to the lungs. Crenation leads to severe reduction in their ability to carry out this function.

So drink enough!! Otherwise, your blood will become hyperosmolar and the erythrocytes fluid will be drained out, which makes them look like this. Same happens if you drink salt water. Don't drink salt water! :D

Magnification x6200, by Steve Gschmeissner

Normal shoes make a natural arch impossible!

What do we mean by normal shoes? Most shoes fit this category! Any shoe that has a toe box that pushes your toes together. Any shoe that has a pointed and symmetrical toe box shape instead of a natural and asymmetrical shape.

Even the widest conventional shoes are only wide at the ball of the foot. Not at the toes.

When your toes are bound together like the foot with the rubber bands, you miss out on the lateral stability your big toe provides! Your arch will naturally want to cave inward and down towards the floor.

(Try walking barefoot with one foot bound in rubber bands, by the way. You’ll notice the difference!)

However, when your toes are free to splay out, your all-important big toe provides the arch some stability. Having your big toe abducted (or pointing towards your other foot) aids in keeping your arch upright and solid.

There are shoes that allow your toes to splay!
For our list of recommended footwear check out healthyfeetalliance.org/footwear.

Love the note about the giraffe! 😆

And the award goes to :)

Childhood Trauma Leaves Lasting Imprint on Muscle Function A University of Michigan study has shown that traumatic experiences during childhood may get “under the skin” later in life, impairing the muscle function of people as they age.

Institute of Child Psychology 💜

♡ If you would like to be kept in the loop on everything Synergetic Play Therapy or get resources to support you on your journey, join us here: https://linktr.ee/synergeticplaytherapy ♡

🤓👉 This is STILL one of the nicest images I've ever seen of the vagus nerve and here’s why:

I think one of the most misunderstood things about this cranial nerve is that it has many different functions which SHIFT based on environment, external stimuli, personal internal capacity, our trauma history, and social situations.

1 - There is a social engagement portion that innervates 'stuff' above the diaphragm, this portion makes mammals and humans what they are (social creatures), and it also directly links to our heart to calm us when we are in connection to other human beings - unless that wiring was never correctly set up as a young one and then we may feel scared of people and not have access to this function.

2 - There is a rest-digest portion that helps us slow down in a very soft and easy way, and helps us go into repair and regeneration mode after eating or when resting - unless our system is too much in survival mode and only knows how to default to the next branch I describe...

3 - There is a shut down/immobility portion that slows us down but in a fast, abrupt kind of way, like an emergency brake. It helps us disconnect and "freeze" in those rare situations where our system senses it is in mortal peril and we can't do anything about it - but throw the reality of early/developmental trauma in there and our system will learn to go directly to freeze when it encounters any stress at all (even the good kinds!).

The concept and suggestion that we can simply stimulate and "tone" this entire nerve so as to regulate and "heal" it, say with an electrical device or with a deep breathing exercise, is ill-informed to say the least. This superhighway of nerves is way too complex to respond well to a "do this and this will happen" kind of paradigm.

Sure, this simple "stimulus-effect" situation might work very well for some things in the human body like say if someone needs a shot of adrenaline for an anaphylactic reaction, or maybe cooling water or compresses for a 1st or 2nd degree burn on our finger from a stovetop, BUT…

Given the complex nature of our autonomic nervous system COUPLED with our higher brain capacities to override and dissociate all reality or physical sensory input, not to mention the diversity of how humans are raised in our industrialized societies, and the all-too-common reality of early/developmental trauma...

Well, I hope you can see that it is not that black & white, cut & dried "stimulus-effect" when it comes to restoring regulation to a nervous system (and a human being) when perhaps they've never had regulation from the start.

I share all this because the program curriculum for SmartBody SmartMind™ (aka: SBSM) knows this complexity, and it is designed to teach neurobiological regulation at ALL these vagus nerve - parasympathetic - levels. The next live semester of SBSM will be in Fall 2024.

Learn more and get on the waitlist at: https://smartbodysmartmind.com/ 👈

Anatomy of the Plantar Fascia: Analysis by Physio Meets Science

👉 The plantar aponeurosis (PA) originates from the calcaneal tubercle and extends to the forefoot. The aponeurosis consists of a medial, central and lateral part. The medial and lateral parts attach to the abductor hallucis and the musculus abductor digiti quinti pedis, respectively. These parts are usually categorized as “fascia”. The central part is thicker and is considered an “aponeurosis” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526043/).

👉 As the central aponeurosis extends towards the forefoot, it divides into five separate bundles. These bundles radiate towards and attach through the plantar plates to the proximal phalanges (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12831690/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13129168/). Most anatomic studies of the PA have focused on its attachment to the calcaneus. Detailed descriptions of each central PA bundle are rare.

👉 There is dorsiflexion of the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints during walking. The PA tightens via a windlass mechanism first described by Hicks (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13129168/). All five bundles contribute to raising the foot arch. It is not known whether dysfunction of only one central bundle could affect this mechanism.

📸 Picture: Great view of a dissection of the sole of the foot showing the anatomy of the plantar aponeurosis (PA).

1. Longitudinal digital tracts of the PA.

2. Abductor digiti quinti muscle.

3. Lateral component of the PA.

4. Central component of the PA.

5. Medial component of the PA.

- Physio Meets Science

📘 Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1268773121000023

Enjoying some time in nature...it doesn't come any better than this! The combined effect of hot water and minerals just feels heavenly!
Back on a mat (or chair) near you from next Tuesday 🧘🏽‍♀️🧘‍♂️ 🙏

Amazing article by psoas expert Liz Koch. Note the connection with kidneys and adrenals many of you will have played with in my lessons

Why You Should Stop "Stretching" Your Psoas And what you can do to nourish your core instead.

First image I've seen showing a real yolk sac (a structure we embody quite often in Body Mind Centering)

The anatomy of a human embryo at 7 weeks gestation, measuring approximately 14 mm.

The upper limbs, fingers, and face are developing and growing rapidly but are still forming their shape. The eye is developing but is not functioning yet.

The brain is developing rapidly and the blood vessels supplying it with blood are clearly visible. Also note the yolk sac.

Photo by Ralph Hutchings (2007)