counsellor_kellydr

Sensations are the language of the body, speaking truths that words can not capture. They are deeply personal experiences that connect us to our inner world, emotions and history.

When I am given the privilege of being an empathetic witness for someone while they move through the stories their bodies hold, I feel deep gratitude, and awe at the ability we all have to heal parts of ourselves 🤍

Practicing TRE regularly gives the nervous system a deeper ‘rest and digest’ memory. Even when you are triggered by something, and the nervous systems survival instinct is activated, you are able to more easily regulate and find bring yourself back to balance.

The uncomfortable sensations we feel in our bodies even start to feel less scary 🤍

Butterflies in your tummy
Sweat on the palms of your hands
Clenching your jaw
A heaviness in your shoulders
Holding your breath

What would it feel like to give these sensations some attention?

And when practiced in the quiet companionship of others, TRE takes on a collective rhythm, a shared journey of healing. Each person’s movement is a silent nod to one another, a recognition of the interconnectedness of our human experiences.

TRE, or Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises, can be seen as a compassionate, inner embrace. It’s a practice that honours the silent stories our bodies hold, the narratives etched into our muscles and tendons, by the passage of difficult times. When we experience trauma, it’s like the soul creates a defence to protect our most vulnerable selves. Our bodies cradle these defences, in a protective clasp.

With TRE, we begin a dialogue with the body, not in words, but in movement—a language that the heart understands instinctively. Like a mother rocking her child, using motion to soothe and to whisper, “You are safe now.”

Trauma has a way of holding onto us. It puts us on edge and keeps us in a persistent state of fear by overwhelming the Vagus nerve’s ability to keep us calm.

The Vagus nerve helps the body recognize when a threat is no longer present, but this process can be disrupted by trauma

I love this simple and effective way of bringing the vagus nerve back into activation. You can feel the nervous system state change when you simply give attention to areas in your ears, a space where branches of the vagus nerve reside. Try it! It’s simple and powerful ✨🤍✨

Join us for our first 2024 gut health retreat! Take some time out for yourself, and start the year connecting with yourself ✨

Email us to book: [email protected]

The experience of truth has to be felt in the nervous system

TRE offers us the time to feel into this space ✨

Yin and yang create a perfect balance, the concept of duality. In a Chinese Cultural Study , women have yin energy while men are considered to be more yang. ☯️

When yin and yang are out of balance near enemies of self compassion can look like this:

· Self-acceptance can become: complacency
· Self-protection can become: hostility
· Self-providing can become: greed

Swipe to learn more & how you can keep your Yin & Yang in balance.

Sometimes when you’re in a dark place
You think you have been buried
But actually
You have been planted 🌱

-
A good friend shared this with me in a time where I was navigating a stormy sea. It reminded me of something profound Mel Robbins shared.

In moments of difficult we have to believe that this moment is preparing us for something amazing that hasn’t happened yet!

In our emotional body, the psoas influences feelings of relaxation, stability and wellbeing. An awakened, relaxed and juicy psoas grounds us and allows subtle energy to flow to our bones, muscles and joints. It invites in a soft space to do something differently. 🌈 🍯

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The way we live today, constantly rushing, competing and achieving, has the psoas in a constant “fight or flight” state. 🐛

It is very difficult to reach the psoas from the outside of the body. TRE sends tremors through the psoas, releasing layers of contraction and constriction. Making space for you to feel gentler in your body and safer in the world. 🦋

Swipe ➡️ to see the difference between the two nervous systems:
💠 The sympathetic nervous system that is responsible for the fight or flight response and the
💠 Parasympathetic nervous system that is responsible for rest and digest.

When you shut down emotion, you’re also affecting your immune system , your nervous system. So the repression of emotion, which is a survival strategy, then becomes a source of of physiological illness later on.
~ Gaver Mate

Our trauma is first experienced in the 𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓼𝔂𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓶. Then it is expressed by our 𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭 in the form of a story & then in the 𝓫𝓸𝓭𝔂 as tension. 🌱

If we start by addressing the imbalance in our nervous system, the mind and body naturally follows. 🌱

Our body sensations serve as a guide to reflect where we experience our trauma, and lead us to our instinctual resources. These resources give us the power to protect ourselves from predators and negative forces. We all have these instinctual resources. Once we learn how to access them we create our own mirrors to reflect and heal our traumas. 🌱

With regular practice, TRE has immense potential to heal. When we liberate ourselves from the debris in our nervous system anything is possible! 🦚

"Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness." 🐛

~Peter A. Levine

I invite in my own sense of self compassion and kindness through connection to community. 🪷

This is a tiny remote South African village called Mabibi, south of Kosi Bay. I loved sharing TRE with this community of women. We moved, we giggled, we sat in silences, and we stepped out of our stories by being in our bodies.

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Your boundary Foundation is made of the qualities that are needed to create a strong foundation for healthy boundary setting 🦋

Self compassion is one of these qualities! It offers you the space to honour and respect your humanness in all its beautiful imperfection

It can be difficult in times of perceived inadequacy but it’s when we need it the most! 🙏

Keep an eye out for our post later this week on self compassion exercises!

1. Rigid boundaries can be a form of self protection, but they can alienate us from love and connection.

Maybe you have been hurt and struggle to trust? Maybe you were brought up in a home where you were taught that independence is more important than emotional connectedness?

Stay curious and simply observe yourself 👀 Self-awareness is very powerful 🔥It is the fertile soil for personal growth 🌿

2. Porous boundaries can be a survival tactic learned in childhood but they can cause deep disconnection from self.

Maybe giving in to the needs of others has become an instinctual fear based response that you learned through family relationships? Maybe your needs were secondary to a sibling and you learned to “quietly get on with it!”

Stay curious and simply observe what thoughts and feelings come to mind.

Self reflection is very powerful 💥 It allows us to compassionately observe ourselves without judgement 💙

I love the simplicity of this boundary definition! For a moment it brings such clarity.

How do we put this into practice? Do you need to do some yard renovations?🪛

Stay tuned for more information about different types of boundaries!

Boundaries are ESSENTIAL ⭕️