When I'm working with an individual to restore regulation in the body's response to stress, one way we start out is exploring what feels safe enough in the moment. Continue reading

The very definition of “in concert” is together. Making music together, making a concerted effort, you listen, check back in with yourself, and aim to produce sound that matches the rest. Being yourself, sensing others around, coming back to yourself and adjusting your output. The trauma healing work I practice uses exactly this kind of back-and-forth attention-with-intention. We sometimes work with trauma's stuckness by calling on a memory, or a feeling of being in "flow" -- happy, connected. We'll rock gently into that, then back to stuckness, and find the rhythm that's underneath. Continue reading

This deceptively simple exercise uses eye movement to engage suboccipital muscles in back of your head, drawing the first two vertebra into alignment -- a necessary condition for the state of "social engagement," says Rosenberg. This positive physiological state affects how we respond to our environment, as opposed to reacting in fight/flight/freeze mode. Continue reading

The NYT published two articles this week on adverse childhood events (ACEs) and the effect on health. In summary, the more ACEs, the more risk of poor health. From the research and writing of Dr Nadine Burke-Harris, "Recognizing childhood adversity as a risk factor for how we’re going to deal with stress in the present is really important." Her new... Continue reading

Playful. Contingent. Resonant. All these kinds of interaction are essential to infant development. Growth and repair of the infant brain -- and in fact, any age of brain! -- requires support that nurtures a sense of safety, or neuroception of safety (Stephen Porges' term). Continue reading

Here's how you'll benefit from attending: what stuckness is, and why it's a default for many of us where to find balance among polarities science of sensing; gain insights into your own behavior risk trying something new -- safely! anchoring new practices for flexibility and flow Continue reading

When your needs were not met in infancy, or later in childhood, your “story” was held in sensing and feeling. By using the language of the body (touch and movement), we can contact deeper layers of being, beyond words. Continue reading

"Think of something racy and funny!" -- that's why we were laughing. Kathy Kain and Steve Terrell bring their Somatic Regulation and Resilience class to Los Angeles Continue reading

Here is Gabor Mate, MD, author of When the Body Says No, speaking on "The Need for Authenticity" and its connection to health/ disease. He lists these four risk factors for disease: Continue reading

You can't step up till you step down. Continue reading

That is how our nervous systems adapt: by changing in small ways based on input. Small input, easier for the system to digest. Continue reading

My professional colleague, Irene Lyon, lives in Canada, and -- like me -- has trained in Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing model. She's developing ways for more people to learn how important our nervous systems are in healing trauma, online. Continue reading

NYTimes: Lower Back Ache? Be Active and Wait It Out, New Guidelines Say This change is sure to get people talking. Opinions run strong when it comes to pain relief (just see the article's comments section!) Carried by the mainstream press, this topic will now make its way into all kinds of conversations about pain and addiction, pleasure and punishment.... Continue reading

Before all this, though, an imperative: Rest! -- bathe, find comfort in touch, in breath, in sleep. Continue reading

We’re not THE answer, but we can provide hope. Hope for moving, perhaps slowly and sideways at first, then gradually, resolutely onward. Continue reading

Celebrating! Yes, it's worth a quick look back, to appreciate the view ahead. From my start as a part-time massage therapist 25 years ago, I discovered that here in the body is where it feels safe enough to explore being myself. I am grateful to the many teachers who have nurtured me along the way. Sensory awareness skill-building with Raja... Continue reading

It's where we're broken and vulnerable that the light can shine in Continue reading

Dr Peter Levine, founder of the Somatic Experiencing (R) approach, uses his famous "Slinky" presentation to demonstrate the effects of trauma on the nervous system. Continue reading

It's not the environment itself that makes you feel safe, it's all about perception. Continue reading

A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health. Continue reading

This pioneering article differentiates Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing (SE) from other therapeutic approaches that use focused internal awareness. To illustrate how SE works in the brain and physiology, the authors present a composite case study. Continue reading

Gentle, respectful contact can communicate at a level beyond words. Continue reading

When you arrive for your session, whether it's for massage/bodywork or for Somatic Experiencing, we will start with a chat so you can let me know what's best for you. What changes do you seek, today or generally? Would you like an hour of quiet relaxation, or is there an area calling out for therapeutic focus? What has been most... Continue reading

Building on what's already working well in your own physiology, I gently nudge your system back into balance. I'm licensed in massage therapy since 1991, and now describe my work as "integrative" -- bringing together many tools to help you heal. My Somatic Experiencing work can help toward relieving troubling patterns around pain, anxiety/depression, stress and trauma. Continue reading

Q: So does this article come close to describing what you do? A: Well, sometimes. Often. Depends on what client is open to explore, their stated goals, and how the body calls. Continue reading