#30daysofholistichealing

“When a Reiki practitioner is working through a trauma-informed lens nothing is imposed or guided by the practitioner. Rather the practitioner holds space and allows the client to receive and open up to Reiki. This non-directive approach to healing is very honoring. Instead of a top-down modality where the practitioner is doing something to affect a change, with Reiki the practitioner is simply being present to what is. In that presence alone energy will begin to shift and reorganize according to its own intelligence and ability. Reiki helps clients live in their own vibrational intelligence. As clients come into closer contact with their essence, and that which is non-essential falls away, it helps clients shift their relationship to themselves and to trauma. Trauma can be seen more clearly and has less of a charge or hold on the system. We can’t change the traumatic experience however as we come to know ourselves more deeply we relate to trauma more dynamically. There is more space within us and between us and the trauma. Reiki helps to create this space. It clears up the noise and the clutter so energy can flow freely. This helps dissociate repetitive thought patterns and charged emotional cycles. The practice helps to unhook the energetic charge around emotional neuropeptide formation so there are new possibilities in how the body and brain process emotion. It helps clients drop the addiction to their thoughts and their emotions to experience, more and more, what is and less and less of what once was.” -Greg Wieting | photo: @mollyboha | Greg shared this insight, and much more, in our forthcoming trauma-informed Reiki toolkit! Learn more about Greg’s individual Reiki, Bodytalk and coaching practice as well as his trauma-informed care trainings by visiting our providers page on our website. Link in profile. #saam2018 #30daysofholistichealing #reiki #trauma #sexualassault #survivor #traumainformed #slidingscale #holistichealing #embodiedjustice #energyhealing #mindbodysoul #buildingresilience

“Creativity is a core part of the self. Tapping into our creative source can help us make sense of what we may not be able to understand cognitively and communicate what we may not be able to say verbally. The act of creating art can be both cathartic and grounding, and reflecting on the art process and product can lead to significant insight that is often difficult to verbalize. Since art making can also evoke insecurities and challenges, my role as an art therapist is to cultivate a safe, supportive, non-judgmental space for you to engage in new forms of expression and help guide reflection of your work.” -Kristina Vogt | Art: "Remember to Exhale" by @bonniedorgelo | On this second day of SAAM, we are featuring Art Therapy. If you are interested in learning basic principles and approaches of art therapy, understanding the benefits of connecting to the creative source as a form of trauma recovery, and gaining tools to engage in basic art activities as a form of expression, connection, stress reduction, and self-reflection, please consider listening to the 30 minute teleseminar, Artful Healing: Understanding Art Therapy & Trauma Teleseminar, that Kristina facilitated for our community. Link in profile. #saam2017 #30DaysofHolisticHealing #arttherapy #sexualassault #survivor #traumaresilience #holistichealing #embodiedjustice #mindbodysoul #artistherapy

“Survivability of an inescapable incident is going to be increased by going into freeze.” -Joshua Sylvae | photo: Brian Skerry @brianskerry | Somatic Experiencing (SE) is our featured trauma healing practice for #30daysofholistichealing today! I will never forget the day my SE teacher Joshua said these words. Freeze is a misunderstood, under-acknowledged state that enables our survival, yet because our culture is largely uniformed about the physiology of trauma responses, we view this state of immobility and helplessness as a weakness. It also leads to rampant victim blaming in our society because we don’t know that freeze is a biologically wired, non-conscious way our organism responds to overwhelm. Survivors can feel a deep somatic shame about having frozen because it can be experienced as if they didn’t do the “right thing” to interrupt or stop the abuse. They berate themselves for “feeling like” they couldn’t move or make sound, and the fact is, it isn’t just a feeling, it is a very real physiological state. Still, freeze can make a person feel like their body and mind were culpable in their own victimization. That they could have or should have done more. This is not the truth. The truth is the body is working in service of survival when confronted with overwhelming threat. The biological responses that allow us to live through trauma, to come through as unscathed as possible, are confusing and even frightening, but when we are equipped with even the most basic understanding of defensive responses including fight, flight and freeze (yes this is a form of defense) we can incrementally shift our perception of our body as an enemy to our body as ally. SE is a naturalistic, holistic trauma resolution technique that works directly with the nervous system as it presents in the moment, to help “complete” survival responses that were thwarted in the face of overwhelm and to discharge bound survival energy. Freeze leads to survival. It is something to valorize. I now refer to it as “the physiology of resilience”. Learn more by exploring our SE providers profiles. #saam2018 #30daysofholistichealing #somaticexperiencing #sexualviolence #survivor

I thought you might like a little preview of our silent auction at this weekend’s benefit in Chicago! It includes an array of one-of-a-kind art, yoga and wellness packages, delicious food, and more! Waterworks spa package - bathrobe and body products Asha Salon - gift card for massage and body products Lula Cafe - gift card The Winchester Restaurant - pasta class for two and dinner Om on the Range - yoga class package Private Yoga Class with Michael Flockhart Sparrow Hair - haircut with renowned stylist Bathsheba Nemerovski and hair products Framed Art from Richard Norton Gallery and local artist Leslie Boeder Rose Quartz Sculpture ...and much more! Tickets still available, link in profile! Art: Gertrude Abercrombie, “Horse, Owl, and Chaise” #survivor #saam2018 #sexualviolence #traumainformed #slidingscale #holistichealing #30daysofholistichealing #nonlinearhealing #embodiedjustice #nonprofit

“I see first hand the physical manifestations of trauma in the body. There is a very specific presentation to a patient that has undergone this violence and even when they do not confide in me, or maybe they don’t even remember the abuse, it goes into the body and needs healing. There is something in my field called ‘somatization’. This means that trauma, of any kind, can get trapped in the soft tissues of the body. As a chiropractor, I feel like anything I can do to heal the nerves, muscles, and other soft tissues, will help that person move towards a true WHOLISTIC form of healing!” -Dr. Stephanie Maj | photo: Keith Ladzinski @ladzinski | Today we are doing a double feature of trauma healing practices, including both chiropractic and craniosacral therapy, as methods to support physical, mental and spiritual healing. Dr. Maj has a Chicago-based family practice where she works with adults, children and infants. Since all the systems of the body are interconnected, Chiropractic care, like many healing arts, can address, soothe and stabilize a variety of physical, mental and spiritual wounds or imbalances. Learn more about her work and chiropractic by visiting her profile page. #chiropractic #chiropractor #theissuesareinthetissues #trauma #sexualviolence #saam2018 #30daysofholistichealing #somatics #somatichealing #nonlinearhealing #mindbodysoul #survivor

“Acupuncture is a healing modality that originated in China about two thousand years ago. It later spread to other East Asian countries, like Japan, Korea and Vietnam and eventually to Europe and the United States. There are many lineages and styles of treatment that share a common philosophy. According to Chinese medicine, our health sources from our inherited Essence/Jing, as well as our ability to generate vital energy/Qi and vital substances/Blood from our food and the environment. Sustained health requires the protection of Jing and for Qi and Blood to be created and circulate freely throughout our bodies. Deficiencies or blockages in any of these energies or substances can create imbalances and illness. Acupuncture is once facet of Chinese medicine. It is a body-based treatment where thin, sterile needles are inserted into points along meridians in the body or into specific body regions or tissues for the purposes of supplementing physiological deficiencies, fostering and directing nutrient and energy flow, balancing organ system relationships and supporting nervous system regulation. In addition to acupuncture, moxabustion, bodywork, herbal remedies and diet/lifestyle counseling are often also used in treatment for these same purposes. While acupuncture is a physical procedure based a thorough assessment and diagnosis, the effectiveness of it relies on more than that. Acupuncture is based on a theory of medicine and healing that is relational. At a physiological level, this is attending to the balance of the phases/elements, the substances and energy flows and so on. On an intrapersonal level, this means attending to the lived experience of the patient, how they orient to themselves and to the world. The whole process of acupuncture is intended to reconnect a person to themselves in a way that strengthens their innate healing capacities. It catalyzes intrinsic resources for rebalancing.” -Kate Busby / @livingriver | On the 4th day of #30daysofholistichealing for #SAAM2018, we are featuring #acupuncture. Acupuncture can address a variety of physical, mental, spiritual + energetic imbalances that #trauma #survivors face. [continued in comments]

When we think of trauma-informed movement practices, many folks think of yoga and dance. What might become available to more people if all movement instructors were steeped in the knowledge of how trauma impacts the physiology of the body, and were able to recognize and work with the bidirectional relationship between brain and body? Meet @janetheclapp, a trauma-informed personal trainer with an eclectic movement, mindfulness and trauma theory background. When I think about Jane’s work, what I appreciate - among many things - is her attention to and specificity regarding the nervous system. We do not all hold trauma in our organisms in the same way. Some of us hang out in the realms of hyperarousal and sympathetic nervous system charge more regularly, some of us are more hypoarousal/parasympathetic dominant, and others find themselves moving dramatically and unpredictably from one end of the spectrum to the other. This is also why there is no one size fits all trauma-informed movement practice. What does the person in front of us need? What are their strengths? What are their habits? How have they learned to cope - physically, psychologically and spiritually? All of these components matter to designing healing movement practices. Recognizing the uniqueness of the individual is essential. Milton Erickson said something to this effect, “the therapist cannot afford the luxury of a theory, each client is a theory unto themselves”, and nor can the movement facilitator! It’s exciting to see how changing the way we inhabit our bodies, however subtly, can change the way we hold trauma. This change from can emerge from intentional movement of our body and limbs, yes, but it can also be relearning or remembering pre-trauma, breathing patterns - so it is accessible for all bodies. How beautiful would it be to see trauma-informed practices gain the kind of traction they have in the yoga community among personal trainers? What a way to reduce barriers to embodied healing, strength and resilience. Jane Clapp is leading the way in that world! #saam2018 #30daysofholistichealing #day3 #personaltraining #personaltrainer #sexualassault #traumainformed #onesizedoesnotfitall

As Sexual Assault Awareness Month concludes we are grateful to the 100+ members of The Breathe Network for bringing such an incredible array of mind, body and soul supportive healing practices to survivors of sexual violence. These are the 30 healing arts practices offered within our network that we featured during the 30 days of April. We envision a world where trauma-informed care is a standard component in any health, wellness and healing arts training or school, and are working hard to collectively usher that possibility in! In the meantime, we celebrate the healers who have dedicated themselves to the study of trauma, sexual assault and best practices in creating safer, more accessible, more person-specific, healing spaces for survivors. #30daysofholistichealing #saam2017 #sexualassault #survivor #trauma #traumainformed #traumaresilience #mindbodysoul #buildingresilience #embodiedhealing #embodiedjustice