Author: Indigo Ludwig
Trauma-Sensitive and Mindfulness Facilitator, The Mind Body Project.
Who am I?
Not surprisingly, I crossed paths with Erin from The Mind Body Project (TMBP) at a pool! (We both love water). Little did I know that I needed this encounter to guide me further down a path of facilitating trauma-informed care with people in a way that I am deeply passionate about. Better yet, I could let go of the story that I was entering a new chapter alone. I am honored to be a part of promoting TMBP’s mission to bring joy-centered, science-backed, and trauma-sensitive mindfulness programs to institutions and individuals. This work allows us to collectively reassess what is possible in this life and how to sustainably cultivate change.
Throughout my social work masters, I had been brewing up a position that involved sharing the wellness benefits of trauma-sensitive practices with like-minded people. I had learned to embed these theories and values into my facilitation, program building, and community engagement. I was a professional-in-the-making determined to utilize my growth in the world of accessible somatic care. I focused on how the degree of individual and shared trauma alter our needs as people as we transition into new chapters of our lives. I have found that connecting with people the best I can, presently, can promote feelings of autonomy and a deeper awareness of our full human experience. Creating environments that promote safely guided self-exploration is how I promote others along their own self-actualization journey. Here, we can expand our ability to connect with the health and wellness that has never left us, even when traumas and oppressions may have influenced our long-term or daily goals.
What is somatics?
The models upheld by TMBP, like The Healing Triangle, involve the components of coaching, consistency, and community. These parts are necessary to fully benefit from a somatics practice. Somatics theory when utilized in therapy:
“a) seeks to empower and educate people about their bodies; b) teaches them to sense when there are problems, and how to cultivate a sense of well- being; c) helps them understand the meaning and the unconscious messages of their symptoms, and integrate these into daily life”
(Hartley, 2004).
As someone who has experienced their own daily trauma, as well as being a person with chronic illness, living into the values of The Healing Triangle has allowed me to have the support needed to evolve personal habits and lifestyle choices. This has ultimately brought me into a way of being that encourages my self and community-care choices and stay safely connected to messages within my window of tolerance.
We all have our own windows of tolerance, beautifully crafted by different parts of our conscious and subconscious. These windows allow us to have full access to our brian functioning. This concept was introduced by Dan Siegel in 1999 and is widely utilized in trauma-focused education for facilitators. It benefits understanding physiological and emotional responses to life stressors. Everyone has their own optimal zone for managing daily stressors, choices, and challenges. Through somatic practices, trauma-sensitive professionals can mindfully track how their emotions, thoughts, physical state, and impulses are regulated or stimulated. Offering resources based on this evidence may broaden the scope of one’s window of tolerance. (Hershler, 2021). This facilitation style also helps us realize what environments, obligations, or relationships in life may not be honoring what we need.
How do I know when I’m in my window of tolerance and trust that I am capable of making autonomous decisions to meet my needs and fulfill my desires?
The bond I have built with my Parasympathetic (Rest and Digest) Nervous System (PSNS) through trauma-sensitive somatic practices is where I find the answer to that question. When my body and mind have access to rest, digestion, and that sweet ability to settle into present breath, I know trauma outside of what I am currently experiencing is not overstimulating my Sympathetic (Fight or Flight) Nervous System (SNS). A SNS nervous system response might cause me to experience a range of symptoms rooted in misguided messages to fight or flee the situation at hand due to unprocessed trauma stored in my body.
Both aspects of the nervous system I have addressed are a part of our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Together, the PSNS and the SNS, regulate functions in our mind and body without there needing to be a voluntary action by the person, like blood flow and and even emotional responses. (Follow this link for a two minute informational video that breaks down the nervous system and its many components.) Practices that allow our PSNS to activate can mend the harm done by trauma. This catalyzes our SNS to influence the body’s regular functioning which affects our health, decision making, and self assessment processes (DBT & MHS, 2020). Embracing the art of mini-naps, introduced to me through Zap Chen techniques, is one way I have altered how my body regulates by taking intentional time for my PSNS to take center stage. Throughout a busy day where tasks and priorities have triggered my SNS to switch on consistently, setting a five minute timer and finding a place that supports my mind and body to release into a rest and digest state allows me opportunities to realign with my regulated self. After this time, there is always some sense of deeper connection with the state of my body, a reminder to keep prioritizing in my mind and heart, and of what I can invite to leave my focus for the day in order to lighten my load.
Through years of learning to remain in equilibrium with a neuro-muscular disease, as well as honoring my needs as someone living with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, I have found avenues to wellness that elevate my unique personality. For example, as a facilitator with TMBP, I will be sharing tools that invite our mind and body to expand feelings of rejuvenation while promoting ease and acceptance of our present-selves. This will tell stress and anger they can no longer cloud our daily perspectives when they are not necessary. I look forward to entering new pockets of community by sharing these practices. I truly care about helping us all ignite new guiding lights along our very personal, yet shared, journeys to bettering ourselves through somatic experiences!
References
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy & Mental Health Services. (2020, March 2). How does trauma affect the parasympathetic nervous system? https://www.mhs-dbt.com/blog/parasympathetic-nervous-system-and-trauma/
Hartley, L. (2004). Somatic psychology: Body, mind and meaning. Whurr Publishers.
Hershler, A. (2021). Looking at trauma: A tool kit for clinicians. The Pennsylvania State University Press.