Learning about MindBody Resources and Nervous System Regulation
I created the 5 part self-study course curriculum in 2018-2019 based on my own “me-search,” meaning, I performed my own self-study through my direct experience of myself as a subject, using my yoga practice, meditation, and writing as tools and healing modalities. This is probably what people have been doing for a very long time, without scientific explanation and “medical knowledge.” I didn’t follow some book or watch a video or podcast and then apply advice. Rather, I spent time alone and listened to my body, emotions, and my thoughts. I learned through paying attention to myself and my felt inner experiences. I was able to do this solo and also amidst other people in yoga classes.
Back then, I was unaware of the complexities of nervous system function and its regulation and the dysregulation that can result from trauma and traumatic stress. My “outer landscape” learning– from graduate work in counseling psychology and loads of hours learning from many free and paid resources and coursework online, along with my clinical training and current work in behavioral health counseling– now has me well aware of how nervous system regulation is integral to mindfulness practice and knowing oneself, inside and out! I guess you could say that I knew the body kept the score intuitively, and then it was confirmed in my training in psychology.
It’s been an amazing learning experience for me to have “done the work” and then later add clinical names and deeper scientific and clinical understanding to my own self-study! I added research to me-search!
TRAUMA & TRAUMATIC STRESS
Only after writing Classic Wisdom for the Modern Human: A Self-Study Guide for Wellness (2019) did I realize that some people who have not healed from trauma in their mind-body systems will need extra help with self-study. That may be you.
If it is, these resources are for you!
(and they are for everyone else too…)
You are deliberately and voluntarily creating and exploring your stress and your stressors, meaning you could be and perhaps may be triggered. It’s sort of the point, actually, because in order to REALLY know yourself, you must “go there” and gradually and incrementally feel what you feel, experience what is happening. This can be especially challenging for some and down right re-traumatizing for others.
So…
If at any point in your learning process using tools on my site you begin to feel overwhelmed, take a break. And, I would suggest that if you are struggling to regulate yourself and remain in the here and now and connected to your body and the environment during your self-study– STOP. Work with a professional somatic experiencing practitioner or a qualified therapist who specializes in treating trauma! They can help you grow your capacity to do the work of self-study within the therapy relationship and provide you with the additional support you may need.
Some people cannot tolerate forms of stress that have come to be associated with fear or rage etc, like meditation or particular forms of breathing, movement, and self-reflective exercises. For those people, especially those who experience dissociation, have a trauma history/and or a diagnosis of PTSD, you should have someone trained to assist you in your self-study.
You must have a felt sense of safety in your body and have coping skills in place for self-regulating and grounding in order to do some of the practices I include in my self-study courses and on my website. Please work with your therapist and other providers accordingly.
I recommend the work of Irene Lyon to learn more about
traumatic stress and its release.
Please also check out the recommended
MindResources list on this site to learn more.
You can also contact me directly for resources related to self-study, trauma, and nervous system health at landscapesforlearning27@gmail.com.
