Finding Freedom With TBI/Concussion

This course is designed specifically for individuals recovering from concussion or other Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), offering a guide to cultivating mindfulness and self-compassion for awareness, acceptance, emotional resilience, and peace. Through a progression from basic breath meditation to deeper practices like body scans and self-compassion, participants will learn to navigate their experiences with greater ease, acceptance, and peace. Through this course, you will foster a sense of compassion, safety, and trust in your mind and body.

Lección 1: Foundations Of Mindfulness With Breath

Mindfulness of the breath sets the stage for developing present-moment awareness. Learn to tune in to your mental patterns, recognize when your mind wanders, and release judgments - foundational practices for going deeper within.

Lección 2: Expanding Awareness To The Body

In this session, we expand awareness beyond the head and into the entire body. By shifting our focus from the constant awareness of symptoms to different parts of the body, we can develop a more balanced and holistic sense of presence. This practice helps in managing chronic symptoms related to TBI by fostering curiosity and compassion towards bodily sensations.

Lección 3: Navigating Anxiety And Emotional Overwhelm

Anxiety and emotional overwhelm are common experiences for those with TBI. In this session, rather than trying to "fix" these feelings, we’ll practice noticing and observing them without judgment. By focusing on the present moment and our bodily sensations, we can better understand and manage these challenging states, fostering a sense of calm and resilience amidst the turmoil.

Lección 4: Finding Safety In Sensations

In this session, we deepen our exploration of the body through mindful observation of physical sensations. This practice is crucial for those dealing with chronic symptoms, as it helps reduce aversion and fear towards the body. By observing sensations without judgment, we can reduce mental distress and improve our relationship with our body, fostering a sense of safety and understanding, and helping us respond with curiosity rather than resistance, transforming our experience of physical discomfort.

Lección 5: Cultivating Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is not always the most familiar practice for us, but it's particularly important in managing chronic illness. This practice involves extending kindness and understanding to ourselves, we move past self-blame and negative self-talk. Through self-compassion, we create a nurturing space for healing, treating ourselves with the same care we offer to others.

Lección 6: Deepening Self-Compassion

This session is continuation and deepening of self-compassion. Instead of viewing our symptoms as problems to fix, we learn to support and comfort our bodies with kindness, and we practice a somatic approach to communicating understanding, acceptance, and support to bodies.

Lección 7: Becoming The Compassionate Witness

Enter the witness mind - the ability to step back and view your experiences from a distance. Through mindful observation of thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, we recognize their transient nature and learn to observe without judgment. This practice helps us create space between our awareness and our experiences, allowing us to respond to symptoms and experiences with wisdom and resilience rather than being swept away by our reactions.

Lección 8: Integrating Your Practice

In our final session, I will revisit some major themes of our work and offer suggestions to help you reflect on your meditative experiences, and integrate your awareness and insights into meaningful action and change in your day to day life. Note there is no guided meditation in this closing session, but paper and pen may come in handy for notes.

Reviews

After using insight timer for more than 8 years I have never been conpelled to write a review until today and doing this TBI course.
It spoke to so many parts of my life and symptoms and I find it very helpful.
The course was similar to many practices my psychologist had recommended, but somehow they sat differently/better when hearing them from someone who has had a TBI and understands what it’s like to navigate this world when you find yourself to be a different person from you were before the accident/TBI.
Thank you 🙏🏻