Hi,
I'm Erin Henshaw and I co-founded an organization called the MindBodyProject to bring emotional regulation and trauma-sensitive support to schools,
Companies,
And communities.
The goal of my work is not to heal trauma,
But to create safe spaces to look into our bodies without being triggered or re-traumatized by that experience.
Speaking about trauma or traumatic situations may create overwhelming emotions themselves,
Which is called a trigger.
While the content of this video is not graphic or explicit,
It may be helpful to reach out to a licensed professional if extreme emotions are brought up for you.
So as we begin,
Let's ground our feet down into the ground and take a moment to check in with the body.
I'll keep mine eyes open and you can allow yours to close if that feels good to you.
So rooting your feet down onto the ground,
Begin to feel the connection between your feet,
The ground beneath you,
Noticing your hands and bringing one hand to your belly,
One hand to your chest,
Noticing any way that the body might be speaking to you,
Noticing your belly rising,
Belly falling,
Belly rising,
And as the belly falls,
Bringing the hands back down onto the legs.
So what is trauma?
Pat Ogden says it's any experience that's stressful enough to leave us feeling helpless,
Frightened,
Overwhelmed,
Or profoundly unsafe.
The primary trauma that we all come into the world with is birth.
And we have a range of intensity for our mother and ourselves.
We all share this initial trauma.
During our lifetime,
We either integrate,
Understand and soothe our emotions from trauma,
Or we build on them and increase our overall reactivity.
It's estimated that 90% of the whole population has been exposed to a traumatic event.
And 8 to 20% of these people will develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
That means that in any setting where mindfulness is being taught,
There's a high probability that someone in the room has a history of trauma.
Trauma can be situational,
Such as a relationship ending,
Being robbed or greatly startled,
Or witnessing a trauma happen to someone else.
It can also be complex,
Which means many times throughout the lifetime and stems from abuse or neglect in any form,
Including poverty and violence.
What is a trigger?
A trigger is known as emotional flooding.
It's something that sets off the memory to having a flashback that transports us back to the original trauma in a mild or extreme way.
Cortisol and adrenaline are released in the body,
And this activates fight or flight or sympathetic nervous system response.
A buildup of triggers causes stress.
Triggers are often related to the five senses.
So the smells,
Sights,
Feelings,
Sounds,
Tastes,
Or touch experienced in a program may elicit a trigger.
People experience triggers quite differently as well.
The goal for any trauma sensitive environment is to keep participants in their window of tolerance,
Which means rest and digest mode.
In the brain,
This means that our amygdala and hippocampus are sensing emotions,
Processing them not getting stuck,
And thus we have access to our frontal lobes or higher thinking.
It should be said that triggers can also elicit joyful memories.
So it's important to understand all likely sensitivities.
Boris Silerlnick from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum really spoke to me when he said resilience is moving on in life after trauma.
And that's our goal.
Many movement practices and even talk therapy can stimulate our minds and nervous systems without creating integration between the two.
And thus we become stuck in trauma cycles.
Polyvagal theory explains that we need both physical comfort and social engagement to heal.
We must integrate and soothe our personal nervous system with the people around us to experience deep healing.
Maya Angelou says,
Do the best you can until you know better.
And when you know better,
Do better.
