Category: Blog
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Glimmers – How does body Awareness Heal trauma?
An area of my life that has been hugely challenging for the past few years is easing greatly. It’s a great relief, and yet as things change, I notice my system taking its time. There’s a hesitancy to expand fully into the new amount of space afforded to me. Maybe there’s a period of making…
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Steps to Reduce Traumatic Impact of Surgery
There are a number of things that can be done pre-surgery that will assure that you have the best possible chance of getting through the surgery with no (or as little as possible) lasting difficulty. Even successful surgery can be a challenging experience and you deserve to take care of yourself in the best way…
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Why Is exposure not working for me?
There are many studies and articles on the effectiveness of exposure therapy for OCD or phobias. But what do you do if you tried this approach and didn’t find results, or have even found that your anxiety was boosted by the exposure? You may have learned to power through challenging situations while feeling incredibly fearful…
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“Others have experienced much worse.”
“But other people have experienced so much worse.” It seems true when we say it even though really it’s “comparing apples to oranges.” If you find yourself wondering if your trauma “counts” as much as other people’s, you’re not alone. As we hear about the experiences others have endured, we can give ourselves a…
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Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts may be scary, upsetting, and distressing and your natural inclination may be to try to talk back to them or to prove that they aren’t rational in order to get relief. If you’ve found this article, I’m guessing that approach probably hasn’t worked very well. Deb Dan’s phrase, “story follows state,” can help…
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“Yes And-ing” Obsessive Thoughts
If you ever were to observe me working with a baby, you’d hear and see at least one hundred variations on a certain theme. With my hands and my words, I will communicate to each baby ideas like, “Good idea toes, let’s curl! I can even help you with that!” And then after a while,…
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The Mindfulness and Chronic Pain Paradox
The Paradox • If you bring attention to your mild to moderate chronic pain with open curiosity, it will often ease. (And sometimes the same will occur with severe pain) • If you bring attention to chronic pain with the hope of repeating that same ease and relief, it will often stay the same or…
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What Does Trauma Healing Look Like?
“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence. Not only can trauma be healed, but with appropriate guidance and support, it can be transformative.” Peter Levine, Waking the Tiger Many clients tell me that to be healed, the whole thing would just go away. Trauma is a…
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Working With Traumatic Memories
You may have tried, when difficult memories come up, to console yourself that the thing troubling you is from the past. “No use dwelling on the past,” except it’s not so easy — the past colors our presentI distinctly remember similar advice given in the first week of my Feldenkrais training program. When the trainer was…
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You Can Be a Sponge, But Be Less Absorbent
(Why Does Everything Affect Me So Deeply And What Can I Do?) A few years back a mom in class shared her personal practice which helped her handle her baby’s crying. She had felt as if her baby’s cries were going straight to her heart where they weighed heavily on her. So she came up with…
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What If Your Doctor Can’t Explain Your Unpredictable or Shifting Pain?
A client tells me about the physical pain she’s been experiencing that has significantly affected her life, and makes an off-hand comment about whether her pain is “real pain.” What would fake pain be I wonder? As we talk more I come to understand that for her, “real pain” is pain that has a traceable physical explanation. A broken…
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Shouldn’t We Always Listen to Our Gut?
“Every time you say yes but your body is saying no, your nervous system finds a way to say no for you.” I read this online today, (scrolling through instagram…ugh!) and at first it really resonated with me. Maybe it does for you too. It sure can take a toll when we ignore what our body is telling…
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Anatomy of a Panic Attack
It’s hard when the people close to you don’t understand what you’re going through with anxiety and panic attacks. The NY Times put out a great article this month on “The Anatomy of a Panic Attack,” which may give you a little more insight into either your own experience or that of someone close to…
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Trying the Feldenkrais Method for Chronic Pain
New York Times columnist Jane Brody recently published an account of how trying Feldenkrais has helped her with hip and back pain. She tried sessions at the Feldenkrais Institute where I formerly worked as a practitioner and teacher before starting my private practice. She says of her session, “Having, temporarily at least, released the muscle…
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“The origin of Moshe Feldenkrais’ therapeutic method reads more like a spy thriller than a neuroscience textbook”
I’m amazed that no one has made Moshe Feldenkrais’ life into a movie yet! Read a chapter from Norman Doidge’s book, “The Brain’s Way of Healing” which gives background on Feldenkrais’ life and work. Published on Salon.com here