Hello!

Thanks for joining this newsletter and opening your inbox to me. I feel the weight of my own inbox as email volume gets bigger and the content gets so much more watered down. I hope that these reflections will be juicy for you. It is a time of great change in our world and I hope this writing practice serves both of us as we all navigate change and deepen into what feeds us. Writing and art and learning are resources for me. I consider myself an artist, taught first by my grandmother, who was a watercolor artist. Art has always sustained me and revealed hidden parts of life for me. I see myself as practicing art in my therapy work as well: collecting tools and using them in creative ways to help you and others get past barriers to healing. As I grow my marketing practice (new website coming, new documentation platform, a new logo, and these newsletters, a huge art project itself for me), I will be sharing some of my thoughts, wordsmithing and art with you all so you can get to know me better and learn more of what I find amazing about the healing worlds! The body is a deepening fractal of beauty!

Everyone knows about joints and muscles of the body. Did you know that dysfunction can come from fascia (the sweater like weaving of fibers holding the "everything" in place)? Did you know that challenges in the body can come from coordination issues, poor timing of those muscles? Other components that I think about holding up our realization of potential could be: stuck organs and arterial tissues, restricted nerve fibers, and the autonomic nervous system.

What is the autonomic nervous system? We have the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), the peripheral nervous system (nerves to arms, legs, face, etc.), the enteric nervous system (self-sustaining nerves in our digestive tract), and the autonomic nervous system is our survival system, helping us understand our safety or lack of safety. It is the bedrock system. Most people know of fight, flight, freeze. There it is. It works best when it can alert us and then rest and digest. It is difficult when the system gets stuck in the "on" position. Many tools I have in my toolbox help to restore fluidity to the autonomic nervous system. Fluidity in all areas of our humanness is important for vitality.

One tool that we can all do is learn to recognize sensations. Sensations are the language of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Heavy, expansive, warm, dense, jittery. These are examples of sensations in our body. They communicate to us what emotions we are feeling and for most of us, they are unrecognized until we start to tune in. When we start to pause and feel for these sensations in our bodies during our experience of the world, something happens... We come back into our body and our flight, fight or freeze can shift.

A practice for our times:

If you find yourself feeling swept away, consider reconnecting to your sensations. Simple practices can often be the most powerful. We know that connecting back with your body flips the switch on autonomic nervous system fibers in your body to allow you to feel more capable in your day.

Notice:

5 things you can see

4 things you can hear

3 things you can touch

2 things you can smell AND...

1 thing you can taste

As you do this... Really notice what sensations are happening as you notice your environment. Hopefully you feel more connected to your body.

Thanks again for starting this journey with me and giving me a reason to write and create art for this gathering of all of us together! I believe strongly in the power of community and I am so grateful to be able to be in community with you! Booking online is coming soon. In the meantime, if you would like to book a session, please call or text me at 928--380-3358 or email sara@fosteringhealthpt.com.

Be well and may find yourself in your body today,