Why You need tri-awareness to heal YOUR BODY
Movement is a way to learn to pay attention to the senses, inside and out.
This can be extremely important when endeavoring to resolve trauma. It is the information from the senses that the amygdala [which is responsible for emotions, survival, and memory] uses to determine whether an environment is safe or dangerous and how to respond.
People experiencing the aftereffects of trauma may place disproportionate emphasis on their interoceptive sensations, especially if their condition comes with highly uncomfortable sensations, such as pain or an increased heart rate.
However, problems arise when the individual uses those discomforting internal sensations to judge the safety or danger of the external environment. Otherwise-safe spaces can feel dangerous.
The way out of this dilemma is to develop a dual awareness that will make paying attention to both internal and external senses simultaneously possible.
As stated in previous posts, the goal of trauma-informed movement is not to release trauma or cure it. Instead, a targeted practice is designed to help people rebuild their body awareness, teach them that they have choices for that body, and allow them to make a choice that is right for them.
Physical movement can activate the parts of the brain that help us be more aware of our bodies. During trauma-informed movement there is an awareness, combined with moving experimentally and making ones own choices, helps encourage the embodiment essential to healing.
The ability to notice what the body is sensing internally is called interoception. A category of sensory nerves, interoceptors receive signals and sensations like hunger, a racing heart, or the need for a bio-break.
The awareness of the body in space and in relation to external objects is called proprioception.
Exteroception describes the category of senses that helps us perceive and navigate external stimuli: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Trauma can compromise interoception, proprioception, and exteroception, which are essential to what psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk describes as “being embodied.”
Disembodiment leads to a sense of detachment from physical and emotional experiences.
By getting in touch with your body, by connecting viscerally with your self, you can begin to regain a sense of who you are, your priorities and values.
Trauma makes people feel like either some body else, or like no body. In order to overcome trauma, you need help to get back in touch with your body, with your self.
Ready to start healing?
