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RESOURCES
Emerge Embodiment Training is based in offering trauma and culturally sensitive interoceptive practices to foster the experience of feeling safe at the individual and collective level. Mindfulness and interoception are related concepts, but they refer to different aspects of awareness and attention.
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While mindfulness encompasses a wide range of practices focused on non-judgemental awareness to the present moment, including attention to thoughts and external stimuli, interoception focuses narrowly on being aware of and understanding signals arising from within the body.
This includes recognizing emotions, physiological states, and sensory experiences, such as one's heartbeat, respiration, hunger, and temperature. By enhancing interoceptive awareness, participants can develop a deeper connection with their own well-being. Some benefits of trauma-sensitive interoceptive practices are:
Perceived Sense of Safety
Safety is key to guaranteeing sound and safe emotional connectedness with oneself and others. The assessment of safety through interoceptive awareness is key to give the body cues of safety. When experiencing trauma interoceptive awareness becomes blurry, making the experience of safety almost impossible even if the context is providing safety.
Emotion Regulation
Interoception plays a crucial role in emotion regulation. Populations we work with encounter distressing situations that can evoke intense emotions. Developing the ability to identify and regulate these emotions through interoception, can contribute to better mental and emotional well-being.
Stress Management
Interoceptive practices, such as mindfulness, body scan and movement exercises from a trauma sensitive perspective, provide tools for managing stress by promoting relaxation and fostering a sense of awareness over one's own physiological responses.
Resilience Capacity
Interoception acts as a foundation for building resilience. By cultivating a mindful awareness of their own bodies, participants can develop adaptive coping strategies, bounce back from adversity, and sustain their commitment to helping others, whether they are first responders or community leaders.
Improved Decision-Making
Enhanced interoceptive awareness has been linked to improved decision-making. In the fast-paced and unpredictable environments populations we work with often navigate, the ability to make sound judgments is crucial. Interoception can contribute to clearer thinking and better decision-making under pressure.
Finding Joy in the Present Moment
Interoception encourages individuals to be fully present and attuned to their sensory experiences. This heightened awareness extends to the simple yet profound moments of joy that can be found in the present. Whether it's relishing a beautiful sunset, savoring a shared meal with colleagues, or appreciating the resilience of the communities being served, interoception helps participants notice and amplify these moments of joy as an emotional resource.
These benefits are directly related to the ways mindfulness practice affects the nervous system.
The relationship between the nervous system and the felt sense of safety is integral to understanding how our physiological responses contribute to our overall sense of well-being and security. Understanding and working with this relationship is crucial in trauma-sensitive approaches, mindfulness interventions, and practices aimed at promoting overall well-being, like Ground for Emergent Embodiment Training.
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This relationship is often explored in the context of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and its two branches: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
Activation: The SNS is often associated with the body's "fight or flight" response, which is triggered in situations of perceived threat or danger. Physiological Responses: When the SNS is activated, there is an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and the release of stress hormones (such as cortisol and adrenaline). These responses prepare the body to react quickly to a potential threat.
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
Activation: The PNS is often referred to as the "rest and digest" system, and its activation promotes relaxation and recovery.
Physiological Responses: When the PNS is activated, heart rate and blood pressure decrease, and the body enters a state conducive to rest, digestion, and recovery.
Felt Sense of Safety
The felt sense of safety is a subjective and often visceral experience of feeling secure, calm, and at ease.
When the PNS is dominant and the SNS is less active, individuals are more likely to experience a felt sense of safety. This is characterized by a state of relaxation, emotional regulation, and a reduced perception of threat.
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Mindfulness and Safety
Mindfulness practices, including interoception, can play a crucial role in modulating the ANS. Mindfulness encourages awareness of internal bodily sensations and helps individuals observe and regulate their physiological responses.
By engaging in mindfulness, individuals may activate the PNS, promoting a felt sense of safety even in challenging or stressful situations.
Trauma and Safety
Individuals who have experienced trauma may exhibit dysregulation in their nervous system, making it challenging to experience a consistent sense of safety. Trauma-informed practices often focus on helping individuals regulate their nervous system responses and cultivate a felt sense of safety over time.