Welcome,

This pose supports our psoas muscle and is a great way to release muscle contraction as it allows gravity to work bringing our body into alignment whilst in a restful state.

In addition to releasing tension and allowing for improved motor activity, recovery quiets the brain, allowing the mind a calm enjoyment of movement expression.

This self hold containment resource can help us to re-ground, re-balance and reduce sympathetic nervous system activation. This is a way to feel the physical container of our body and connect with the present moment. This somatic pose can also be used when working with containing emotions in conjunction with therapy.

Mindfulness and balance are the rivals of dissociation. It is also difficult for us to dissociate and balance at the same time. This pose can help us stay connected to the present moment and bring us back from dissociation or altered states of consciousness. You may like to have a chair or wall nearby to help you with this balance pose.

When we experience a moment of dissociation, being able to use our sense perceptions can help bring us back to the present moment.

Remember that every person is unique and what feels resourcing for one person may not feel resourcing for another.

This is an invitation to experiment and see what feels good for your nervous system, pay attention to what feels good and what doesn't, knowing that you can adjust the length of time you might use a resource as well as the positioning.

Vrikshasana (Sanskrit: वृक्षासन) or Tree Pose is a balancing asana. Mindfulness and balance are the rivals of dissociation. It is also difficult for us to dissociate and balance at the same time, so this pose can help us stay connected to the present moment and bring us back from dissociation or altered states of consciousness.

This grounding resource supports us in feeling solid, centred, balanced and connected to ourselves, particularly to our body. To ground is to connect to the earth. Grounding is a felt sense of connection to the ground and helps us develop the capacity to direct somatic energy toward the ground. When we ground ourselves, we are directing our attention and our energy downward, toward our bodies and the earth, this helps us when we feel ungrounded, or in a flight response.

The orienting resource is adapted from Stanely Rosenbergs 'Basic exercise' Orienting to our environment with our eyes activates the ocular nerves and promotes awareness of the present moment.

Lateral eye movements support reduction in activity of the amygdala. The orienting response in mammals allows us to find safety through orienting and exploring our environment.

Using supportive touch can be a resource that helps us help our nervous system experience safety. Touch from ourselves or an attuned other releases oxytocin in the brain and stimulates the release of feel good hormones in the brain which can help lower stress hormones. Touch can also be a non-verbal cue of safety. It is a direct experience of support.

Mindfulness and balance are the rivals of dissociation. Movement also helps bring us out of dissociation. This is a simple movement resource to help bring us out of dissociation. It allows us to connect with both left and right hand hemispheres of our brain and brings in some movement to help connect us back into the present moment.

Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose, or Viparita Karani in Sanskrit, is a restorative yoga posture that supports us in lowering our blood pressure and engaging our parasympathetic nervous system so we can access states of calm and relaxation.

The psoas and illiacus muscles connect the lower and upper body, being the prime mover muscles, initiators of fight and flight, means they can also be a place where we store trauma in the body. This pose works to help release the stored tension in these muscles.

This is a resource that can support us in discharging stored survival stress. We can use this exercise to resource the fight response can be used when we have a sympathetic nervous system activation or we have a lot of fight energy in our body. This resource is a safe way to be able to experience some of the fight response energy that is looking to be discharged.

Another balance resource for dissociation is making use of some of the things that you might have at home whether it's a book a ball or your phone you can use balancing one of these items in your hand to help you when you might be experiencing dissociation. I like to use a book with a ball placed on top and practice balancing this can help connect me back into the present moment and supports me to come out of a dissociative state