A candid chat with Kirsten Wilkinson from @Legacy Motion as we cover all the ins and out of our upcoming 300HR Trauma-Informed Movement Facilitator Training. (Starting October 23, Online & Interactive).
This training allows you to learn the skills to share trauma informed practices that include yoga, embodiment, and somatic therapies with all people and all bodies.
You will have access to a global international community of likeminded individuals who are interested to find ways to utilise all our innate wisdom within our bodies and our nervous system to find restoration.
This training is broken down into 3 100HR modules, which can be taken individually. However for the most knowledge rich and transformative experience, we would love to have you along for the 8 months.
This is a personable training with only 20 SPACES AVAILABLE so that we are able to build strong communication between all students, whilst creating and maintaining an on-going community of movement facilitators across the globe.
To find out more information & enrol today please head over to: https://www.theselfagencyacademy.com/copy-of-understanding-trauma-online
Amanda,
Food is medicine. It heals you. It is the fuel for our entire being.
In this video I want to shift the conservation towards a more healthy and balanced relationship with food, to see it as a source of joy, of nourishment, of fuel, and truly of medicine. A big part of maintaining and thriving a personal practice is your mental health and making sure that it is nourished and supported through the foods that you consume.
How can we best support out mental and physical well-being with food?
What does proper nutrition look like?
How can we learn to listen to our individual body and needs?
Do you have a daily personal practice? Maybe you already have one but you struggle to make this routine? Or maybe you feel lost as to where to start?
In this video we explore how to create your unique personal practice, the impact it can have on your life, and the best way to make this sustainable so that we can do this long term.
A personal practice is unique from person to person. No one can determine what will really work for you. Whilst others can offer tips and advice, we have to develop it ourselves so that it is sustainable and maintainable.
In this video I explore:
And much much more!
We have spent a lot of our life believing that we are helpless and that change is out of reach.
But you are now stepping into a new reality; a reality where you are EMPOWERED to live your truest life by placing the change that will happen into your hands. This is where taking personal responsibility for your life comes in.
When I think about personal responsibility I think about
- HOW is it that I show up in this world?
- WHO am I showing up as?
- WHAT actions am I taking?
Nobody else is going to do the actions that nourish and feed my physical, emotional and mental well-being. So I need to take that responsibility to do it myself.
Questions I ask myself,
- WHO do I want to be in this world?
- WHO do I want to show up as?
- HOW do I want people to feel after I have left a situation?
We all have a responsibility to know our self on deep and intimate level. To do this, we must remain CURIOUS - so that we can get to know our self in ways that we haven't before.
In this video I explore the importance of taking steps to know yourself intimately so that we are consciously taking personal responsibility for our own life.
We do not constantly have to be this ‘work in progress’.
We do not need to be this piece of art that needs mastering.
You are more than perfect exactly as you are.
How do we truly rest?
We need to decrease the amount of stimulation as much as possible. This allows our whole nervous system to deeply rest.
In this video I explain the IMPORTANCE of deep rest on our nervous system and HOW to actually switch off and rest.
Self regulation - the ability to come back to a place of safety.
In this episode I talk about the tools we can use to drop back into a place of safety. A place where we feel calm in the present moment and where our nervous system can return back to a regulated state.
I describe some different breathing techniques which you can use to explore how you are feeling and return back to a baseline state.
The BREATH is the most powerful tools we have to identify our emotional state. It is one of the quickest ways to drop back in and come back to a base line. Our breath is like a compass - when we notice how we are breathing we can tune into how we are feeling, our emotions.
In this episode I define the difference between Self-Care and Self-Soothing.
Self-soothing involves immediate relief to allow ourselves the chance to breathe and switch off. This allows us to build the resilience to move towards Self-Care.
Self-Care asks us to look at how we are fundamentally caring for our mind, body and spirit as a whole.
Self- Care is rebuilding and maintaining your resilience. It is rebuilding your capacity to show up and interact with the world around you. It allows us to take control and feel more empowered over different aspects of our lives.
Invitation to you:
Draw a circle and divide it into the 5 sections, one for each of the 5 elements listed belows. In each section, write down what you do for this element, whether it be a self soothing or self care activity. You might start to see a trend. You might see certain aspects of your life that you feel you are giving lots of attention towards, and you might notice areas which you are neglecting. From here, you will be able to see which elements need more attention and whether you need to incorporate more Self-Care
Physical
Emotional
Spiritual
Mental
Energetic
Whilst we may not have control of the external world. We have control of ourselves, and our own internal workings, so we must try to take as much care of our own internal landscape. This therefore makes handling the external forces a little easier.
Kelsey and I discuss the importance of advocacy to raise awareness about disability and make sure everyone has equal opportunities. We talk about the importance of normalising disability in a world where we are trained consciously and subconsciously to fear difference and to fear ‘other’. Kelsey is passionate about educating others and creating space for awareness and normalisation of disability.
Kelsey Ferrill is a grad student at Royal Roads University (#@RoyalRoadssu on Instagram) pursuing her Masters of Intercultural and International communications. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the Moebius Syndrome Foundation (@MoebiusSyndromeFoundation) and works closely with @PositiveExposure which is an organization that uses the arts to create a more inclusive, equitable world for all. Advocacy is Kelsey’s #1 passion; it is what sets her soul on fire and gives her purpose. She really wants to spread the message of acceptance and inclusivity and most importantly, not judging anyone on appearance alone. Kelsey believes that her life experiences can be used for good and she hopes to work internationally for a non-profit that supports and advocates for people with disabilities.
Jake Ernst and I dive into connection, the true meaning of relationship, and how to create safety with others and in oneself. We look at how we can create space for self-exploration and inquiry while holding compassion and patience on this journey
Join us in an informative and light-spirited conversation around trauma, healing, growth, and all things wellness. While this work can often feel heavy and daunting, you’re not alone and there are ways you can invite in all dimensions of yourself - there is room for sadness and happiness, overwhelm and contentedness, fear and excitement. There is room for all of you here.
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Jake Ernst is a therapist, writer, and speaker based in Toronto, Canada. In his work, Jake is interested in unexplored feelings, unprocessed trauma, and unmet attachment needs in childhood and adolescence as catalysts for mental unhealth and unwellness in adulthood.
Jake works with teens, young adults, and parents.
Through speaking, workshops, and writing, Jake explores the bold and vulnerable stories which are rarely told or brought to the forefront. He dives deep into the uncomfortable and seeks to expand and reimagine our understanding of how relationships, pain, trauma, and mental health impact our lives.
Connect with Jake on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mswjake/ or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mswjake
Myself and Mei Lai Swan explore the importance of acknowledging trauma and social justice within the yoga space. We talk about what social justice really means and how we can take care of all people and have systems and cultures that really support our individual and collective well-being.
“I saw the need for training that incorporated yoga, trauma and social justice”
What is social justice? How do we really take care of each and have systems and cultures that really support our individual and collective well-being?
“Yoga is an inherent part of who we are. It is the deep self inquiry. The point of yoga is to wake up to who you are and that's available to you no matter where you are born, no matter your lineage. It is your birthright.”
Mei Lai Swan is the founder and lead facilitator of Yoga for Humankind. Dedicated to the paths of yoga, meditation and community for over 20 years, Mei Lai is an experienced yoga teacher trainer and certified Embodied Flow facilitator with a professional background in music, community development and social work. She specialises in embodied practice, trauma-informed yoga, social justice and nada yoga (sound and mantra).
Mei Lai is passionate about creating authentic spaces for fostering conversation, building community and sharing practices of embodied social justice and collective wellbeing.
With a BA in International Development/Environmental Studies and a Master of Social Work, Mei Lai spent six years working in remote Aboriginal communities running community development programs, before returning to Melbourne to run psychosocial programs with people seeking asylum. She has trained broadly in somatic-based trauma therapy, counselling, and Trauma Centre Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY-F) and has combined these skills to deliver individual counselling, group work programs, and specially-tailored yoga programs for asylum seekers, refugees, disadvantaged youth, and people experiencing chronic pain and trauma.
She is a doula, founder, previous CEO and ongoing board director of Birth for Humankind, a non-profit organisation providing free birth support to women experiencing socio-economic disadvantage.
www.yogaforhumankind.org / @yogaforhumankind
www.meilaiswan.com / @meilaiswanyoga
Myself and Chrissy explore the power of Self-Mastery and Self-Enquiry. We talk about the importance of taking ownership of your own suffering whilst honouring all your life experiences. Chrissy is very passionate about Gene Keys, a tool to unlocking the enormous potential of your life. This is an inspiring and insightful conversation which will leave you feeling empowered to create real transformation in your inner world.
“The impact of our minds & beliefs on our physical well being is so great”
Exploring a practice to hearing your inner voice - What can people do at home who are new to self enquiry?
Exploring Gene Keys - self discovery system that gives an insight into challenges you may face along the way and discovery into the gifts that live within those challenges.
“What does it look like to befriend and embrace your shadow”
You can find out more about Chrissy here or by visiting her social links!
Chrissy Papetti LLC, wwww.chrissypapetti.com
Chrissy Papetti, Self Mastery Mentor, Success Coach, and Speaker at www.chrissypapetti.com
About: Chrissy is a Self-Mastery Mentor, Success Coach, and Speaker who teaches leaders and high-achievers to override the limiting patterns in their mind and body that may be holding them back from their potential. She focuses on mental, physical, emotional, & spiritual wellbeing practices with science-backed and spiritually-informed theories, such as The Gene Keys, Human Design, experience-dependent neuroplasticity, subconscious reprogramming, nervous system and emotional regulation, manifestation, behavioral flexibility and resilience, epigenetics, purpose-driven neuroscience and more. Since 2018, she's helped 30+ clients 20x their monthly income and transition their career-paths to start their own businesses, reduce reported levels of anxiety, depression, physical pain, as well as significantly improved their physical health, mental well-being, and quality of life.
Social Links: https://www.instagram.com/chrissypapetti/
Julie and I explore the concept of safe spaces. What does safety mean in a school system, what does it mean in a yoga space, in the world? We explain the importance of staying in inquiry and remaining curious as one of the most impactful ways to create safe spaces. We look at what it means to lean into change-making and knowing when to walk away.
We talk about how the systems we’re in are built to oppress and perpetuate the very things we’re fighting against. There’s a need right now to acknowledge the ways in which so many public and private spaces have been systemically made unsafe; so what can we do to change this? What small, yet oh so powerful, steps can we start taking to create spaces that are inclusive, accessible, and a little bit more safe for all?
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Julie Johnson (pronouns she/her/hers) is a Co-Founder of Integrate Trauma Informed Network and the Restorative Pulse Podcast, Accessibility Specialist in the U.S. Public School System and a Trauma Informed Yoga Facilitator. She is passionate about creating cultures of belonging and social emotional inclusion in the school system and spaces where she teaches yin yoga.
Integrate Trauma Informed Network is a grassroots, intersectional community of trauma sensitive professionals offering opportunities to explore the concept of belonging and social emotional inclusion through a trauma sensitive lens and the framework of universal design.
You can read more about Integrate Network at www.letsintegrate.org and listen to the Restorative pulse podcast on all major podcasting platforms.
For more information on Universal Design in mind body healing spaces, please check out the work of Natasha Baebler at www.visionablewellness.com
Are you feeling overwhelmed trying to create and navigate a daily practice? In this episode I explain how to create your practice, the biology behind habits and routine, and allowing your practice to become fun and fluid.
Start by asking yourself what you need in order to feel connected to your truth, connected to your presence, centered and grounded.
Let curiosity guide you. Allow your practice to be fluid.
Your practice is your own. Your practice requires you to try new things, evolve, shed old things, and honour everything you are in the present moment.
Learn the biology behind habits and routine.
Ceremony and I explore how we can deeply heal and rewire our nervous system through yoga. We explain the benefits of Sankalpa (personal intention) and how this works on a biological level. We also explore how to respect and honour the yogic tradition in the western world, whilst integrating and moving into a yogic lifestyle and maintaining authenticity. Ceremony also dives into what it means to navigate a masculine world in a female body.
“Yoga is a lifestyle. Yoga meets you where you are at but also invites you deeper.”
How can we heal the nervous system through yoga?
How can I create and use Sankalpa to bring about deep healing and change?
“There is great power in the wisdom of nature in our body.”
Ceremony Woods is passionate about helping people connect to their bodies through Yoga and develop overall wellbeing and balance. She brings a deep understanding for people struggling with trauma and mental health and is a voice for many. Ceremony teaches yoga and uses her music to increase awareness and to create a safe space for healing. Dear to her heart is The New Feminine movement where she brings women together to share, to learn from each other and to be empowered in their feminine. The women's circles are held in Auckland and you are most welcome to join!
“By changing ourselves we change the world.” - Ceremony Woods
Links:
https://mobile.facebook.com/groups/thenewfemininemovement?refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Finstagram.com%2F#_=_
Shadow work recognises and seeks to understand the dark side of our personality.
In this episode I speak of the importance of acknowledging the dualities that we all possess, the dark and light, the befriending all aspects of yourself. I explain how our shadow self shows itself to us and how it manifests as negative behaviours when not repaired. Finally I help you to cultivate your shadow work journey via a step process.
Your shadows are looking to be acknowledged, understood, and over time be-friended.
Who can I be when I integrate all parts of myself, accept all parts of myself, and become whole once again?
Resource Links:
https://carl-jung.net/shadow.html
In this episode, myself and Samantha explore the power of Somatic therapy in order to deeply feel and transmute our emotions, ultimately allowing for more peace and freedom within. Samantha is deeply passionate about the notion of ‘creating space’ in order to allow ourselves the opportunity to feel, and how we can become curious about these feelings and experiences.
How to find safety within our body?
How do you become comfortable with creating space?
Developing a growth mindset. How to lean into every experience with curiosity.
How to notice the ‘labelling of an emotion’, then feeling into where it is in your body.
Samantha Tomkinson is a psychologist, yogi, business consultant and avid adventurer. She has worked in psychology for 15 years and also holds qualifications in NLP (neuro linguistic programming), business, somatics, yoga and meditation. She combines all her skills to create impactful learning environments for people through workshops, retreats and coaching.
Kirsten and I explore the power of movement based therapy and its place within trauma, stress, emotions, and healing. We look at how we can learn from the wisdom of other cultures and individuals to learn what it means to fully restore ourselves and find pockets of presence throughout our days. And most importantly, how is it that we can powerfully hold space for the healing of self and others? How can movement-based and embodiment practices help restore your sense of self and overall wellbeing Understand the importance of knowing and respecting where you are at so you can safely meet others where they are at How can you remain in a space of calm when someone is having a stressful or emotional experience Understand the difference between compassion and empathy and how these both show up in the process of reclaiming your body, wellbeing, and life You can learn and work with both Amanda and Kirsten on the upcoming 20hr Trauma-informed Training - find all of the details here: https://www.theselfagencyacademy.com/copy-of-50hr-mental-health-informed Kirsten considers herself a child of the Universe, calling home wherever her teddy bear happens to be. She holds a Masters Degree in Dance and Research from American University in Washington, DC and a BA in Dance and Kinesiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Kirsten is the Founder and Executive Director of Legacy Motion, an NGO that facilitates collaborative and sustainable programs that promote mental, physical and emotional wellbeing through movement-based restorative practices. You can find her at LegacyMotion.org or Legacy Motion on Facebook and Instagram.
This episode dives into the innate power within every body to heal, and explores how we can own our healing journey and reclaim this inner healer. I walk you through a self reflection exercise which represents different aspects of our lives which we need to thrive in order to live at optimal health. This episode will leave you feeling curious and knowledgeable about reclaiming ownership of these different aspects of life.
What does it look like to take personal responsibility for our own journey?
How do we show up for ourselves? How do we find our own inner resources and reclaim our inner healer?
Move into a place of curiosity.
Personal responsibility. Integrity. Accountability.
In this episode of Musings with Amanda I break down everything we all need to know about trauma: What it is, the different types, how it is stored within us, how can we heal from our trauma.
Resources
Global Mental Health Resources - https://checkpointorg.com/global/
BetterHelp - “Affordable, private online counseling. Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online” - https://bit.ly/2GoFCI3
Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand - https://bit.ly/363ZCsb
In this episode I explore the biology behind trauma and stress and how we can undergo deep healing.
How is trauma and stress stored in the body?
How can stored traumas manifest as physical and mental symptoms?
Exploring different modalities to find wholeness and safety within our bodies again.
Understanding that you have all of the resilience and resources already within you.