Often, our bodies are the true initiators of our healing journeys. We may find ourselves physically and emotionally hitting limits. We may find that our capacity to function diminishes as the body begins to speak to the weight of what it carries - layers of trauma. We could say - we hit a wall or a bottom, and we feel compelled to seek out help.

Without an understanding of trauma and how it manifests in the body, it is easy to see the limitations, lack of capacity, and increase in pain as a betrayal by our bodies.

However, in order to heal, we need to consider how our body might be inviting us into the recovery process, instead of working against us. In many ways, what surfaces in our bodies are the layers of trauma and pain that are ready and waiting to be healed. Our bodies invite us to heal by showing us what is wounded and unresolved.

Complex trauma is painful and filled with a variety of difficult feelings. Our bodies validate what our mind is slow to discover and understand - that our trauma story is real and that it impacted us in very deep ways physically, emotionally, mentally, and relationally. In this way, our bodies are wise.

Our bodies are also resourced to help us navigate the very thing they hold - the trauma. This is what is truly amazing about our bodies - they can both hold what needs to be healed AND be a resource for that healing. Both. Our bodies are full of built-in regulators: breath, safe touch, movement, shaking, crying, and more.

However, we have often not been taught how to tap into these inner resources. We don't have a model for collaboratively working with the body.

I created Befriending the Body to help you build those skills, so that your body can become a wise and trusted resource for you as you continue to heal and grow.