This episode is part eight of a nine-part series of body-centered practices. Dr. Janys originally recorded this as part of a crisis counseling course. Their students kept asking to download it so here it is for anyone and everyone. Body-centered practices can be helpful in gaining resources for calming the nervous system. If you are looking for brief practices for personal use, resourcing for counseling, or for being a counselor- this will be of use to you! Transcript included.
In addition to being a therapist and a professor, Dr. Janys is certified as a yoga instructor and yoga therapist. In addition to using her own experience leading guided body-centered practices, they referenced the readings below to create the body-centered practices series:
Levine, P. (2008). Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body. Sounds True.
Menakem, R. (2017). My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and Our Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Central Recovery Press.
Rothschild, B. (2000). The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment. W.W. Norton and Company Inc.
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Body centered practice eight, 20s.
Sometimes trauma energy can get stuck in our joints and these practices help to relieve some of that energy. Begin by sitting in a chair or if you're standing, make sure that you're well balanced against a wall. You can also do this lying on the ground. I suggest that you bend your knees. Start by either raising your right foot and circling your right ankle.
Allowing yourself to have smooth, complete breaths as you do this.
Going in one direction until you get to 20.
Once you get to 20, pause I like to flex and point my toe. You don't have to do that, instead pause for couple of seconds. Take note of which direction you were going. I was going counterclockwise. Now I'm going to go clockwise. You're going to go 20 times in the other direction. Of course, if I'm not going the pace that you need to go, you can pause the video and do this on your own. I'm going to go through the ankles and the hands.
Go ahead and pause if you like, you can flex and point the foot, but take a pause for about ten seconds, smoothing out your breath. Noticing your body sensations as you do this and then switching sides are right foot and just circling in one direction.
The nice thing about this is you can do it anywhere. Seated, standing in line.
In the same rhythm, pausing for 10 seconds, if you'd like, point and flex the foot.
And then going the opposite direction, so I did it again. I'm going clockwise now. And counterclockwise, clockwise person.
If you'd like, you can pause the recording and you can go through and do this for your wrists, maybe stopping and just gently stretching the hand in between as you do 20 on each side, the right and the left, you can also do this for your shoulders. You can bend and flex your arms to stretch your elbows. If you're standing, you can put your hands on your hips and go 20 in one direction and then the other until you get through all the major joints in the body. Again, use this any time you need to to release energy from listening to maybe a traumatic story or from, well, just any time you need that body centered break.