Frequently Asked Questions

How many sessions do I need?

The body requires time and space to process and integrate the work we do together. How much time is required for your body to re-organize depends on your individual nervous system. You know your body best, and you set the pace for your personal healing.

What is trauma?

Our bodies are incredibly resilient. Within us, there are hundreds and thousands of processes happening, helping to keep us functioning and furthering our momentum in the world. Unconsciously, our bodies and minds are seeking balance; homeostasis – every second, every moment, every day. Part of maintaining this balance is to consistently ask if we are safe. We are instinctually programmed for fight, flight or freeze when danger is perceived.

When faced with an overwhelming, stressful or threatening situation, the nervous system becomes activated so we may fight, run, or the body is triggered into a state of freeze. This is a natural physiological response to stressful stimulus, and once the threat is passed the nervous system returns to a more regulated state. However, it is not uncommon in our modern day for these traumatic or stressful experiences to get stuck in the body.

How do stress and trauma affect the body?

All forms of stress, including trauma, are experienced differently by every person. Trauma and stress may be chronic, or could be so overwhelming, fearful, or threatening that emotional and spiritual development are affected. With stress and trauma, it is not uncommon for the body to hold the charge of those experiences. This often creates behavioral and physiological patterning that we may not be conscious of. Over time, symptoms may become evident, or coping mechanisms that were utilized in the past may not serve as they once did. Living in this prolonged physiological state can contribute to illness, pain, disease, or chronic misfortune. Combining different therapeutic techniques can bring about change on a deep level and disrupt the patterns; physical or otherwise, that are affecting you.

Some of the symptoms that can be addressed through the therapies offered:

Stress
Breathing difficulties
Sense of Constriction in the body
High or low muscle tension
Pain
Sleep disturbances
Difficulty relaxing
Digestive issues
Depression
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Anger

Hyper-vigilance
Tendency to worry
Exhaustion and fatigue
Numbness
Poor immune system function
Injury
Sense of being stuck
Sense of chronic misfortune
Not feeling like yourself
Limited range of motion
Post surgical issues
Physical or emotional pain

How does trauma allow us to build resilience?

Trauma and overwhelming experiences are actually a part of our normal human experience. These, often unpleasant events, are also critical to our overall development and growth. Trauma is the portal through which we become resilient and thriving beings. Trees are some of the most resilient beings. They show us how to sustain wounding and continue to thrive. We can witness a tree repairing itself over time, and still watch as their branches continue to reach up and grow in the most beautiful way. We are not so different from trees. Many therapies like Somatic Work or Shamanic Healing are really effective ways to repattern our dendritic arbors. In other words, through the experience of trauma and consequently, the repair of those experienced ruptures, we learn to tend to the heart, recognize beauty, and cultivate greater capacity to flow with life.

What does my healing process look like?

Healing looks and feels different for everyone. It takes time to renegotiate stress and trauma, restore vitality, and create lasting change. Your intelligent body is often the gauge through which we track our work together. We always seek to ensure the body, mind, and spirit have enough time and space to process and integrate change. It is completely up to you to determine how often you come in for sessions and what kind of work resonates with you. Quite often, the work organically flows over time and different modalities weave together to provide harmonious support.