Trauma Training Tip
September came in with the breath of Fall here in the U.S. mid-Atlantic. Open the windows, turn the air conditioning off, breathe that crisp, cool air. Oh my goodness, what a delight after the hazy, hot and humid weight of Late Summer.
Fall is the season of the Metal Element in Asian medicine, the time of the Lung and the Colon. The growing season is rapidly closing. The air actually feels thinner now. We, and all of nature, are preparing to rapidly fall into the quiet, dark, yin time of year.
Classical Asian medical texts refer to the Lung’s function as “receiving the inspiration of the heavens” – they receive and distribute the breath of life into every cell of our bodies. Our Colon is described as being responsible for “the drainage of the dregs.” It helps us let go of every non-supportive element we have ever received. Together, they regulate the profound dualities of coming and going, of inhale and exhale, receiving and letting go and all the rhythms that support life. Like the snake that bites its own tail, the Metal marks both the beginning of life and the end of life – the bookends of first breath and last breath.
The Fall may also find us more vulnerable to our own experiences of grief and loss. Our Metal’s most poignant function is to help us find inspiration to help us cope with the impermanence of life. Together, we can rely on our Lung and Colon to help us find the inspiration we need in turbulent times.
This is the time of year where you can find support for your longing for spiritual inspiration or guidance from those who have gone before you most readily available. Listen deeply in your times of meditation – and see if murmurings from the “the heavenly realms” have guidance for you.
Here is a meditation that may support your seeking.
Bring your longing into your body. Take a quiet moment. Come to your breath. Place your hands on your chest, over your Lungs. Invite the presence of your spiritual guides and ancestors. Listen. Feel. Experience whatever movement or stillness, sensation or image that arises as you are present to your breath. Invite whatever impulses are there to inform you or to fill your life. Then move your hands down to your lower belly, over your Colon. Invite these same guides to help you let go of what it is now time to leave behind. Let go of what may be in the way of a fresh, clear and inspired breath. Again, listen, feel and experience whatever movement or stillness, sensation or image that comes in your body as you are present to the message of your breath in your Colon.
Sit quietly and allow yourself to inhale and exhale, to receive and to let go – to simply listen, with your hands calling your attention to your Lungs and your Colon.
I promise you this. The vitality, the energy of your internal experience will vibrate thru your body, into your family and community, and out into the world. Our world is crying out for inspiration. We can each play a role in calling forward the guidance, insight and inspiration that our world needs so badly right now.
Alaine’s Two Cents
Layla Saad is the host of “Good Ancestor Podcast.” Her website introduces her as someone who is “passionate about creating Inspiration, Education & Activation for personal and collective change in the world. Layla’s work is driven by a powerful desire to become a good ancestor; to live and work in ways that leave a legacy of healing and liberation, especially for black girls and black women.” Ms. Saad is the author of Me and White Supremacy and teaches Personal Leadership & Anti-Racism Classes for becoming a good ancestor.
As a special welcome for the educators who joined me and the Peace Education Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association (AERA) on my August 29th webinar, The Impact of Trauma on Learning, I’m featuring her podcast episode with Nicole Cardoza – “On the Reclamation of Wellness.” Nicole is the founder and Executive Director of Yoga Foster, a national nonprofit that empowers educators with yoga and mindfulness resources for the classroom. She’s also the founder of Reclamation Ventures, a fund that invests in high-potential, underestimated entrepreneurs making wellness more accessible in their communities. She teaches accessible and friendly yoga classes that blend movement and reflection.
Yoga Foster has resources for educators, school districts, as well as parents on the use of mindfulness, meditation and yoga to enhance learning for children. Her work is a fabulous resource for children who need our support for their academic and inter-personal learning in this time of necessary quarantine.
The AERA will host a sequel to the recent webinar on The Impact of Trauma on Learning on September 25th from 12 – 2 pm EST. It will be more focused on discussion, question and answer. Stay tuned for more info on registration.
Check This Out!
The CoVid 19 pandemic is giving rise to an equally serious mental health pandemic. Depression and anxiety, as well as the rates of death by over-dose and suicide are increasing.
I found this pretty fascinating TED talk about addictions. It confirms what students of the Ventral Vagus nerve already know: what we are most longing for is connection. Take a peek.
Clinical Curiosity
Q. I have a patient who lost her husband to CoVid 19. They had been married for 38 years, and while there were “ups and downs” in their connection, they were able to work with them and deepen their connection and relationship over time. She is devastated. She’s not sleeping, feels jumpy, depressed and lost.
A. So glad she has you. Her grief is likely compounded by the context of world grief regarding the pandemic. She may have some sense of “anticipatory” grief as she considers her own vulnerability as well. Her grief is in her breath and her tissues as well as her mind and heart. It is completely normal – and certainly not a pathology.
The more you can help her cultivate her sense of love and connection in the world, the softer her grief will become. Remember that the Ventral Vagus nerve enervates both the Lungs and the Heart – the whole upper chamber. The Heart/Fire Element can warm and soften the Lung/Metal Element.
I would want to explore her respiratory diaphragm – either with direct touch or with virtual touch. It can brace or collapse against the profound feelings of grief. The more she can feel safety in your connection, the more she will be able to soften that diaphragm – and experience love, joy, connection as part of life as well.
Bringing consciousness to the warmth of your smile, the twinkle in your eye, and the prosody in your voice will also help her cultivate Ventral Vagal capacity – and help soften her grief. We can all do these things for each other. Our world needs lots of loving!