Collectively Rooted

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Traditional silent seated mindfulness practice can be difficult for those whose nervous systems are being challenged by our current individual and collective stressors.

Indeed, Linda's experience in teaching mindfulness and yoga in outpatient and residential mental health settings, as well as into the general community, for nearly ten years resulted in a shift from a more rigid approach (sit and observe the breath without judgment in this present moment) to one that embraces the neurosciences in order to facilitate practitioner success.

As we know from polyvagal theory, “state creates story”, meaning that the state of our nervous system dictates our perceptions, emotions and narrative in this moment, towards ourselves and towards the world around us. For some of us, stressors cause the nervous system to become more anxious and agitated, frustrated and frantic….mobilizing towards anger and protection. For others, stressors cause the nervous system to prepare for safety by disconnecting, becoming numb, and retreating towards despair and isolation.

By learning how to shift our nervous system towards a more ventrally-regulated state, we can better prepare ourselves for mindfulness practice, so that we are better able to observe our thoughts and emotions without becoming so subsumed by them that we dissociate.

In each week’s class, we will move the body in order to move excess energy out of the body and to facilitate embodied presence and focus. This will be followed by 20 minutes of guided mindfulness practice. Class will be rounded out by exercises and activities for connection to expanded community and the possibility of co-regulation that may stay with you between classes. Throughout this class series, there will be psycho-education about polyvagal theory, however the bulk of the class will be dedicated to experiential exercises.

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