Sacred Restoration

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"Traumatic symptoms are not caused by the event itself. They arise when residual energy from the experience is not discharged from the body, This energy remains trapped in the nervous system where it can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds."

- Peter A. Levine

Participants will meet daily with a qualified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner  (SEP) for 60 minute, individual one-on-one SE™ sessions. Each participant will be thoughtfully paired with one SEP for the entire program. This will support a deepening of the therapeutic relationship and healing process.    

An integral part of healing trauma is understanding how the nervous system works and how it relates to our experience of emotional and physical pain. Our daily curriculum offers practical neuroscience  and Polyvagal Theory education and tools that help us to become more balanced and connected to ourselves and each other.

Daily group SE sessions will assist our understanding of how the nervous system works and how trauma is stored in the body, We will learn the core principles of Somatic Experiencing and practice the Somatic Experiencing toolkit exercises for nervous system regulation and self-healing in a small group setting.    

To ensure that each participant experiences a consistent reduction in traumatic stress related symptoms, we’ve developed a ‘toolkit’ of simple and repeatable SE interventions for self healing. These interventions are based on foundational SE concepts that include titration, pendulation, orienting, sensing, grounding, presence, and resourcing. 

This toolkit will be practiced daily in a group setting and integrated into all therapeutic aspects of the program, recreational activities and during meals.

Experiencing traumatic events affects our nervous system and the way our brain perceives safety. It changes the way our alert system responds to potential threats after the initial traumatic event.  The brain also sends signals to the body to mobilize a response to the threat which results in predictable physical symptoms. 

These physical symptoms can be explained by the body’s nervous system response to acute or chronic stressors. When placed in a stressful situation, our nervous system responds via the fight or flight, or freeze responses. 

Acupuncture activates parts of the brain that regulate physiological processes and also by relieving local myofascial constriction and tension. 

Positive effects from Acupuncture may include:

• Release neurotransmitters and endorphins to relieve pain
• Regulate the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
• Reduce anxiety
• Promote more restful sleep
• Relieve muscle tension
• Improve digestion and circulation  

CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating  and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the  craniosacral system - comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal  fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Using a soft touch generally no greater than 5 grams, or about the weight of a  nickel, practitioners release restrictions in the craniosacral system,  which has been shown to improve the functioning of the central nervous  system, as well as many other systems of the body, such as digestive,  musculoskeletal, respiratory, circulatory, and more.

 CST has also been  shown to help with the physical components related to such somatic  conditions as Post Traumatic Stress, depression and anxiety.

By facilitating the body's natural and innate healing  processes, CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and has been shown to be beneficial for people seeking help with a wide range of healthcare  challenges and symptoms including:

SE Touch

SE Touch is applied with hands and occasionally with  forearm or foot contact, and can also be offered indirectly, such as  providing support through a cushion. SE Touch is done fully clothed and is not used to manipulate the body. SE™ Touch offers support to muscles,  joints, diaphragms and organs to support regulation and healthy functioning. Touch can be applied with the client in a seated position or lying face up on a table, or standing during movement exercises. Some examples of when touch can be helpful are:

• Identifying an area of the body for tracking internal sensations.
• Supporting an area of the body to release tension or constriction.
• Stabilizing a highly activated / dysregulated nervous system.
• Containing and processing difficult emotions (e.g., feeling therapist’s hands on the outside of your upper arms to provide a sense of containment to reduce flooding).
• Bringing awareness to an area of the body that feels disconnected or numb.
  Engaging a reflexive action or defense to support completion / discharge of a response (e.g. pushing into a therapist’s hands to engage a frozen fight response).
• Resourcing an individual with positive sensation or a healthy body function (e.g., pressure on the feet can enhance a sense of grounding).
• Calming an anxiety response, by supporting the brain stem or the  kidney/adrenal area. Connecting with tissue / muscle memory or natural  biological rhythms.
• Increasing blood flow to damaged tissue.

The Family Constellation approach is a healing method developed by German psychotherapist, Bert Hellinger. Based on a family systems model, Hellinger’s innovative approach brings to light the unconscious, often destructive, dynamics and loyalties within families. Traumatic events in one generation can exert a powerful force affecting later generations. Entangled with issues from the past, family members often unknowingly carry the burdens of their ancestors and continue patterns of anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, fear, chronic illness, and unfulfilled relationships. 

Setting up a family constellation allows these hidden dynamics within the family to become visible. We can then work with these dynamics, often releasing and shifting the energy that was stuck and pointing to new ways to be within your family system so love and life force can flow again. 

In her book, Sound Medicine, Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary refers to our cells having “antennae-like structures...called cilium that receive and respond to vibrational energy fields, such as sound,  light and radio frequencies.”  The existence of cilium is why the state of our physical bodies, in addition to our mental perspective, is  impacted so positively by sound healing modalities.  The sound  vibrations are imparting a healing effect at the cellular level of our  physical being that is being received by these cilium structures. 

Everything that has an atomic structure has a vibration.  The speed  or rate at which it is vibrating is called its frequency. The most ideal  frequency for an object to naturally vibrate is called its resonance.   Every cell, organ, and bone in our body has its unique resonant vibrational frequency.  When illness takes hold, at a fundamental level the vibrational resonance of that structure has been compromised, or become “dissonant”.  

The goal of sound healing or sound therapy is to  bring all the systems in the body out of a state of dissonance, back to a  state of resonance. 

Somatic art therapy will help us to integrate our healing experience. Offering different mediums, such as acrylic paint, clay, watercolors, charcoal, pastels, collage, found objects and sculpture to visually express feelings, images, memories, sensations, and symbols that fully illustrate our stories and inner sensory experiences.

Memories and trauma are stored in a different part of the brain than verbal language. With the goal of healing from past trauma, creating art will help tap into the part of our brain where memories are stored, increasing our ability to process and reorganize our experiences of the past. 

"Seeing the wisdom in every situation and moving towards healthier futures"

Social Presencing Theater is a methodology for understanding current reality and exploring emerging future possibilities. Participants can cultivate personal embodied presence through guided practices that include mindfulness, movement and reflection. Two person “duets” and small group “prototypes” can extend our sense of the social body. And we can engage in “Stuck” practices, using our bodies to work with places where we feel that our own creative energy and resilience are being blocked. 

Social Presencing Theater can provide a strong ground for sensing into ourselves and into our contexts – trusting our embodied experience of both our present situation and emerging possibilities. This will lead to fresh insights, an ability to prototype creative ways of moving forward, and the courage to extend kindness and compassion to the systems and communities we care so deeply about. We can all engage in “true moves” that express this care.

Every morning we will greet the day with a movement practice. Incorporating a daily movement practice has the potential to:

• Reduce Inflammation.

 Although inflammation causes stiffness and pain when you move your joints, movement has the ability to relieve inflammation naturally, helping you to return your body to a state of flow.

• Improve Blood Flow.

      Movement improves blood circulation and promotes healing.

• Lubricate Your Joints. 

Fluid surrounding your  joints lubricates the bones and helps nutrients penetrate the tissues. Activity keeps the fluid flowing and helps you avoid painful, creaky joints.

• Help Avoid Chronic Pain. 

Being inactive may increase your risk of long-term pain, stiffness, or mobility problems.

Daily silent walks in the Maine woods will be offered with guided instruction to awaken and track sensory experience as a self-care practice to decrease stress and tension. Group discussion after the walking practice will help participants learn from each other through sharing personal experiences.

“Shinrin-Yoku", translated into English as ‘forest bathing', means taking in the forest atmosphere during a leisurely walk. It is a therapy that was developed in Japan during the 1980s, becoming a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. 

Researchers, primarily in Japan and South Korea, have conducted studies on the health benefits of spending time amongst the trees, demonstrating that forest bathing positively creates calming neuro-psychological effects through changes in the nervous system, reducing the stress hormone cortisol and boosting the immune system.

  The human brain, with its intricate neural networks and billions  of interconnected neurons, constantly processes an influx of information. Silence provides a rare sanctuary for the brain to rest and  recuperate, reducing the cognitive load and allowing for mental rejuvenation.

     Silence acts as a powerful antidote to the stress and overstimulation that permeate our lives. Chronic exposure to noise and sensory overload can have detrimental effects on the brain, leading to  increased stress levels and impaired cognitive function. 

In contrast, studies have shown that silence triggers the release of stress-reducing  hormones, promotes neuroplasticity, and enhances cognitive abilities  such as memory, attention, and creativity. 

*(excerpt from article by Jane Lucie Kimani)

At its heart, farm-to-table means that the food on the table came directly from a local farm, without going through a store, market, or distributor along the way. It arrives on your table the same day it was picked. 

Sacred Restoration serves organic, locally sourced fruits, vegetables, seafood, and meats. Much of our produce will come directly from our venue, Wanderwood Farm. We’ve made special partnerships with other local organic farms and fishermen to deliver the freshest and most sustainable food possible.  

Participants will have the opportunity to harvest their own vegetables from the farm, collect eggs from the hen house, and engage in horticultural activities and sensory experiences that speak to our primal connection to Earth.  

Our program will inspire participants to

discover the core principles of “food as medicine” and healthy eating as a way of life.