Sacred Restoration - In Person 2025

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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.    

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.

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  

"Attend to the body. As we let go of the thought world of memory, fantasy, projection, and opinion, the body settles onto the earth’s body. We feel grounded. We feel our place on the planet. We belong in this body, in this spot right now. We can walk on this earth, grounded with each footstep, acknowledging in every step this planet that supports our life." ~ Arawana Hyashi

Social Presencing Theater helps cultivate personal embodied presence through guided practices that include mindfulness, movement and reflection. Listening to our body 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 family systems and communities we care so deeply about. We can all engage in “true moves” that express this care..

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. 

"When we can see with our Good Eye, the world is always fresh, because everything we see is as for the first time. There is no memory, no association, only the world manifesting to us, as it is, out of nowhere." ~ Michael Wood

"The root meaning of the word contemplate is connected with careful observation. It means to be present with something in an open space. This space is created by letting go of the currents of mental activity that obscure our natural insight and awareness.

The Art of Perception will help us to slow down and take the time to perceive with our senses, to become aware of the present moment and with what is happening around us, while using our camera to capture the vividness of our experience. 

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.  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)

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)