Trauma is put on hold in the body
and puts the mind on hold
Lighter and more fluid
Near the end of my second pregnancy I had an opportunity to experience my first craniosacral therapy session. After a traumatic first birth I knew I needed to take the time to connect deeply with my body as a way of regaining some trust from within that this baby and upcoming birth were indeed uniquely different.
My session with Catherine helped me do just that. As a result I felt lighter and more fluid in my movements. This session has helped me to slow down so that I can better pace myself in the final weeks of pregnancy.
Thanks to Catherine’s compassion and support I have felt my heart open more deeply toward this child within rather than being anxious about birthing again. – Dannell
When we have a traumatic experience or chronic intense stress, our nervous system is flooded. An overwhelmed nervous system cannot resolve the pain of events. Unresolved traumatic experience is held as memory in the body’s tissues.
Similar events or stress can trigger trauma again —
— and stress can trigger trauma again —
— and stress can trigger trauma again —
Healing body & mind
I offer mindful witness to help you visit the difficult and stuck places in your body and mind, at your own pace. First I honor your response to overwhelming events. Perhaps some muscles are contracted in protection, holding tension. Perhaps an organ is working overtime to try to solve the problem that originally afflicted you.
Parts of yourself that are stuck are those places that are holding on for dear life. These parts of yourself are working so hard, and, finally, welcome the witness who says, dear muscle, you are working so hard, for so long. Let me hold you, dear worker, and invite you to rest.
With this compassionate witness you can awaken your own inner resource, your own capacity to be present to your own suffering. Through touch, movement and mindfulness you can meet and move through traumatic events that until now have overwhelmed you. Your own heart stretches to hold your suffering, and to allow your nervous system to unwind and process the difficulty of your experience. In this process you can release holding patterns that are locked in your body and mind.
Here and now, all healing takes place in the present moment.
Somatic therapies
Panic attacks & disconnection
With my second baby I was able to have a natural, vaginal birth that I really wanted. My first birth was a C-section, and I felt so disconnected with the whole process of labor and birth.
In preparation for this birth I set time aside with myself. I took time for how I was feeling and my body was feeling. I had never done this before.
When we got together for the private session, I didn’t even know why I was doing it. I just knew that I was having panic attacks and that the first birth was so difficult. Coming to the session I felt different, like on the verge of crying. Catherine asked me, where did I feel the panic in my body, and then she held me there around my heart. Then the memories all came up. I had to relive the experience of being two years old; she held me and made me feel safe.
When I was two years old I was hospitalized for days and days. Hospital policy didn’t allow my mother to be with me overnight and except during limited visiting hours. I’ve always had a fear of hospitals, but I didn’t even know this was an issue until we did the private session together. Now I can connect all the pieces; my experience of age two, my feelings about separation from my parents, how my first birth went.
Going into the birth, I knew I could trust my body and the birth process.
What Catherine offers is priceless. But women still have to practice and work at it to make it happen for themselves, to make it their own. – Vickie
I integrate Hakomi principles of psychotherapy for bodywork along with craniosacral therapy and somatic touch therapy.
