Our awareness of our physical sensations and movements forms the core of our sense of Self. Since trauma is held as heart-breaking and gut-wrenching sensations in the body, recovery entails accessing and befriending the organism we inhabit, which requires interoceptive awareness, the core of agency and being in charge of our reactions to our surroundings- how we process memories, how we make meaningful connections with others, and how we heal from traumatic events. Licia and Bessel will discuss and demonstrate how this awareness enables us to be more present and attuned to our own internal states and feelings, expanding our window of tolerance to know ourselves more fully. We will engage in a range of exercises that guide us to focus our attention on awareness of physical sensations, emotional triggers, attraction, impulses, and unconscious choices about what is safe or dangerous. This experiential workshop will demonstrate practices that enhance our ability to follow our body rhythms—of breath, heartbeat, footsteps, vocal expression, and gestures,—and come into collective synchrony—attunement, alignment, proximity, safety, engagement, meaning-making, and play.Based on the upcoming book, Come to Your Senses- the Official Companion Workbook for The Body Keeps the Score, this program offers an array of nonverbal, experiential exercises drawn from theater, parts work, guided focusing, dance, meditation, yoga, bodywork, and Embodied Voice. Bessel van der Kolk discusses the neuroscience of embodied experience on Tuesday.

Hosted by MAK Continuing Education, LLC, Cape Cod Institute live in Orleans, MA for 15 CEs. For more info, visit the event website.