TUESDAYS

“A truly powerful and transformational four week course. It was a beautiful journey inwards. Each week I grew the courage to be with myself more." Newcastle participant, 2024

 

You cannot bully yourself into wholeness. You cannot shame yourself into freedom or joy. You CAN learn to befriend your whole messy and beautiful self – including your mean inner critic.

​

So many people in western society have learned from a young age that we always need to be better. That we need to work harder, earn more, be healthier and fitter, be a better friend or parent. We have been conditioned to be hard on ourselves and be relentlessly self-critical.​​

​

We often assume that changing our thinking alone is enough. Taking a mind-body approach to wholeness is far more effective and learning how to regulate our nervous system is important if we want to restore a felt sense of safety so that our inner critic quiets down. In order to become more skilled at nervous system regulation we must boost our emotional literacy and somatic capacity. 

​

The inner critic, which is that internal voice of self-judgment or self-doubt, significantly impacts our nervous system by activating a stress response. Here’s how it happens and its effects:

​

Activation of the Fight-or-Flight Response

• When we experience harsh self-criticism, our brain perceives it as a threat, triggering the sympathetic nervous system—the body's fight-or-flight response.

​

Chronic Stress on the Nervous System

• Long-term Activation: If the inner critic is active consistently, it creates a state of chronic stress, keeping the body in a constant state of vigilance. This continuous activation of the SNS wears down the nervous system, leading to symptoms like fatigue, irritability, and weakened immunity.​

​

Suppression of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)

• Reduced Rest and Recovery: Self-criticism often keeps the parasympathetic nervous system —the part responsible for rest and recovery—inactive. It becomes hard for the body to enter a relaxed state, impacting digestion, sleep, and overall mental well-being.

​

Impact on the Vagus Nerve and Emotional Resilience

• Lowered Vagal Tone: The vagus nerve, which helps regulate the nervous system, plays a key role in calming the body after stress. Self-criticism can lower “vagal tone” (the strength of the vagus nerve’s activity), making it harder to recover from stress and maintain emotional resilience.

​

• Impaired Social Engagement: A high-functioning vagus nerve helps us connect with others and feel safe in social settings. With the inner critic consistently activated, this social engagement system is suppressed, often making us feel disconnected or isolated.

​

By practicing self-compassion, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques like those found in yoga or breathwork, we can calm the nervous system and weaken the cycle of self-criticism. Over time, this allows the nervous system to stay more balanced and resilient, even when the inner critic appears.

​

The Vagus Nerve

​

is what enables our body to move into Parasympathetic dominance (rest and digest mode). When we work to stimulate our vagus nerve we are communicating to our brain and the rest of our body that we are “safe” and that it is okay to calm down. This is taught widely in many different health circles, and may be something you are familiar with. 

​

This four week course offers you a warm and supportive space to deepen your understanding of  somatic practices and resources for regulating your nervous system and supporting you in cultivating feelings of safety within your own self and coming into a more kind and nourishing relationship with your body..

 

“Felt Sense”, an embodiment.

​

Felt Sense is about bringing awareness inside of the body. Slowing down to notice the ever changing energetic, emotional and sensory landscape. The goal of focusing on sensation, movement and feeling is about going inward; moving from external stimuli {and things out of our control.   Leaving you with a felt sense and internal memory of what ‘home’ feels like for you and a toolkit of resources to help you keep coming home long after the session has passed.

​​​​​

At every moment in time your subconscious mind speaks to you through your body, in a language that is as refined, systematic, and complete as your verbal language. This "somatic" language that your body communicates in forms the basis of the non-cognitive wisdom known as felt sense, intuition, or "somatic intelligence." Becoming fluent in somatic language can help you to think less, yet know more. It is like having your own personal consultant, who you can ask for additional insight. Understanding the subtle yet systematic communication of the body can help you achieve breakthroughs in your personal health and well-being, as well as adding significant value to your existing skills and abilities.

 

Interweaving Lucinda’s  knowledge in yoga therapy, somatic psychotherapy, poly vagal theory and Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry and currently deepening her knowledge in somatic experiencing this will be an experiential  series with a rich combination of kundalini yoga, meditation and mantra, you are invited to slow down and attune to the language deep inside your body - coming to know your bodily sensations, listening to your patterns of holding and tension and the ways in which your body may be stuck in survival responses as a result of stress.

​

​​Each week we will explore: 

• Somatic release practices, grounding and resourcing and felt sense. ​Resourcing is the practice of inviting our mind/body to attune to sensations of safety or goodness, however small they may be. 

• Learn the 7 types of the inner critic

• Bite sized chunk of theory: - Identify how our body and mind collaborate with the stress responses

• Explore Vagal Toning exercises - Learn simple tools and techniques to incorporate into your self care routine by working to engage your vagus nerve to find relief from stress and notice how an anxious mind cannot exist in a calm body.

• Kriya - Physical postures and movement

• Breathwork or pranayama

• Sacred sound and rhythm, mantra (including planetary gong and sound baths)

• Meditation and mudras (hand gestures) 

• Explore practices for inviting your body into a place of rest and relaxation

• Deepen your awareness of what brings joy and nourishment to your body.

 

​You don’t have to be flexible or strong. You don’t need any experience. All you need is to come as you are and open yourself up to to your own bodies innate ability to heal.
.
​All welcome and please give me a call if you have any questions.