Positive Moves Wellbeing

Our health does not exist in a vacuum. The systems we live in shape the adaptations we adopt to maintain connection and safety.

Symptoms are rarely due to individual pathology but rather a response to the features inherent in our environment. If we do not attend to systems that surround us, we risk perpetuating an unhelpful belief an individual is the source of the problem rather acknowledge the collective responsibility we share.

Physical, social, and relational environments impact our internal human system. Patterns of emotion, behaviour and cognition are shaped by our

- family dynamics and structures
- social connections and interactions
- organisational structures
- culture and community
- physical environments

In therapy our work is to explore how particular adaptations may have been required. It can be complex and messy work and the reality is “symptoms” rarely arise from a “within-person” deficit. Layers of experience across the lifespan, and adaptations intended to keep a person safe and connected, can underlie present-day symptoms.

We collaborate and consider how environments, resources, relationships and connection can support and sustain healthier humans. Our environment can restrict our humanity or it can support us to thrive and be whole.

Being able to access states of physiological and relational safety is foundational to our work in therapy. The content of our mind is a narrative directed by the state of our nervous system. When we can shift our nervous system from alarm and restriction towards safety and ease, our thought patterns start to follow. The best way to get out of your head is to get into your body - so much of how we navigate life keeps us in a chronic state of disconnect and without access to the wisdom our physiology holds.

Bring your awareness to how you are moving through life within your body. How do you exist in that skin suit? How does the way you hold yourself affect the messages your mind is receiving? How do you allow your body to move at different times of the day? How you move through the morning/day/week will dictate how you are moving through life.

Instead of slowing down thoughts, try slowing down your body and breath. Notice the different ways of engaging your body appreciates and when it feels constricted or resistant.
How are you moving right now?
What sensations are you experiencing?
What messages is your body conveying and how are you listening and responding to these?

The body constantly communicates with the mind and the way we tend and respond to physiology influences how our mind makes sense of what it is arising internally. Our body serves as the vessel for our emotional energy and needs us to provide regular outlets for expression and signals of ease to avoid overwhelm or blockages creating inflammation, pain and dis-ease.

Life regulation, or homeostasis, relies on our capacity to connect with the internal signals of our body and make micro-adjustments to maintain balance. It is a dynamic concept requiring us to check inward and make the necessary shifts to maintain healthy functioning.

If our prior experience means we learnt to shut off messages from our physiology (perhaps if they were too much to bear, or the kind of support or resources we needed at the time was not available) then we risk of missing the cues and overwhelming the capacity of our internal system.

Restoring a sense of safety in the body - letting the full spectrum of human emotions know they can be safely contained and expressed - means building our capacity to recognise, understand and express our emotions and regulating our responses to life. Constant micro-adjustments without avoidance, shame or dismissing builds this capacity.