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Sundown Healing Arts

Intuitive, compassionate bodywork for trauma

Articles

Topic: Relating

Offer a Collaborative Story

Jacinta realized she was angry about not being heard. She said to her friend Reya, “I’m mad about our translation project. I still think this idiom isn’t quite right.” Reya said flatly, “I disagree.” Jacinta took a deep breath and tried again. “I really appreciate that you did this translation. Your technical Spanish is much… Read More

April 1, 2018 sonia

Topic: Trauma Effects, PTSD

Depression: Natural Response to Trauma

A heavy reluctance to get up in the morning. A weight presses down all day, makes it hard to move, squeezes the joy out of everything. Voices inside say, “Worthless. Shameful. Failure.” Tears, sadness, grief, despair. Emptiness. Hopelessness. A common narrative says that depression is caused by a malfunction of the body and brain, leading… Read More

March 1, 2018 sonia

Topic: Acceptance

Your Body Is Your Ally

It is painfully easy to blame our own bodies for trauma we endure. Perhaps if we had looked or acted differently, the trauma would not have happened. Afterwards, we want the body to just get over it instead of needing a long healing process. We disconnect from our bodies, and then feel surprised and betrayed… Read More

February 1, 2018 sonia

Topic: Body

Embody Hunger, Embody Fullness

Trauma interrupts and confuses our relationship with our bodies. To connect more directly with our bodies just as they are right now, we can bring more awareness to eating, hunger, and fullness. Soothing or stressful eating Babies eat for comfort as well as nourishment. So do growing children and adults. Eating is a fundamental sensory… Read More

January 1, 2018 sonia

Topic: Trauma Effects, PTSD

Untangle Anniversaries

Some anniversaries are neutral. “Oh, that happened five years ago.” Some feel like an accomplishment. “Wow, I’ve had this job for three years already.” And then there are the ones that feel terrible. Trauma anniversaries might bring more abundant flashbacks and other PTSD symptoms. Anniversaries of loss might bring a resurgence of grief. We might… Read More

December 1, 2017 sonia

Topic: Hard Times, Abuse

How to Resist Enough

The news is overwhelming these days. Hurricanes, wildfires, increasingly violent bigotry, decreasing access to medical care, war, genocide, environmental destruction. To secure our own survival and to be good people we want to do something, only it never seems like enough. How do we resist enough? How do we know that we are doing our… Read More

November 1, 2017 sonia

Topic: Relating

The Perils of Nice

Never take the last cookie. Avoid drama. Never tell people they are wrong. Wait for people to notice what you need. Smile at strangers. We have lots of rules about how to be nice, how to be liked. The details vary in each community, which can be surprising when you move to a new town…. Read More

October 1, 2017 sonia

Topic: Hard Times, Abuse

Sit with Disappointment

The hardware store is out of the item we need. A friend did not show up when they said they would. The job went to someone else. The election went to the other candidate. Disappointments come in all shapes and sizes. How we handle them depends on our expectations, our inner resources and resilience at… Read More

September 1, 2017 sonia

Topic: Body

Look into the Present

Trauma leads to chronic muscle tension as the body works to manage internal nervous system disruptions as well as external life disruptions. Our eyes are affected directly by muscle tension and indirectly by incomplete trauma responses. Light enters the eye through the pupil and is focused by the lens onto the retina in the back… Read More

August 1, 2017 sonia

Topic: Relating

Seek Nourishing Feedback

You want someone to take a look at an important letter before you send it out. Your kid left their shoes in the middle of the floor, again. Your boss makes little disparaging remarks about your Black coworker that she doesn’t make about others. We give and receive feedback constantly as we navigate our complex… Read More

July 1, 2017 sonia

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Shannon Loftis, Reiki Master

I just wanted to let you know as well what an amazing blessing you have been in my life this year! Our sessions have changed me in the most beautiful ways. Continue Reading

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