Mindfulness, The Body, Somatic Experiencing, and Chronic Pain Management
MINDFULNESS & THE BODY VIDEOS
- [Video] Mindfulness and the Body | Michelle Maldonado interview by Risa Morimoto
- [Video] Befriending Our Bodies | Jon Kabat-Zinn (Greater Good Science Center)
- [Video] All Bodies are Beautiful | Amy Pence-Brown
- [Video] MBSR Yoga # 1
- [Video] MBSR Yoga # 2
- [Video] MBSR Yoga – 20 minute version
- [Video] Ten Mindful Movements – Plum Village and Thich Nhat Hahn
MINDFULNESS & CHRONIC PAIN VIDEOS
- [Video] Pain x Resistance = Suffering | Tara Brach
- [Video] Guided Reflection on Inhabiting this Body | Tara Brach
- [Video] Working Skillfully with Pain | Tara Brach
- [Video] The Pace of Pain | Amberly Lago
- [Video] Mindfulness & Physical Pain | Kelly McGonigal
- [Video] Mindfulness-Based Pain Management | Vidyamala Burch
- [Video] The Fist Exercise | Vidyamala Burch
- [Video] Vidyamala Burch – ‘Living Well With Pain And Illness’ – Interview by Iain McNay
- [Video] Spiritual Healing Sound Bath – Releasing Pain (Healing Vibrations)
MINDFULNESS COURSE LESSONS
- [Course Lesson] Mindfulness for Chronic Pain Management
- [Course Lesson] Somatic Experiencing Therapy Introduction
- [Course Lesson] Understanding your body sensations
- [Course Lesson] Accepting your body sensations
- [Course Lesson] Accessing your body sensations
- [Course Lesson] Relaxation and stress reduction techniques
- [Course Lesson] Paired progressive muscle relaxation and breathing
- [Course Lesson] Yoga and stretching
- [Course Lesson] Mapping tension and stress in your body
- [Course Lesson] Physical movement
- [Course Lesson] Polyvagal Theory – Safety and Connection
Lessons and Activities from the Somatic Therapy Toolbox
MINDFULNESS AND BODY
- What is Embodied Mindfulness?
- Pitfalls When Working with Mindfulness
- Remedy the Pitfalls
- Tool #21: How to Induce Mindfulness
- Tool #22: Cultivating Self – Witnessing-Suspend the Moment
- Tool #23: Befriending the Body
- Tool #24: Relaxing Rest
- Tool #25: Moving Body Scan
- Tool #26: Walking Meditation
- Tool #27: Simple Earth Mindfulness
BODY AWARENESS AND BODY READING
- Tool #28: Global Awareness of Body
- Tool #29: Body Awareness Inventory
- Tool #30: Naming Your Present-Moment Experience in Your Body
- Tool #31: Identifying Body Themes
- Tool #32: Somatic Beliefs of Self
- Tool #33: Mapping the Body
- Tool #34: Body Reading for the Therapist
THE SOMAGRAM AND BODY PARTS
- Tool #35: Somagram #1
- Tool #36: Somagram #2 – Free Charting
- Working with Body Splits
- Tool #37: Left/Right Body Split
- Tool #38: Upper/Lower Body Split
- Tool #39: Front/Back Body Split
- Tool #40: Body Splits
PRESENCE, PERCEPTION AND SENSATIONS
- Tool #41: Soft Vision
- Tool #42: Gentle Head Lift
- Tool #43: Hands Over Eye Sockets
- Tool #44: Sensing Your Fluid Brain
- Tool #45: The Spaces In-Between
- Tool #46: Dual Awareness
- Tool #47: Bumper Stickers – Reminders for the Body
- Tool #48: Sensing Space
MOVEMENT INTERVENTIONS
- Movement Takes All Forms
- Tool #49: Unfurling
- Tool #50: Wet Sandbag
- Tool #51: Micro-Movement in Neck
- Tool #52: Opening the Horizon
- Tool #53: Walking with Aim
- Tool #54: Mirror, Mirror
- Tool #55: Movement Play and Beliefs
- Tool #56: Figure 8 Resource Movement
- Tool #57: Defending Arms
- Tool #58: Orienting Movements
BOUNDARIES
- The Importance of Setting Boundaries
- Tool #59: Body Boundary
- Tool #60: Extending a Physical Boundary
- Tool #61: Muscle Tone Boundary
- Tool #62: Wrapping Yourself into Your Own Space
- Tool #63: Personal Space Exploration
- Tool #64: Boundary Homework for Personal Space
- Tool #65: When Boundary is Violated – Re-drawing the Territory
- Tool #66: Personal Space in Relation
- Tool #67: String Exercise in Relationship
POSTURE
- Posture and Internal Messages
- Tool #68: The Lengthy Spine
- Tool #69: Grounding Through the Spine
- Tool #70: Inner Alignment
- Tool #71: Somatic Strength Posture
- Tool #72: Posture Snapshot
- Tool #73: Draw Your Skeleton
GESTURE AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
- Non-Verbal Communication
- Tool #74: Non-Verbal Communications Chart
- Tool #75: Tracking the Meaning of Gestures
- Tool #76: Centered Hands
- Tool #77: Midline Gestures
EMOTIONS AND SELF-REGULATION
- Soma, Emotions and the Art of Self-Regulation
- Tool #78: Meaning Making: High-Road vs. Low-Road
- Tool #79: Emotions Chart – Self-Assessment and Emotional Themes
- Tool #80: Lean Back to Lean In
- Tool #81: Managing the “Too Much”
- Tool #82: Sailing the Midline
- Tool #83: Sitting Run
BODY AND SELF-IMAGE
- Tool #84: Body Image – Inside-Out vs. Outside-In
- Tool #85: Shifting the Perception
- Tool #86: Body Drawing
- Tool #87: Breathing into the Seven Energy Centers
BREATH AWARENESS AND TECHNIQUES
- Guidelines When Working with Breath
- The Truth About Deep Breathing
- How to Use the Breathing Tools
- Tool #88: Round-Wave Breath
- Tool #89: Breathing Towards Calm – Regulate Your Breath
- Tool #90: Lateral Breathing Sequence
- Tool #91: Three-Part Breathing Sequence
- Tool #92: Cellular Breathing
- Tool #93: Deflating the Tire of Anxiety
- Tool #94: Lunar Breath – Diffusing the Tension
WORKING WITH SOUND AND VOICE
- Tool #95: Listening Bell
- Tool #96: Sounding into the Body
- Tool #97: “Hmmm” Sound
- Tool #98: Corridor of Sound
WORKING WITH SAFE TOUCH
- Why is Touch Important?
- General Therapeutic Guidelines
- When to Potentially Use Safe Touch
- Tips for Using Touch
- Tool #99: Self-Touch – Tapping
- Tool #100: Cueing Hands
- Tool #101: Compassionate Self-Touch
TRAUMA AND THE BODY
- Polyvagal Theory: A Very Brief Overview
- Tool #102: Tracking Your Own Nervous System
- Tool #103: Expanded Window of Tolerance Chart
- Tool #104: How Can I Resource Myself?
- Tool #105: Scanning Towards Safety
- Tool #106: MOVE!
- Tool #107: Imagine Running Faster Than the Tiger
- Tool #108: The Container Principle
- Tool #109: Tracking Triggers Chart
- Tool #110: Trauma Stressor Timeline
- Tool #111: Shaking to Safety
- Tool #112: Orienting Gong Awareness
- Tool #113: Calling Your Experience by Its True Name
- Tool #114: Releasing the Psoas Muscle
SOMATIC RESOURCING
- Somatic Resources – Thriving Resources
- Cultivating Dual Awareness
- Tool #115: Five-Step Resourcing
- Tool #116: Dual Awareness Practice
- Tool #117: Flat Back Strength
- Tool #118: Embodied Self-Awareness and Resourcing
- Tool #119: Name Your Resource
- Somatic Coherence
- Tool #120: Reflect on Your Own Somatic Coherence
- Tool #121: Tracking Your Client from Body Activation to Somatic Coherence
SHAME AND TRAUMA
- Shame and Somatic Interventions
- Verbal Cues
- Breathing Cues
- Tool #122: Intervention Sequence with Shame
- Tool #123: Outing the Shame Monster
- Tool #124: Part 1: Identifying and Reframing Shame Attacks
- Tool #124: Part 2: Identifying Shame Attacks and Preventing Shame Spirals
- Tool #125: Sun Rays into Your Body
SUPPORTING READING MATERIALS & JOURNAL ARTICLES
- [Article] The Body Scan Meditation | Jon Kabat Zin (Palouse Mindfulness)
- [Article] The Origins of Mindfulness in Body-Based Awareness | Elad Levinson (ATD, 2017)
- [Article] Mindfulness of the Body | Jack Kornfield (Author’s website, 2020)
- [Article] Mindfulness, Interoception, and the Body: A Contemporary Perspective (Frontiers)
- [Article] Use mindfulness to cope with chronic pain (Mayo Clinic Health System, 2020)
- [Article] Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain (Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2017)
- [Article] Acceptance and Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain (CBT Journal, 2016)
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING
- [Book] The Body Keeps the Score (Bessel van Der Kolk)
- [Book] Living Well With Pain & Illness (Vidyamala Burch)
- [Book] You Are Not Your Pain (Vidyamala Burch)
- [Book] Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief (Jon Kabat Zin, 2023)
- [Book] Pain Management Workbook (Rachel Zoffness MS PhD, Mark A. Schumacher MD PhD)
- [Book] Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox (Manuela Mischke-Reeds, MA, LMFT, 2018, PESI)
ASSIGNMENTS & PRACTICAL APPLICATION
- [Assignment] Formal Daily Practice: Yoga and Stretching
- [Assignment] Formal Daily Practice: Body Scan; Cued Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- [Assignment] Formal Daily Practice: Vagus Nerve Exercises
- [Assignment] Informal Practice: Pain vs Pleasure Journal
- [Assignment] Informal Practice: Walk on a Daily Schedule
