Connecting in is the habit of building and nurturing connections to the physical world – our bodies and nature. In the field of resilience, stress and trauma, our minds and bodies truly are inseparable. As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk titled his wonderfully informative book, The Body Keeps the Score, our bodies “remember” whether or not we are aware of it.
Stress and trauma produce physiological reactions that are practically indistinguishable from physical stress and trauma. Our bodies produce the same hormones when we break a leg or receive horrible news. When we look at emotional trauma as an injury, rather than as weakness, we begin to understand that connecting into ourselves (yoga, controlled breathing, meditation, mindfulness) and the natural world (exercise, getting out into nature) will help us be more resilient.
- Yoga and meditation can change your genes (Time magazine).
- Mindfulness meditation may ease anxiety, mental stress (Harvard Health Publishing).
- Exercise and stress: Get moving to manage stress (Mayo Clinic).
- This is your brain on nature (National Geographic).
- How the simple act of being in nature helps you de-stress (NBC).