Somanautiko’s Continuum classes provide ways to move forward through transformation in response to adversity.
Resilience is traditionally defined as a bouncing back or a return to an original state after a stressful or traumatic event. This is a significant misconception.
“When examining resilience as a response to adversity, our current understanding needs to expand beyond the concept of ‘bouncing back,’ to instead, a new normal that is characterized by stability through change. Being resilient entails more than the ability to adjust and adapt but also to transform when the internal and external stresses require a new way to effectively proceed forward.” – Dr. Wayne Jonas
Resilience was first used as a term in the early 1800s to describe how far a material, like wood or metal, can be stretched without breaking. Most materials typically have two options when experiencing stress or strain: 1) return to normal, or 2) break.
Humans have a third option: 3) use the stress to grow.
Experiencing stress alone does not cause growth. Growth comes from engaging with the struggle to cope with the disruptions—not from the event itself.
Psychologists Richard G. Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun describe five areas of growth reported by people who have experienced bereavement, life-threatening or life-changing illness, serious medical problems of their children, transportation accidents, house fires, combat, sexual assault and abuse, plus other traumatic events, like the global pandemic and economic collapse we are all in:
- Discovery of new opportunities and possibilities that were not present before
- Closer relationships with others, especially others who suffer
- Greater appreciation for life
- Greater sense of personal strength: “If I lived through that, I can face anything”
- Spiritual growth
Reference: https://drwaynejonas.com
Continuum is a human embodiment practice that offers real tools for staying sane and grounded while living in these continuously accelerating and chaotic times. When we find ourselves in survival mode it is easy to get hung-up in either a place of rigidity or a place of chaos and then lose track of how to get back in motion again.
Continuum returns us to essential integration between the body, mind and spirit. Continuum gives us access to a felt-sense of flow and coherency as we move forward on the river of life.
Continuum is the art of slowing down: We engage our breath, vocal sounds & imagination to develop a fuller awareness of sensation, fluid movement, and a more ease-full, less fearful state of mind and being. This practice cultivates a witnessing perspective that supports creativity, personal expansion, paying attention and waking up instead of “checking out” when things feel difficult or scary. Continuum helps us grow as human beings.
Please visit our Events calendar to find upcoming classes and workshops.