The Comeback

When we finally get out of Fight and Flight- feeling tired or even exhausted is normal and even a good sign.

Listen to what your body is needing—rest. This is part of the recovery and comeback.

-Michelle Doublet

Reclaiming Connection and Clarity: Returning to the Embodied Self

Reclaiming Connection and Clarity: Returning to the Embodied Self | THE EMBODY LAB

By Michelle Doublet, LCSW, E-RYT, CCTP-II, Certified TRET Practitioner

The Impact of Complex Trauma on Connection and Intuition

Complex trauma shapes our entire being—body, mind, and spirit—disrupting our ability to connect authentically with ourselves and others. It leaves lasting imprints on our nervous system, influencing how we perceive the world and interact in relationships. Trauma survival mechanisms such as fight, flight, and shutdown are automatic responses designed to keep us safe in the face of danger, but when trauma is unresolved, these responses can remain activated, interfering with clarity, connection, and intuition.

Additionally, trauma often leads to relational survival strategies such as appeasement and placating, which are distinct forms of the fawn response:

  • Appeasement involves proactively trying to prevent conflict or danger by pleasing others, often at the expense of your own needs or boundaries.

  • Placating is reactive, occurring when fear of harm or rejection causes you to comply or agree, even when it doesn’t align with your truth.

These responses may have been essential for survival in unsafe environments but can lead to chronic disconnection from your inner wisdom and authenticity. Healing requires compassionately addressing these patterns, creating space to distinguish between survival-based reactions and intuitive, embodied responses.

The Role of Boundaries in Healing and Connection

Trauma frequently disrupts our ability to establish healthy boundaries. For some, this manifests as porous boundaries, where it feels impossible to say no. For others, trauma creates rigid boundaries that block connection and intimacy. Both extremes reflect a survival-based approach to safety.

Somatic boundary work helps restore balance, empowering you to set boundaries that protect your energy while fostering authentic connection. This involves:

  • Listening to the body: Recognizing the sensations and signals that arise when boundaries are needed or crossed.

  • Practicing agency: Learning to say yes or no based on your internal needs rather than external pressures.

  • Building trust: Developing boundaries that allow safety and connection to coexist.

Boundaries are a vital step in reconnecting with yourself and others, enabling you to move from survival-based patterns to embodied clarity and trust.

Trauma and the Nervous System: The Automatic Responses

The nervous system governs how we respond to stress and trauma. Its primary automatic responses—fight, flight, and shutdown—are designed to protect us in the face of perceived danger. While these responses are adaptive in the short term, unresolved trauma can leave the nervous system stuck in these survival states, disrupting our sense of safety and connection.

  • Fight: Activates aggression or resistance to confront perceived threats.

  • Flight: Drives avoidance or escape behaviors to seek safety.

  • Shutdown: Results in emotional or physical numbness, dissociation, or a sense of helplessness.

These responses are not a choice—they are automatic, rooted in the body’s innate desire to protect you. Healing involves teaching the nervous system to recognize when it is safe to move out of survival and into regulation and connection.

Reclaiming the Embodied Self: A Holistic Approach

Healing trauma requires addressing its imprints on the body, nervous system, and energy field. Through somatic practices, boundary work, Trauma Resolution Energy Therapy (TRET), and a Somatic Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach, you can restore balance, clarity, and connection.

Somatic Practices: Listening to the Body’s Wisdom

Somatic practices help you tune into the sensations, emotions, and signals stored in your body, fostering a deeper connection to your embodied Self. These practices include:

  • Body scans: Cultivate awareness of physical sensations and areas of tension or numbness.

  • Grounding exercises: Use breathwork and gentle movement to anchor yourself in the present moment.

  • Somatic boundary work: Practice physical gestures to embody boundaries, such as pushing movements or expanding personal space.

By reconnecting with your body, you can process stored trauma, regulate your nervous system, and reclaim your inner wisdom.

Somatic Internal Family Systems: Embracing All Parts

Trauma fragments our sense of Self, creating internal conflicts between protective and vulnerable parts. Somatic Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you connect with and integrate these parts, fostering internal harmony and clarity.

Each part of you—whether it’s the appeaser, the protector, or the wounded inner child—has a purpose rooted in survival. By engaging with these parts somatically, you can:

  • Locate parts in the body: Notice where each part “lives” and its associated sensations.

  • Engage in dialogue: Use breath, movement, and curiosity to understand each part’s intentions and needs.

  • Release and integrate: Reconnect these parts into the larger whole, fostering safety and coherence.

This process strengthens the nervous system, enabling you to move out of survival states and into authentic connection.

Trauma Resolution Energy Therapy: Healing at the Cellular and Energetic Level

Trauma leaves not only physical and emotional imprints but also energetic ones. Trauma Resolution Energy Therapy (TRET) addresses these imprints at a cellular and energetic level, helping you release blockages and restore balance.

TRET supports healing by:

  • Clearing the energetic charge of trauma.

  • Reconnecting you with your natural vitality and flow.

  • Realigning your energy systems to support regulation and integration.

When combined with somatic and IFS practices, TRET facilitates deep, multidimensional healing, helping you reclaim connection and clarity.

Connection as the Key to Healing

Trauma often isolates us, not just from others but also from ourselves. Rebuilding connection is essential for healing. This connection can take many forms:

  • Connection to the body: Practices like trauma-sensitive yoga and somatic movement foster self-awareness and trust.

  • Connection to others: Safe, attuned relationships help rewire the nervous system and rebuild trust in others.

  • Connection to intuition: Reclaiming the body’s wisdom allows you to discern between survival-based reactions and authentic guidance.

Moving Toward Clarity and Wholeness

Healing is not about erasing trauma; it is about transforming your relationship with it. Through somatic embodiment, boundary work, IFS, and TRET, you can reconnect with your body, trust your intuition, and reclaim your authentic Self.

This journey requires patience and compassion, but each step brings you closer to a life rooted in safety, connection, and clarity. By leaning into all parts of yourself with kindness, you can rediscover the wholeness that has always been within you.

Sources

  1. 
David E. & Elizabeth H. PhD, 2011 - Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga - Reclaiming Your Body

  2. Yoga-Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Y-CBT) for Anxiety Management: A Pilot Study

  3. Lisa C, 2018 - The Art of Psychic Reiki

  4. Susan McConnell - Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy: Awareness Breath, Resonance, Movement and Touch in Practice

Hold Space For Yourself Too

This is a time of transition. As we transition there is an opportunity to make significant change and manifest what you desire. We can either find ourselves gripping so firmly on to the old where we develop feelings of resentment, anger and frustration - where there is no room for growth.

Or, we can be curious and courageous enough to dance in the light of the allowing where there is a feeling of light, love, trust within our heart where anything magnificent is possible.

The difference between gripping and allowing is the relationship we have with our good friend, fear.

What kind of relationship do you have with fear?

Have you ever been able to step forward into the allowing?

Can you imagine what you can have if you had a loving relationship with fear?

How different would you handle situations of transition and change?

What would be different?

-Michelle Doublet LCSW, ERYT

#movebeyondyourstories

You are enough

As we peel away the several layers of meaning and depth, I’d like to touch upon the fourth Yama (self-regulating behaviors involving our interactions with other people and the world at large) of Patanjali’s five yamas of the yoga sutras, Asteya | non-stealing. 

As we practice Asteya on the mat & off, we are not just talking about physically non-stealing from mankind, but the act of falling into greed & cravings of artificial needs. What is the root cause of this? How do we end the suffering that arises from these desires, wants and needs that stem from feeling a 'lack' in life? 

What goes on for you on your mat? Do you find yourself pushing & forcing asanas (poses) because you feel that you are not 'good enough'? ....That you can only be good if you get into 'that' pose?

Developing a sense of faith in ourselves, instead of trying to fill that 'emptyness', we practice self containment, we build a sense of abundance vs scarcity .

when we learn this, we realize that all we ever needed is already there. All that we have in ourselves is enough..... 

Tune in

“When we learn to tune into our body, we find we have all the answers. When we simply decide to acknowledge any lower energy such as tension, strain, pain and ease up on the fighting, griping and holding on, we then have the fierce opportunity to make space for peace, strength, vitality, letting go of risk of illness and even disease.”

- Michelle Doublet

Heart-Centered

Within the realms of your heart is where presence is. With heartfulness, true mindfulness, the heart of life is present, decreasing our fears, healing everything that gives us seperation, giving you back connection.

-Michelle Doublet, LCSW, ERYT

Light

Your light may disturb, upset & even anger the darkness. The darkness can’t handle its own reflection. Don’t dim your light, shine it even brighter & see what happens.

Does the sun fear the shadows?

Listen to your heart today

Listen to your heart today.

Feel your feelings fully without judging them.

Emotions are your guidance system.

If you allow yourself to feel all your feelings fully, regardless of whether they’re sad, angry, or joyous, your heart’s wisdom will heal your pain.

- Christiane Northrup, M.D

Yoga- Health Benefits Beyond The Mat

“Let’s shift from autopilot to conscious thinking, mindful eating.”

Yoga- brought to Mather Hospital Weight Management Program- Health Benefits Beyond The Mat

-Michelle Doublet

-Michelle Doublet

What is Mindfulness? In its most basic, simplest form, it can be defined as the ability to live in the present moment. So, what does that mean? It can mean, meditating twice a day, practicing Yoga, tai chi, journaling, sharing what you are grateful for, observing your surroundings, etc. Mindfulness is the act of being present while paying attention to passing thoughts and emotions without judgement. It’s really about not trying to change who you are, but becoming more fully present with your experiences. It does not have to be seated, it can be done at any moment, by being in the moment, such as focusing on the rhythm of the breath, the cooling as you inhale and the heat as you exhale from your nostrils. Cultivating mindfulness is an art, a skill developed through practice & repetition.

Basic benefits of how Yoga can help shift you from autopilot to conscious thinking, mindful eating…..

Better Body Image

-        Focusing inward during Yoga helps you be more satisfied with your body and less critical of it

Heart Benefits

-        Yoga can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, all of which are good for your heart and blood vessels.

Overall Fitness

-        Practicing Yoga a couple of times a week increases muscle strength and flexibility (Mind & Body), boosts endurance, relaxes your nervous system (balances hormones) and tunes up your heart, lungs and blood vessels.

Mindful Eating

-        Being more aware of how your body feels carries over to mealtimes as you savor, enjoy each bite, sip and notice how food smells, tastes and feels in your mouth

Weight Control

-        Mindfulness developed through Yoga can make you more sensitive to cues of hunger and fullness, which help you develop a more positive relationship with food

Meditation, Breath control, Movement (asana-poses)

-        Increases focus, concentration

-        Increases self-awareness, insight, and conscious thinking  

-        Decreases Impulsivity-helps us learn to slow down

-        Decreases cortisol levels- stress hormone- which often make you crave sugary, fatty and salty foods

-        Developing skills to ease cravings, urges, temptations to things that are unhealthy for us

-        Decreases anxiety, depression etc

-        Teachings of self-love, compassion, kindness towards oneself, others without judgment increases our wanting to care for ourselves and helps us make  healthy choices/decisions

-        Letting go of ‘restriction thinking’ to ‘abundance’

Michelle Doublet, LCSW, E-RYT, Reiki Certified, Reiki Master Trainee

Bringing Yoga & Meditation in the class room

December 2017

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After I was asked to present to faculty about the benefits of bringing Yoga in the classroom, mainly wanting me to discuss the benefits for children who would use yoga instead of a consequence such as detention, I thought a lot. I couldn’t stop thinking.

Yoga-there are so many benefits! So I had to focus, I had to focus on one important aspect that I believed in, to be powerful enough to allow faculty to be inspired. To say the least, it was the teachers last day with the kids at school before their break! This was going to be challenging. What a treat they were in for! As I hoped.

While I thought about the importance of bringing Yoga in the classroom I could not help but to think how wonderful it would have been to have this necessity while I was going to school. At the time I was going to school, we weren’t exposed to half of what children are exposed to now. While I was in school I was not as nearly, NEARLY exposed to electronics, such as cell phones, apple TV, vapors etc. The list goes on. Which tells me, that there is a high demand and NEED to bring Yoga not only just in the classroom but in the school, as a whole.  

As I continued to think about this topic I realized that the one thing WE all have in common is that we are all being stimulated on a constant and daily basis 24/7. Not only are children constantly stimulated, we as adults are as well too. Our society is in a constant rush, we are always ON, & we can instantly get what we want right at our finger tips. One thing WE do not have in common is our brain. The first 12 years are the prime time of development, the most important stage of development of their lives. Constant stimulation will affect ones intellect, emotions and behaviors. We all see it, children having difficulty 1) focusing, 2) concentrating and 3) communicating at an increased rate. These three areas, which I focused on, that are being hindered by constant stimulation, these three aspects of the self are the core to healthy decision-making, developing healthy relationships & the ability to absorb information, to learn. The three very important essentials to succeed. Teachers are leaders of our future. Teachers are here to help children learn, be successful so they can contribute to their community, to society.  That’s a big responsibility. Teaching has become even more challenging however, & this is just ONE aspect, that hinders our children- being stimulated on a constant basis.

We see an increase of acting out behaviors, impulsivity, self-harm, substance use/abuse, bullying etc. What do we do? I say we need to meet our children where they are in society, to understand. If WE don’t slow down as a whole, we will never be where we want to be as a whole. Not only does bringing Yoga in the school help the children, it helps the teachers. It’s a win-win.

Yoga scientifically increases a sense of gratitude, oneness, compassion, empathy, emotion regulation and stress tolerance, PLUS all the areas of hindrances I mentioned above; focus, concentration and healthy affective ways to communicate. Important skills are developed and strengthened to allow children to better manage and cope with everyday stressors, learning the importance of speaking kindly to oneself and to others, increases ones ability to take tests affectively and consciously etc. Teachers then have the ability to use their leadership skills, to be creative and bring Yoga into their classroom, in their school any way they see fit. Areas they may see as lacking and needing more attention to.

As one example, using Yoga during classroom time allows teachers to let go of just using the traditional way of teaching, sitting at the desk. Integrating Yoga during classroom time allows students (and teachers) to take short breaks, to standup, to reenergize, to refocus. Such as flowing into a balancing pose (these poses assist in learning how to regulate emotions, stress tolerance, increases focus and concentration) helps them then come back to what’s being taught at hand. All of these positives-equals positive outcomes, happier students, happier teachers.

After the discussion, a short breathing exercise and guided meditation with the faculty, I had many teachers brainstorming ways they can start to integrate simple breathing and meditation exercises into the school. An example was when the children get off the bus; they have a short time frame before they head to their classroom. They discussed the possibility of projecting a video of a meditation on a screen for all the children to watch and participate in right before heading to their classrooms. Simple yet profound!

A few questions to ask yourself-

1)    What would you see different if the power of Yoga was brought into your school?

2)   How can you start bringing Yoga in your school?

 

Today, Just be Still.

All you need to do in this very moment is to just be still. To Breathe, take a breath & be silent with eyes closed, open heart & just be. Be still in your mind, be still in your soul. All that you need, you already have, all that you have is all that you need. Take a moment to recognize what you have built, what you do have. Gratitude, love is all you need right now, let this be your intention in stillness in silence.

Namaste- Michelle Doublet

"Learning to be still, to really be still & let life happen, that stillness becomes a radiance."