Building a Foundation for Trauma Healing: The Importance of Resourcing
Resourcing is the practice of orienting towards pleasant or pleasurable experiences and sensations in your body, no matter how small. This is the bedrock of nervous system and trauma healing because it begins to communicate safety to your body. If you are trying to be in relationship with high sensation in your body or difficult to experience emotions without bringing any resource on board you may be trying to get your body to move at a pace that you are not ready or resourced enough for. Which can cause overwhelm to your nervous system, potentially hindering your recovery.
Here are some possible examples but you will have your own unique list.....
Resource can be experienced in many different ways, like looking out of the window at the sky, listening to the birds, stroking your pet, connecting & co-regulating in community, taking aligned action, music, sun on your skin, shower water on your back, joyful movement. Self touch, like a hand on your heart, a self hug or massage. Resource can also come from inside, like a particular emotion, spiritual connection, a pleasant/ neutral sensation in your body or your breath.
When tending to your inner world it’s important to orient towards feelings of safety and pleasure, getting to know what this means to you. Not to bypass what you are experiencing, but to bring support in alongside and expand your capacity to be in relationship with all parts of your experience.
From a community care perspective we want to be able to sustainably support others, share our unique gifts, and take aligned action for what matters. It serves both ourselves and the collective for us to move through life with presence, deepening into resource and connection. This does not mean soley prioritising your individual wellness. It means developing your resilience and resource levels so that your activism, care giving and work in the world can be enacted in a grounded, constructive and sustainable way.
It also feels important to say that resourcing isn’t about trying to feel ‘good’ all of the time. I see it more as a re-orienting towards a felt sense of being held through the full range of our inner and collective experience.
Here are some invitation’s to practice……..
Notice what feels resourcing for you throughout your day. How do you know that it feels resourcing, what does it feel like? How do you experience it in your body? - For example my morning cup of tea is a resource for me. I love the sensation of the heat warming my hands and the moment of stillness whilst it cools enough to drink. My shoulders drop, face relaxes, there’s a warm fuzzy sensation in my chest and my breath lengthens a little.
Practice staying with pleasant or pleasurable experiences for just a second or two longer than you might usually, really taking the moment in.
If you feel to, make a list as you go along, noting down your resources and pop it somewhere visible as a reminder. Try coming at this with a beginners mind, you may discover some new things about yourself.
Use this question throughout your day, set a couple of alarms if it helps to start with - What would feel resourcing for me right now? And lean into your answer where you can, remember teeny tiny shifts here.
If you are struggling to know what feels resourcing for you, you could start by trying these out and noticing your experience for each -
Bring your attention to the support of the earth beneath you
Listen out for bird song or watch the birds in the sky
Place a hand on your heart
Develop a cycle awareness practice - living in sync with your natural rhythms is resourcing in itself. (Sign up to my Sunday letters for your free guide here).
In your cycle awareness practice, try noticing your sources of resource through the different phases of your menstrual or moon cycle.
Connect- In your own way connect with folk in your community, we are meant to do this together. Notice where giving and creating offerings may feel resourcing too.
Want to take this exploration deeper? Here are some ways we can work together.