90 Recovery skills 2( continued)
TO THE TRAINER
PART II: THE TRAINING
Aim. To practise exercises that strengthen a survivor’ s awareness of her body, feelings, heart, thoughts, and breathing.
TEACHING INSTRUCTION. PAUSE FOR DEEPENING.
By teaching them different skills and deepening their experience of them, we help survivors to notice and become familiar with what is helpful to them. When they try new movements and these are helpful, it will assist them to manage future situations better.
When you deepen experience, ask one question at a time, and then pause. When the survivor reports a positive experience, ask her to stay with that feeling, and pause again to give some time for deepening. Then ask:“ What do you experience now?” or“ What do you feel now?”
GROUNDING EXERCISE
Grounding Exercise 7. Feeling the weight of your body.
When we are overwhelmed, our muscles often go from being extremely tense into collapse. From being in a state of active defence( fight and flight), they move into a state of submission. They become hypotonic, or completely relaxed; this is more than ordinary relaxation.
In the exercise, we activate the muscles in the torso and legs. Activating the core muscles gives us awareness of our physical structure. When we get in touch with this strength and structure it is easier to bear our feelings. We can contain our experience better, whatever it is, and manage better feelings of fragmentation or being overwhelmed.
DISCUSSION
Discussion. How do you feel after Grounding Exercise 7?
Ask the participants whether they notice any differences in their body, feelings, breathing, heart and thoughts. Ask which changes they notice most.
TEACHING POINT. PRACTISING EXERCISES.
Point to the list below. Emphasise to the participants that it is vital to follow each step, with a human rights-based approach in mind, when they are teaching exercises to women they help.
What do we do? 1. I describe the exercise. 2. I ask you whether you are willing to try it with me. 3. I do the exercise together with you. 4. I ask you to be aware of certain things and to focus on them. 5. We take time to absorb what was happening.
6. Afterwards we discuss how you experienced the exercise, what you felt and whether it made a difference.