Our go-to resources for clients who are learning mindfulness and grounding skills in preparation for trauma therapy or have begun their trauma work and are ready to listen more to their bodies and practice calm awareness. These tools are ideal for anyone who deals with stress (so, everyone).

Count Your Breathing with a Ratio

There are many great breathing exercises, but my favorite go-to for grounding with the breath is inhaling for 4 counts, then exhaling for 4 counts; then inhaling for 5 counts, and exhaling for 5 counts. Continue adding a count until you get up to inhaling for a count of 8 and exhaling for a count of 8 (4:4,5:5,6:6,7:7,8:8). The great thing about this one is that you can do it anywhere. No one will know you are counting in your head and your breaths don’t have to be particularly deep. The practice of making the exhale the same length as the inhale and then lengthening the breaths will usually bring calm. The added cognitive effort of counting is helpful too and requires you to bring other parts of your brain online that may have been stuck in a stress/survival mode. There are other breathing exercises that involve counting, or ratio breathing. Often there are three numbers, with the middle number being how many counts to hold your breath in between the inhale and the exhale. A common ratio is 4:7:8, but there are many combinations. I typically avoid cueing breath retention when working with trauma survivors but feel free to explore how your system responds to different ratios.

Count Colors & Find your Senses

When a client in my office needs help feeling more present the first thing I typically say is, “How many shades of green can you count in this room?” (Hint: it’s a ridiculous amount due to all the plants). As they begin to look around and count, they usually feel calmer and more present in just a few seconds. Sometimes they laugh and say, “That is really a lot of greens!”. You can build onto this tool by then noticing what you can touch or hear. One way to incorporate both counting and noticing present safety (Note: every one of your senses can work as an alarm for your nervous system) is with a 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise. Find 5 things you can see, then 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can touch. If you can’t remember which number goes with each sense just start with looking or feeling around you for anything interesting then check in with all of your senses.

Find the Ground

Okay, the most obvious “grounding” tool is simply to notice the ground beneath you. Notice every part of you that is connected to the ground (sofa, yoga mat, sidewalk, car seat, floor) beneath you. If your feet are on the ground, wiggle your toes and notice all of the parts of your feet that are touching the floor… roll forward onto the balls of your feet or back onto your heels. What feels calm or peaceful about being where you are right now? If you are sitting or lying down, notice every part of you that can touch what is beneath you. Imagine that your body is like a sandbag and move slightly, imagining how the sand shifts. What is good about being present here at this moment?

The Wheel of Awareness from Dr. Dan Siegel

https://drdansiegel.com/wheel-of-awareness/

Dr. Dan Siegel has spent years researching and helping clients using mindfulness practices and integration. The Wheel of Awareness is a practice that helps us train our brains to shift awareness, notice what is happening in and around us with mindful awareness, and ultimately find solace in pulling away from all that we can be aware of by being in the “Hub”. The link above contains Dr. Siegel’s diagram showing the “Wheel of Awareness” followed by several links to guided audio meditations and teachings about the Wheel. If you have time, try the full 30-minute version or the basic 20-minute version. If not, try the consolidated 7-minute version. Disclaimer: Mindfulness is hard. It’s supposed to be challenging. It gets easier the more you practice it (like most things). So, go easy on yourself and make a plan to try it again soon. Trauma warning: The longer versions of the Wheel cue the listener to notice the body in very detailed ways (organs, specific areas of the body). This very-detailed level of body awareness can be triggering for some individuals. If you find that’s true for you, feel free to skip the “cues to notice” that are triggering and explore those triggers in individual therapy when you are ready.

“A traumatic event,” says Audi Kolber, “includes anything that overwhelms a person’s nervous system and ability to cope.” 

Scary, dangerous, or shocking - traumatic events such as the experience of violence, serious accidents, illness, or natural disasters can challenge people’s coping skills and result in on-going physical, emotional, and mental health challenges. They are surprisingly common - with roughly 70% of American adults reporting they’ve experienced at least one traumatic event. 

The trauma left behind by an overwhelming event remains in the body as “the residue of imprints left behind in people’s sensory and hormonal systems” . Trauma can occur in a single event, such as being held-up at knife point or being involved in a serious accident. It can also be the result of repeated events, such as sexual abuse or being in a war zone. This is sometimes referred to as chronic trauma. 

Once someone has experienced a traumatic event, their reactions will vary in length and intensity. One person may show signs of trauma immediately while someone else might not show signs for weeks or even months after the event. Difficulty concentrating, intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event, insomnia or sleep disruptions, and feelings of anxiety, sadness, or anger are all common and natural responses to a traumatic event. Physically, a person may feel as though they are unable to calm down. Generally, these responses decrease over time and do not continue to interfere with normal life. 

However, sometimes people who’ve experienced trauma need extra support and help to deal with the effects of the event. The emotional responses might remain overwhelming or the person might begin to experience flashbacks, nightmares, and feel the need to avoid places or people tied to the traumatic memories. The person may feel physically “stuck” or frozen - as if the body is still responding to the past traumatic event. They may respond to new events as though the previous traumatic event is recurring. Responses to traumatic events sometimes serve to isolate the affected person which can interfere with their ability to access support and help. 

Children often show different responses to trauma. Especially in young children, these can include losing the ability to speak, experiencing unusual distress when separated from a parent or other trusted adult, regression in the use of the toilet, and re-enacting the traumatic event in their play. Older children and teenagers may respond to trauma more like adults in addition to acting out with destructive or disrespectful behavior. 

Not everyone who undergoes a traumatic experience will face on-going symptoms. However, people facing on-going stress or repeated trauma, someone with a mental health condition, or those who are isolated from a supportive network of family and friends are more likely to develop on-going or severe reactions to trauma. There is also some research that suggests there are genetic factors that influence how trauma affects an individual. 

Trauma-informed yoga and other body-based practices provide a way for people to help their bodies move out of the response patterns that hold onto trauma. Through breathwork and mindful movement, people learn to sit with their body’s sensations - noticing that discomfort has an ending and that physical reaction can be calmed and controlled. Please visit our training page for information about trauma-informed retreats and workshops for you or your organization.

When someone needs extra support to cope with a traumatic event, it’s important they can find someone in their community who is knowledgeable, supportive, and sympathetic. Hope Roots provides training for professionals and non-professionals who serve as caregivers for those who’ve experienced trauma. Please consider donating to Hope Roots so we can continue to give scholarships and develop resources for caregivers. Visit our Projects page to learn more.

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1 Kolber, Aundi. Try Softer

2 PTSD Statistics. PTSD United.

3  https://www.verywellmind.com/ptsd-causes-and-risk-factors-2797397

4 http://www.traumacenter.org/clients/MagInside.Su09.p12-13.pdf