Guiding Compassionate Practitioners
Apply brain-body science to lead with compassion
compassion for helpers, healers, educators
What do we do?
Integrative Re-Sources, in partnership with Deva Nation equips Valued Workplaces (socially driven organizations), Compassionate Practitioners (professional helpers, healers, educators), & community members with the education, tools, & support to prioritize mental wellbeing & quality of life
Check out the Upcoming Events page to either Find a Workshop, Host a Workshop or Become a Member to learn how you can lead with compassion
What does it mean to be a Compassionate Practitioner?
A Compassionate Practitioner is anyone who professionally &/or personally considers themselves a Helper, Healer, or Educator in life. One who strives to make a meaningful impact & difference in another's health or wellbeing
A Compassionate Practitioner is one who prioritizes mental wellbeing & quality of life
Why is brain-body science valuable to know?
Understanding the science of how stress shapes our brain, body, breath, & buddies is fundamental
The average person spends 80% of the day operating in a stress fueled, survival mode. Too much stress leads to inflammation & chronic disease. Up to 90% of all chronic diseases are caused by unresolved stress, unhealed trauma, & unsupported grief. The standard remedy is to ignore, medicalize, incarcerate, or experience these issues as a personal failure to overcome privately
Stop this pattern. Compassion for ourselves & others expedites healing & increases wellbeing, while the strength of our social connections (belonging) is the strongest indicator of longevity
Learn practical tactics on how to rewire thinking & reframe conversations with compassion for stronger relationships, improved health, & greater quality of life
Find a workshop or save money on multiple workshops by becoming a Member
Brief brain-body-breath banter
What happens when we're stressed?
When we live in a constant state of stress or trauma, the stories we tell ourselves get filtered through a lens of surviving, not thriving. It's easy to become unkind to ourselves when we're stressed. This response gets reinforced & becomes hard-wired in our brain, thereby establishing a pattern of behavior. This behavior influences the words we use to communicate, the food choices we select, who we choose to spend our time with, & how we engage with the world
When we encounter a stressful trigger, here is what is happening in our brain & body within split seconds:
- Feeling out of control reduces prefrontal cortex activity
- Prefrontal cortex circuits disconnect making it hard to make minor decisions
- Dendrites (cell communicators) atrophy & die
- Boosting the Fight-Flight-Faint- Freeze response in your amygdala
- Breath moves to your chest, thigh muscles tighten, eyes dilate
- Higher blood pressure creates turbulence on blood vessel walls
- Creates breakage, scar tissue, plague, then inflammation– aka chronic stress = chronic disease
- Stress strengthens HABITS, like cravings (self- medication) & makes us more emotional & rigid
How you choose to respond to stress, is up to you. Learn how you can choose to respond to stressful triggers with clarity and calm
simple Brainy science tips that make a big impact
Change your Story & you Change the World
Change your Story & you Change the World
Change your Story & you Change the World
When your stress response gets triggered and you instantly feel out of control. Most often, the stress response we experience is based on our own fears, insecurities, past wounds, or unhealed traumas that taught us we needed to respond this way to survive. Over time, these responses lead to repeated patterns of negative self-talk, self
When your stress response gets triggered and you instantly feel out of control. Most often, the stress response we experience is based on our own fears, insecurities, past wounds, or unhealed traumas that taught us we needed to respond this way to survive. Over time, these responses lead to repeated patterns of negative self-talk, self-medication, or self-harm
When you feel safe, try to re-frame the situation to one that acknowledges appreciation or gratitude for the adversity
The more quickly you can appreciate the stressful event, the healthier you will become
Feed your Brain
Change your Story & you Change the World
Change your Story & you Change the World
It's all too common to feel like you never get a break when you're at work. It seems there is always so much to do and do so little time. This causes our brains to get tired. However, your brains can't tell us it's fatigued, like the way your leg muscles do after a long walk. Therefore, you need to feed your brain every 2- hours for at le
It's all too common to feel like you never get a break when you're at work. It seems there is always so much to do and do so little time. This causes our brains to get tired. However, your brains can't tell us it's fatigued, like the way your leg muscles do after a long walk. Therefore, you need to feed your brain every 2- hours for at least 2- minutes. During these 2-minutes, do one or more of the following activities:
- Visualize 3 people you appreciate & think of why
- Do a random act of kindness
- Notice an object in your workplace & view it with the curiosity of a 4-year old or through the lens of an artist's eye
When you engage in this brief exercise throughout the workday, your energy levels will sky rocket! Bonus: you'll also be better prepared to manage any stressful event you encounter throughout the day as you are literally re-wiring your brain to become healthier and more resilient
Minding the Body
Change your Story & you Change the World
Minding the Body
The mind leads the body. Not the other way around. When we start paying attention to the conversation our bodies are trying to communicate with our minds, we can learn a lot and can expedite healing from all of the discomfort we're experiencing from the aches, pains, and kinks we tend to pass off as "just age", but really, it's untreate
The mind leads the body. Not the other way around. When we start paying attention to the conversation our bodies are trying to communicate with our minds, we can learn a lot and can expedite healing from all of the discomfort we're experiencing from the aches, pains, and kinks we tend to pass off as "just age", but really, it's untreated stress
When your body starts to fidget, squirm, or adjust in the chair, take the moment to do an informal assessment of where you may be holding tension in your body
Are your shoulders raised up to your cheeks? -lower them
Is your jaw tight? yawn
Pay attention. The secret to letting go of tension? Focus on your breath:
Inhale for a count of 6
Hold for 4
Exhale for 8
Be intentional about pairing your breath with your movements so you can release tension tied up in your body, so you can leave work re-freshed and ready to play