Girdi yapan

Keeping sane in times of crisis

Life confronts us with challenges. And in times of crisis, like the recent earthquakes in Turkey and the war in Ukraine, these often seem overwhelming. It is natural for us to feel disoriented, with low mood, low energy and struggle to feel ok during the day and night. The nervous system has in-built resilience to […]

A nervous system approach to meditation

One of the main insights from evolutionary theory is that as it unfolds, life becomes more complex, more intelligent and more skilled. In fact, this increase in capacity is a necessary condition due to the process of natural selection: the survival of the fittest. One of the great developments in living beings over the course […]

3 Reasons to meditate

What is the purpose of meditation? Shapiro (1) studied that question empirically with meditators in California, and found that participants’ answers fitted into at least one of three categories: Self-regulation: achieving a sense of wellbeing Self-exploration: knowing oneself Self-actualization: embodying and developing the fullness of one’s character A closer look at the early Buddhist teachings […]

Somatic Imagination

“What you frequently ponder upon, that becomes the inclination of your mind” – Buddha (1)   I am my perception. As I walk down the forest close to my home in the autumn, I smell the pine trees, I see the wide variation of colours as all other trees lose their leaves, and hear some […]

An Ecology of Love

“The climate crisis is a crisis of view” – Rob Burbea (1)   Our moment-to-moment experience is influenced by many factors, including the environment we are in. By the environment, I mean the immediate surroundings as well as the larger ecological and societal context we inhabit. I remember a time on silent retreat when it […]

Embodying Relationships

“We inter-are” – Thich Nhat Hanh (1)   With mainstream values of individualism, we will often tend to consider ourselves as separate from others, nature and the world. However, a new research paradigm in somatic neuroscience emerging called “radical embodiment” (2-3) ), shows that the shape of our sense of self differs based on our […]