What is Somato Respiratory Integration?

Somato Respiratory Integration (SRI) exercises (based on Donald Epstein’s book The Twelve Stages of Healing: A Network Approach to Wholeness) are designed to help the brain reconnect with the body and it’s experience (Epstein, 2009). It promotes the ability to focus attention on gross and subtle body movements and rhythms, self-directed breathing, awareness of one’s tension, and verbal statements reflecting one’s internal state. Through this focused attention, gentle breath, movement, and touch, it educates you to both your body’s rhythms and inner wisdom.

Unfortunately, it is unusual in today’s society for individuals to consider their inner cues primary and to trust their bodies. SRI helps advance the new paradigm of healing by allowing one to pay attention to internal cues and the somato-emotional self through breath, touch, and motion.

With Somato Respiratory Integration, you will discover how your inner perception and experience of the world determines to a great degree who you are, your overall wellness, and the connection to yourself. Ultimately, SRI contributes to your expanding sense of wholeness.

WHEN and HOW to Utilize SRI

SRI is beneficial to anyone at anytime, no matter how much suffering or enlightenment one has experienced. Within the Reorganizational Living paradigm, healing is limitless – there is no ceiling to one’s transformational potential. Whether it’s to connect to an area of tension or to explore a new awareness in a relationship, SRI can be utilized along any point of the 12 Stages (refer to The 12 Stages of Healing book). Each stage is associated with a particular SRI exercises that allows for deeper connection, exploration, and breakthrough potential within that stage for the individual. SRI is a great strategy to practice (and/or facilitate and teach) alongside other health and healing habits including chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, etc. It is also important to note that when initially learning SRI, you are supported and guided by your practitioner, therapist, teacher, etc. as to ensure that you are performing the exercises properly. The slightest shift in these exercises can make a profound difference and therefore provide you much greater benefit along your healing journey.

*A note to health practitioners and therapists: It is vital to become well versed in both SRI and The 12 Stages before facilitating such exercises for practice members, clients, and/or patients. The best way to gain a deeper understanding and expertise of the work is to practice it yourself daily. Helpful resources to learn such techniques can be found at the links below:

·      wiseworldseminars.com

·      amazon.com/12-Stages-Healing-Approach-Wholeness/

Benefits of SRI

Include but are not limited to:

·      greater self awareness; increased adaptability; increased peace and ease (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually); improved sense of self; greater trust in innate healing and wisdom, decreased tension/pain; improved healing capacity

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