Sometimes when we’re guiding somatic practices, we assume that clients are comfortable dropping down into the center of the body. This assumption can cause undue alarm for people who are living in traumatized states. Clearing Space Backwards is a gentle way to slowly titrate an embodied process. It is also very helpful for times when we feel overwhelmed and need to create more distance from uncomfortable experiencing.
I am grateful to Mary Armstrong, my wonderful focusing teacher for creating this practice.
Jan Winhall, M.S.W. P.I.F.O.T. is an author, teacher and seasoned trauma and addiction psychotherapist. She is an Educational Partner and Course Developer with the Polyvagal Institute where she offers a training program based on her book Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, Routledge 2021. Completion of all three levels leads students to become Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Facilitators. Her new book, 20 Embodied Practices for Healing Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, published by Norton, is available for preorder and out in March 2025. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto and a Certifying Co-Ordinator with the International Focusing Institute. Jan is Co-Director of the Borden Street Clinic where she supervises graduate students. She enjoys teaching all over the world.