I remember a powerful experience when I had just held space for a team member who was triggered, and I was beginning to debrief with my co-facilitators. As I looked into another team members eyes, I felt a lightness in my chest and a sense of resonance. But suddenly, I felt a drop of energy in the room, like a void, a dark cloud of energy.

Glancing to my right, I noticed one of the women sitting quietly, still-faced, and looking away. I recognized a familiar sense of dread and nothingness waft over my felt sense of existing in that moment. I felt like doom was eminently near.

Immediately, my Compassionate Self silently acknowledged this inner felt part, saying gently, "I see you. I am here with you. It is safe to be you, especially now."

Breathing into my belly, I turned with curiosity to the still-faced person and said, "I'd like to check in with you. I sense it may feel as if I rolled over you, and that was not my intention. I apologize."

"Well, I understand people get...

What’s so valuable about developing body awareness?

Our bodily systems hold our memories forever, including memories of traumatic events, (the amygdala has no sense of time); until we reclaim the moments when we experienced overwhelm with attuned, warm, resonate presence. When we intentionally slow down both our inner and outer experiences, mindfully checking in with our body to notice any sensations and/or impulses to move, we open a new doorway of experiencing.  Daniel Siegel describes this as "a new plane of possibility." 

Is it possible to rest in our experience of what is happening in order to see it more clearly? 

When pausing to bring attention to your body, notice the first place your mind rests, this opens a doorway to the Present moment. As you attune to your own inner experience, you can begin to receive the wisdom of your body, notice the sensations in this area, and intentionally take time to become aware of the subtleties within sensations (such as...

Today I’d like to share the story of a client of mine that at the tender age of 14, they had been sexually assaulted. Now in her 50's she had begun experiencing memories being triggered, stinging, painful memories she had not been aware of before. As a result, she found herself swirling in such incredible shame she just wanted to stay in bed and hide.  Forever. 

When I received the phone call from my client, requesting another personal session with horse, she said the horse of her youth had come to her in a dream and reminded her that she wasn't alone. She felt hopeful receiving this message, and trusted that just as the horses had nurtured her when she was young; they were calling her to trust them again to receive the energy to move forward. 

How do we begin to heal our inner wounds? How is it possible to begin to feel the pain of the past without falling into overwhelm? How do we hold onto hope? When our hurt was created interpersonally; our healing must be...

Did You Know that the Horse is the Totem Animal for Power?

When you reflect on “Power” what are all the different energies you have around it? Grace, balanced, soft, strength, sensitive, listens, and wisdom spring to my mind as I reflect on power that is life-serving. Whereas doubting, dominant and force spring to mind reflecting on power that does not serve life well. 

As a power animal, horse, is primarily a message carrier and often supports people to traverse "gateways" in their lives. They are connected with the power and responsibility that comes from exercising authority, and the wisdom necessary to utilize it in a balanced way. On an emotional level, horse is connected with the beauty of the need for compassionate understanding. 

The 3rd chakra is the personal power chakra. When the fear-base is triggered in the human nervous system, the energy can oscillate into the Militant archetype (the central vagus nerve branch–fight to survive) which may...

I found my way to Nonviolent Communication and Interpersonal Neurobiology out of desperation to experience something different, and gratefully have received a TON of empathy support over the years. Being held in a container of warmth, understanding, and acceptance, has allowed the embedded patterns of my conditioning to unravel and new neural pathways of resilience to lie down in my nervous system. As I consistently received resonant empathy support, over time I developed my own resonating self-witness. 

This inner-witness is not simply a compassionate voice; it is a deeply responsive, warmly curious, and generous voice. These new pathways empower us to live into a new way of being in our relationships, with ourself, and with others. 

I remember receiving a correspondence from someone who began their communication acknowledging the value they experience for the gifts I bring into the world, and I noticed how my heart felt soft and open in response. The next sentence,...

What is at the root of ruptures in relationships? Is it possible to stay engaged? Have you ever experienced meeting another person and everything felt like it clicked? You finish each other's sentences and rift off the meaning underlying whatever concept you are exploring? Ahhh... the enjoyment of budding new relationships filled with infinite possibilities! It's likened to a "honeymoon" experience in relationships with powerful attractor fields at play.

What was it like when the "honeymoon" was over? When things didn't unfold as you had predicted or hoped for? When the first unexpected wrinkle in the smooth interactions was noticed - what was your felt experience in that moment? 

Perhaps your body paused in contraction, your brow furrowed, and you noticed you were unable to speak. Did you hold your breath?

Maybe your spine straightened, and you leaned forward aggressively, as a compulsion to take action was sparked within you "to communicate, take control, or set things...

How do you grow your capacity to love yourself? Is it possible to allow yourself to truly be who you really are, rather than who you've been told you are supposed to be?

The following experience was written by a client as she took time to reflect on these very questions.

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“As I reflect on my experiences being in Gloria's classes and receiving resonate empathy, many things come up for me.  When I first joined her tele-calls several years ago, speaking up or even answering a question triggered my body and mind into complete overwhelm.  Many times I would be curled up on the floor under a blanket praying that I would not be called on, not even having the resources to request that I just listen in.  (I didn't even know that just listening in was even an option.)  

I joined the class because it was recommended by my coach.  She felt that it would be a safe place for me to receive support in community with others.  Well, that was most...

Moving a human from trauma to healing requires the restructuring of emotional response. Both primary and secondary process emotions (conscious and pre-conscious) must be engaged and soothed (regulation of the sensitive limbic region of the brain). This must come in the form of new experiences.  The experience of limbic neuroplasticity (the laying down of new neural pathways and responses) was deeply and beautifully expressed by a client in the following testimonial by Rhoda Ingstad. 

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“Wow!  What an eventful journey I have been on since my healing session with horse!  During my session I couldn't tell what was going on in my head or body.  In the session you made the observation that the horse was making the greatest amount of expressions (licking, chewing, and yawning, etc.) during my session. I was not aware of that.  Yet afterwards I felt that my whole chest area was cleared of tension and angst.  It made no sense to me! While I was...

I've been thinking about grace a lot lately. It really got my attention the other day when I was working hard outside with my husband, preparing a section of land to fence in as pasture for my horses. It was good, hard work, and I could see my dreams becoming reality before me. 

Dreaming out loud I told my husband, "So, I'm thinking we'll put the fence out this direction," motioning with my hands to show where the fencing would go across the field. 

He invited me to walk with him as he showed me how he envisioned it would all come together."The fence will come out this way and go around the raised beds..." As I followed and listened to him I began to feel bewildered. This was not how I had imagined it would be, or what I thought we had agreed on. I began to pepper him with questions, my cadence shortened, and I felt my throat tense up.  

Before my eyes I saw him shut down - and for the life of me I couldn't understand why! "Are you angry?" I asked him with...

Why do wealth and health so often intersect for wise people? And how can you become one of them? If you could be paid to do what you love – what would you be being paid to do? Notice the first image or thought that springs up. How does that feel in your body?

Are you aware that in many ways your thoughts, emotions, beliefs, visualizations, and aspects of your spiritual life like prayer and meditation, can change the energy field of your body in a way that affects your gene regulation? And the genes most readily affected by them are your stress genes. The wealthiest and best-informed people have had access to this kind of information many years ahead of the general public.

The connection between unresolved emotional trauma and disease is one of the most well-established links in medicine today. Yet new research reveals that when a subject vividly recalls a past trauma, and then applies an energy therapy, the emotional trauma attached to the memory often dissipates...