November 2020 Table of Contents

NOVEMBER 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT UNTAMED VOICES BY EMILY SILVER.........................................................................................................................3 108 SECONDS..........................................................................................................................................................................................................4 KNOW YOUR TRAUMA CARE BY MELISSA GRISI, LCSW.................................................................................................5 THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRAUMA-INFORMED AND TRAUMA-TRAINED UNTAMED PRACTICE..............................................................................................................................................................................9 BE OPEN, BE CURIOUS BY SHAWANDA GATSON.....................................................................................................................10 SOUND JOURNEYS WITH VINCENT ACCARDI AND RYAN MUSSEN CREATIVE CORNER LORRY STONE...................................................................................................................................................18 TRYING IT THE MONK WAY BY SHAWANDA GATSON.............................................................................................19 EMBRACE THE REBOUND BY SHAWANDA GATSON...........................................................................................................21 CREATIVE CORNER DYLAN SMITH.....................................................................................................................................................22 SHARE YOUR VOICE...............................................................................................................................................................................23 BEHIND UNTAMED VOICES...................................................................................................................................................25 ABOUT OUR CONTRIBUTORS........................................................................................................................................26 UNTAMED VOICES NOV 2020 - ABOUT Untamed Voices 3 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT UNTAMED VOICES BY EMILY SILVER Often people need permission, opportunity, shared narratives, art, dance, music and It is with great honor that you all out there and a platform. Welcome to Untamed Voices. spoken word. take this from here, that you speak up and A space/publication dedicated to hearing, share with the community what you have to uncovering, and discovering voices and As an artist, educator, and yoga student/ say. stories in and around the Mojave Desert and teacher it has been at the root of all I do— beyond. that your voices are heard, and that people “There is no greater agony than bearing an feel seen. Untamed Voices will be just that, a untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou Through Untamed Voices, we have an collaborative publication. opportunity to build community around UNTAMED VOICES NOV 2020 - 108 seconds 4 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS 108 SECONDS “In yoga, the number 108 has significance as the number representing spiritual completion. Sun salutations are often performed in nine rounds of the 12 postures which totals 108 poses. A yoga mala consists of 108 sun salutations. Pranayama is also often completed in cycles of 108. A mala is traditionally a string of 108 prayer beads with a guru bead. As you pray, you move along the beads, reciting your chosen mantra 108 times.” (www.yogamatters.com) Our collective voices can bring a tiny bit of light to a dark world. Untamed Voices is more than a blog, it is an online community of people from all over the world. And as such we want to hold space for one another. We believe that our collective Untamed Voices can be harnessed for good. We can use our voices to bring a bit more beauty, creativity, humanity and decency to a world that feels very dark right now. We can be a tiny bit of light. Question for November 2020 How has your yoga practice changed in 2020? Lend your voice by emailing a video clip answering the Question of the Month. But here’s the catch, it has to be 108 seconds long. Email to [email protected] with the subject line 108 Seconds: November 2020 Source: Yogamatters. “The Meaning Behind 108 in the Universe, the Divine, the Body, the Tradition and the Practice.” Yogamatters Blog, 11 June 2019, blog.yogamatters.com/the-meaning-behind-108/. UNTAMED VOICES NOV 2020 - KNOW YOUR TRauma CARE 5 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS KNOW YOUR TRAUMA CARE THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRAUMA-INFORMED AND TRAUMA-TRAINED CARE BY MELISSA GRISI, LCSW Let’s be real; trauma is a buzzword right or sexual violence. “Trauma can be a response now. Social media is full of self-proclaimed to anything that is experienced too much, too “healers” broadcasting their knowledge soon or too fast; and can also be experienced of how to work with trauma and heal you. as a body response to a long sequence of These “experts” make all or nothing, black smaller wounds,” says Resmaa Menakem, and white declarations about trauma and LICSW, SEP. Trauma can be experienced as guarantee their way is THE way. However, an event or a response; where we lack safety, there is a notable difference between control and/and choice. With trauma, our trauma-informed care and trauma-trained system is overwhelmed. According to Peter care. Trauma-informed care is an approach; Trauma-informed care can be complementary to Levine, PhD, the basic formula of trauma is not a treatment. It provides a framework that working with a trauma-trained therapist, but not a “immobility + anxiety/fear/trauma.” substitution. incorporates an awareness of the impact of trauma and the prevalence of trauma. One even today, we still minimize our own trauma Working with trauma is a highly specialized can be trauma-informed, but not formally by saying things like “it’s not like I was ever area of clinical practice, and it is important trained to provide interventions to support in combat.” According to the National Center to seek therapy from a trained and effective trauma healing. for PTSD, about six of every ten men (or experienced trauma psychologist or therapist. 60%) and five of every ten women (or 50%) “Trauma really should be a specialty, like Our understanding of trauma has changed experience at least one trauma in their lives. being a cardiologist, because it doesn’t over the years. Until recently, the long held 90% of those receiving behavioral health respond to the traditional approaches and societal belief concluded that only soldiers treatment report experiencing a traumatic [psychological] therapies that most of us who experienced combat manifest the event (SAMHSA, 2018). We are now finally are trained in,” says Janinia Fisher, Phd and characteristics of trauma and/or PTSD. recognizing how common trauma is. internationally known trauma expert. A Therefore, trauma was viewed as solely trauma therapist is a licensed mental health dependent on an event (such as combat or The more we learn about trauma, the wider our professional who has specific training in a natural disaster); however, we now know definition becomes. The traditional definition evidence-based trauma treatments and has one can experience trauma as an event and/ of trauma is the exposure to actual death or extensive experience working with trauma or as a response in our nervous system. Yet the threat of death, the threat of serious injury survivors. UNTAMED VOICES NOV 2020 - KNOW YOUR TRauma CARE 6 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS Being trauma-informed can be very helpful in the opportunity to take their time, listen many lines of work where you deal directly to their body, and allow themselves to be with people. However, an important key guided by sensations. Titration is guided element of trauma-informed care is avoiding, by the client’s response, not the therapist’s what therapists call, “retraumatization”. It is important to agenda. Retraumatization is harmful and is more likely note that exposure to happen during sessions with an unskilled, According to Dr. Patrick Carnes, traumatic and untrained provider. Retraumatization can to trauma does not painful life experiences “are like a collector’s intensify triggers and trauma responses; can automatically equal ball of string - years of accumulation tightly destabilize an individual and can increase tied to one another…an unraveling needs to the risk of self-harm, depression, anxiety and a Post-Traumatic occur and we unravel the tangled mess other mental health symptoms and behaviors. Stress Disorder slowly, one string at a time.” Working with a Therefore, trauma-trained therapists use trauma-trained therapist can help to ensure titration as a necessary tool in their practice. (PTSD) diagnosis. that the unraveling of the ball of string is done safely and with containment utilizing a Titration is a process when small amounts of variety of tools and interventions to support traumatic experiences and/or responses are Only 7-8% of the US the healing process. processed; this is to avoid overwhelming the population will have Trauma-informed care can be body with distressing sensations, emotions or complementary to working with a trauma- thoughts. This approach is crucial in trauma PTSD at some point trained therapist, but not a substitution. work. When healing trauma one must be in their lives. careful in not addressing “too much, too fast.” Source: The Substance Abuse and

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