Body-First Healing

A revolutionary guide to trauma recovery through healing your nervous system from a renowned Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Brittany Piper spent most of her life sitting across from conventional therapists recalling the painful stories of her trauma. But rehashing each harrowing event—being put into foster care as a baby, losing her brother in a car accident, enduring a brutal rape and a very public trial, and more—made her even more stuck. At a crossroads, she took her recovery into her own hands. On this journey, Brittany discovered emerging science that explains how and why trauma lives in our bodies, not in the story of what happened to us. Trauma overwhelms our nervous system, which operates through feelings, sensations, and emotions, not through words and thoughts. Now a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner herself, in Body-First Healing Brittany provides a roadmap to recovery, resilience, and nervous system regulation. With encouragement, relatability, and compassion, Brittany gently guides you through somatic practices which aim to help you remove the protective armor of the past and rediscover who you were before trauma. With Brittany, you will learn how to: Name your core wounds, trauma responses, and stuck nervous system state Create feelings of safety and regulation with anchoring resources like exploratory orienting, movement, self-contact, etc. Fully experience an uncomfortable feeling with the Sensation, Image, Behavior, Affect, Meaning framework Express or respond to a feeling of stress in a way you couldn’t before to discharge survival hormones and bring a traumatic experience to completion Engage somatic tools, like air screaming for anger or limb shaking for anxiety, that help express uncomfortable emotion Resource for everyday health issues and triggers beyond trauma, from digestive issues to public speaking and common conditions like OCD. Whether you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, burnout, or the aftermath of trauma, this groundbreaking book will show you how to become your own best healer. * This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains worksheets, references, and other visuals from the book.