Growing up, I loved exploring the deer trails around the woods near my home; tracking & wandering down their paths as if I were one of them. At home, I was tracking my parents because I didn’t feel safe due to toxic behavior. As a therapist & rites of passage guide, I track individuals body & emotional processes, & support them to track their own nervous systems.
I believe tracking is a form of survival to all humans, however if we have experienced any abuse, a part of us switches & we become hyper aware, highly sensitive, always “tracking” our surroundings. Like an animal, we are tracking for survival; to fight for our life, play dead & freeze, or flee like our life depended on it. In the animal kingdom it is instinct to track, be on guard, alert, engaging the senses to stay alive.
Ive talked about women’s fear of predators aka men in the wilderness as well as in the larger context of the wild world. We have been taught as women to be prey, to fear the predator & are always on guard because of this narrative…whether we are aware of it or not, for many of us, a part of our energy, daily, can be leaking towards our conditioned fear; tracking men as the predator. Especially if we have been in abusive families/relationships or have endured abuse. We can waste an incredible amount of our energy & empty ourselves of our vital life force & creative power due to tracking; our partners, other women, or other men perceived as a threat…usually because it IS a threat.
However, when tracking becomes our baseline, our nervous systems get out of balance & we have no room for thriving because we are stuck in survival mode.
Without a regulated nervous system, we are not able to tap into our power & true nature. We cannot drop into our womb; our sensual erotic & wild nature, our intuitive subtle & creative nature, our vital essence!
As women, with the nature of our bodies/our wombs, we are meant to have seasons & extended periods that we drop into our womb, the stillness, the empty void, the quiet dark, the sacred depths, to pause…this is where life is literally, creatively, & spiritually born!
Mainstream culture has stripped us from this birthright.
If you are a woman who experiences this kind of heightened tracking, and would like support in navigating through surviving to thriving, I offer 1:1 Art Therapy, Somatic Embodiment and Wilderness Immersion sessions to explore the stories, thoughts or beliefs that have emerged from past experiences, the patterns or habits which may be playing out as a means of survival, the road blocks and limitations which may be preventing your thriving, as well as steps and practices to break the cycle and empower your path forward.
I believe by immersing ourselves into our body’s nervous system and learning from the wilderness, we return to our aliveness, creativity and purpose. In sessions there is an emphasis on body mapping, mindfulness and connection to sensation, as well as emotional awareness and tracking your own nervous system and womb cycles along with the seasons of nature. You will learn to recognize the “flags” of your emotional and physical language, and integrate these practices into your daily life, relationships and work dynamics. To reclaim the wisdom of your body and emotional intuition, and how to take action from a place of resource.
Wildly,
Hannah