Just finished Stanley Rosenberg's book Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve, super accessible and packed with practical and soooo very applicable advice on assessing the state of mine and clients’ vagus nerve (cranial nerves linked to major functions of the parasympathetic-or rest and digest-nervous system) before and after psychotherapy sessions. In order to… Continue reading Humming, chanting, gargling – state of social engagement and Polyvagal theory
About Aleksandra
Inner Bear
As I continue to work on my own with the concept of Hibernation, I engage with my inner BEAR. 🐻 🐻 🐻 Bears are amongst the most powerful symbols I find inside my own internal forest. Once I see it, it’s impossible to unsee. Bears are carriers of maternal archetypal force, fierceness, independence and protection… Continue reading Inner Bear
On hibernation
Time to rest, time to hibernate. Not to die but to PAUSE, to acknowledge the cycle of LIFE-DEATH-LIFE. ⭕️ I have, just like all of you probably, been emotionally thrown to a million places: Grief, loss, fear, determination, care, deep connection, anxiety, calm, insights, aloneness, hope, overwhelm, patience, overdoing, impatience, anger, frustration, divination, denial, acceptance,… Continue reading On hibernation
Radical Self-Compassion for Mothers
When we judge ourselves, we judge others... When we are convinced we are selfish, we are inclined to suspect the same of others. If we hate those parts of us that are needy, we may feel disgusted, repelled and frightened by the neediness in others. If we feel we are failing, we may look for… Continue reading Radical Self-Compassion for Mothers
On mornings with mySelf
I don’t know how you love to spend your early mornings but I am going to share my routine of wellness which has supported me from early motherhood through mothering an almost 12-year old. Although many ways of doing and being have changed since then, and everything is logistically easier, my mental space is equally… Continue reading On mornings with mySelf
Sitting with the Discomfort
What a day...?! “Sitting with the discomfort” is not only a concept I work with my clients...it’s a state of mind that I constantly explore every day, and some days it’s right-in-my-face ...or whenever in my body it hits me. I sit, I breathe through it, I let it bubble up and watch from the… Continue reading Sitting with the Discomfort
The Unspeakables is in “The Maternal Tug: Ambivalence, Identity, and Agency” Demeter press (chapter 4)
Thrilled to be part of this ontology on Maternal Ambivalence, only my favorite topic when it comes to Mothering! The Maternal Tug: Ambivalence, Identity, and Agency Out Feb 3 2020 by Demeter press, Canada. Endorsements: "Absorbing, poignant and profound. This collection begs us to de-mythologize, de-romantizie and confront with courage the full complexity of what… Continue reading The Unspeakables is in “The Maternal Tug: Ambivalence, Identity, and Agency” Demeter press (chapter 4)
On Showing up
“I see you!” I love this simple phrase. A powerful recognition of YOU!I see your eager eyes, your vibrant energy, your curiosity and your passions! Above all I see your need for connection. We all need to be seen, taken in, in all our glory and limitations. And embraced in that star dust of unconditional… Continue reading On Showing up
Womb studies
I first explored Raphael-Leff’s theory on Maternal styles (Regulators, Facilitators, Reciprocators, Conflicted) for my Masters thesis in Manchester Uni on Maternal Expectations vs Maternal Reality (and then I looked into the links between these styles and birth complications as part of my Doctorate). It was an exceptional journey of theory, practice and self discovery. I… Continue reading Womb studies
On the power of Dreams
The night before my 39th birthday I had a particularly obfuscated Dream, filled with twists and turns, clutter, low vision, spikes and edges; it was over-populated with people, events... just a whole lot going on. As a started working on one aspect of the Dream, namely 'the birth of three babies of mine, in the… Continue reading On the power of Dreams
Aleksandra Staneva, PhD - Internal Family Systems & Jung 