A Body-Based Journey through Nature & Animal Metaphors allows caregivers to create a shared, authentic experience through patterned, repetitive, rhythmic movements in a non-coercive and non-prescriptive manner...creating connection, attunement, & regulation while facilitating self-expression, resiliency, & self-worth.

This book will be most effective when read by a caregiver and child together, as the activities are intended to explore co-regulation from a body-based perspective. This book is not intended to be read cover-to-cover, but rather should be read by the caregiver first & intentionally utilized based on the needs & directives of the individual child, including reviewing & discussing potential risks or limitations of movement activities before beginning, as not every movement or shape is appropriate for every individual child or adult.

The terms caregiver and child are used throughout this book to support familial and relational diversity through gender-inclusive, non-binary language…allowing all children to be able to connect and identify to the images within the story. The illustrations provide visual reinforcement of the metaphor within the activity, while providing a calm, peaceful, & regulating background to the information provided.

The first few pages demonstrate how different activities can be woven into stressful situations with a child, following the child's lead, in a non-scripted & non-coercive manner. The remainder of the book follows the child & their caregiver on a journey through nature & their observations of many animals. These pages provide helpful prompts & scripts to explore embodied play, movement, breath, & yoga through nature & animal imagery & metaphors. The use of playful, trauma-informed invitational language eliciting exploration, curiosity, mastery, non-coercion, & choice is empirically grounded, cultivating a felt sense of safety within the movements & shapes.

It is my hope that this book will become a valuable resource for you!

If you enjoy this story, please look for The Fabulous Fight or Flight Stress System ~ Neuroscience & Polyvagal Theories through Animal Metaphors and The Fabulous Fight or Flight Stress System ~ Activity Book (sold separately) which provides bibliotherapeutic & psychoeducational information, additional resources, child-friendly activity pages and handouts, strategies, techniques, and more! The activity books were created upon request to highlight and follow the examples given in the book, in detail, for caregivers, therapists, and teachers to use when working with children. There are also games and card decks available, too!

www.moonphoenixrising.etsy.com