Self Care Alphabet
To be literate in any language, you have to know the alphabet first.
Find below a glossary of words that appear on this site, that may or may not be new to you!
Click on the + to expand for a definition and source.
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Accessibility is the practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful, and usable for as many people as possible.
Educational materials and technologies are “accessible” to people with disabilities if they are able to “acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services” as people who do not have disabilities.
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The adaptive process by which the body responds to perceived and anticipated demands (stressors) to maintain or regain homeostasis. "Maintaining stability through change".
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"Non-violence". A Sanskrit word; Ahimsa is an attitude of universal benevolence that involves doing the least amount of harm possible to all beings, including the Self. It is practiced at three levels, that of actions, speech and thoughts.
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Related to bodily structure. Anatomy is the branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. The “form” of form and function; anatomy and physiology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
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“Literacy” is the ability to discern meaning from a written form of communication (reading), and to transform our inner meaning(what we want to say) to an external form of communication (writing). Body Literacy, is the ability to discern what your own body is communicating to you (interoception), and to communicate back (allostasis).
Most of us in the Western World have learned the Latin alphabet, which can be applied to multiple languages. The Body has its own "alphabet" that, once learned, can also be applied to multiple “languages”, aiding your ease of movement through the world.
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Embodiment; Embodied
Ann Saffi Biasetti:
“Embodiment can be simply defined as living life informed through the sense experience of the body.”
https://traumaresearchfoundation.org/defining-embodiment/
https://positivepsychology.com/embodiment-philosophy-practices/
https://digitalwellbeing.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2010-Embodiment-as-a-unifying-perspective-for-psychology.pdf
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A thin layer of connective tissue that surrounds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber and muscle in place. The tissue does more than provide internal structure; fascia has nerves that make it almost as sensitive as skin. When stressed, it tightens up.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/muscle-pain-it-may-actually-be-your-fascia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493232/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526038/
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Posits that every scientifically measurable thing, either physical or psychological, does possess a nature as a whole beyond its parts; the tendency of a whole system to creatively respond to environmental stressors, a process in which parts naturally work together to bring the whole into more advanced states. An opposing approach to “Reductionism”.
adjective: “Holistic”
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” - Aristotle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holism
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In biology, homeostasis is the state of steady internal physical and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and includes many variables, such as body temperature and fluid balance, being kept within certain pre-set limits (homeostatic range). All homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components for the variable being regulated: a receptor, a control center, and an effector.
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To integrate means to coordinate, blend, or bring together separate parts into a functioning, unified, and harmonious whole. It assists students to identify the links between ideas and processes both within a single field and in separate fields, and in the world outside of the learning environment.
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/currconn/definitions.html
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The term interdisciplinary is applied within education and training pedagogies to describe studies that use methods and insights of several established disciplines or traditional fields of study.
Involving two or more academic, scientific, or artistic disciplines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdisciplinarity
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interdisciplinary
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Interoception is the collection of senses providing information to the organism about the internal state of the body; can be both conscious and subconscious. Misrepresentations of internal states, or a disconnect between the body's signals and the brain's interpretation and prediction of those signals, have been suggested to underlie a number of widely experienced uncomfortable mental conditions.
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Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking,"achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself.
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One of the most commonly cited definitions of mindfulness is the awareness that arises through “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally”
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Physically comprised of the brain, spinal cord (CNS or central nervous system), and afferent and efferent nerve fibers (PNS or peripheral nervous system). As a whole, the system's job within an organism is to receive, process, and respond to sensory information.
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A concept: Individual differences in brain functioning should be regarded as normal variations within the human population. Just as it is considered normal for each individual human body to vary in size, shape, and color, it is to be considered normal that the human mind may exist with variety of infrastructure and presentation as well.
https://www.neurodiversityhub.org/what-is-neurodiversity
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurodiversity
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Also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is a process that involves adaptive structural and functional changes to the brain. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned.
It is the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections after injuries, such as a stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557811/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity
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An introduction, as to guide one in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, activity, or the like. The ability to locate oneself in one's environment with reference to time, place, and people.
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Philosophy of teaching. The pedagogy adopted by teachers shapes their actions, judgments, and teaching strategies by taking into consideration theories of learning, understandings of students and their needs, and the backgrounds and interests of individual students.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy
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Dr Stuart Brown, researcher and founder of The National Institute for Play, has identified eight “play personalities” that can help you find out what kinds of play work best for you:
The Collector: You enjoy building collections, such as collecting stamps or vintage cars.
The Competitor: You enjoy playing (and winning) games with specific rules, like playing for a neighborhood soccer league.
The Creator or Artist: You find joy in making things, or making things work. You might enjoy doodling, woodworking, decorating, fixing machinery, or sewing.
The Director: You enjoy planning and directing, like hosting themed birthday parties.
The Explorer: You play by discovering something new, either physically (a new place) or mentally. You might play by going on a vacation to a new place or discovering a new type of music.
The Joker: You enjoy being silly and foolish. You might enjoy improv theatre or simply making your friends laugh.
The Kinesthete: You enjoy moving your body as play. You might practice yoga or take a dance class for fun.
The Storyteller: You play by listening to or creating stories. You might enjoy going to the theater or writing in a journal.
https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-importance-of-play-for-adults#benefits
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A system of techniques used to harness and manipulate universal energy known as prana. It is an integral aspect of yoga, often incorporated into asana practice or used as a preliminary step for meditation.
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Preventive medicine is the practice of promoting preventive health care to improve patient well-being. The goal is to ultimately prevent disease, disability, and death. Some areas of focus include promoting health and preventing disease in individuals and communities, and on the physical and mental health of workers by seeking to improve the physical, structural, and social conditions of the workplace.
https://www.acpm.org/about-acpm/what-is-preventive-medicine/
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Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.
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Having to do with the body.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/somatic
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Somesthesis is a collective term for all of our bodily sensations such as cutaneous (skin) senses, proprioception (awareness of the position of one's own body), and the internal organs. All organs of the body contain nerve endings and are subject to pain when injured or impaired by disease. Sometheses are the body systems, organs, and tissues that are receptors for touch, pain, temperature, body position, and movement.
https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Somesthesis
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Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being. An event can also be traumatic if it contradicts one’s worldview and overpowers one’s ability to cope.
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Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a model of care that acknowledges the impact of trauma on an individual's well-being. It's based on the understanding that trauma can affect people's neurological, biological, psychological, and social development, and that its effects can be lifelong. Trauma-informed care aims to create environments that promote healing and recovery, while avoiding practices that could inadvertently re-traumatize people.
There are 6 principles of trauma-informed practice: safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and cultural consideration.
(Google AI overview)
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A term originally coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, commonly used to understand and describe the zone of arousal in which a person is able to maintain homeostasis most effectively. When we are within our Window of Tolerance we are essentially in our 'optimal zone', our nervous systems (Sympathetic and Parasympathetic) are in a state of balance, which allows for adaptive responses to stress (i.e., Calm Activation) and a capacity for emotional regulation to balance this stress (i.e., Calm Deactivation). The size/range of this window of tolerance can vary greatly.