Many people will tell you that they love Humboldt County for the beautiful and abundant wonders of nature. It’s a place that is unmatchable and unique, with awe inspiring trees, snow in the mountains, crisp clear rivers, and gorgeous (if cold) beaches. Some will tell you the beauty of Humboldt County is not just outside, but in each of us too.
What are we getting at here? Maybe you can take a minute with us and find out:
Just for this minute, you might imagine each breath you take is a hiking trail or a mountain; your inhale is the slope up, your exhale is the slope down. If you drew it on a piece of paper, maybe you’d see a mountain range of towering peaks or a scene of sloping hills. Maybe you’d see your landscape is mixed and changing, needing switchbacks to get up but then sliding down easily. You can pull in images of that beautiful Humboldt scenery and wrap it around your breath – trees pop up along the trail, waves calmly hit the shore.
Did your hiking trail change along the way? How does noticing your breath feel as you picture different scenes? What moments felt the best to you in your body? How can we emulate that more pleasant breath, that more pleasant feeling, in a way that is healthy for you?
What you’re reading about is tracking, a foundational skill taught by the Community Resource Model (CRM)® which was developed by the Trauma Resource Institute. CRM shares that all human beings have physiological responses that are tied to our emotions and reactions to stress. This model focuses on what we can consciously do to help reinforce those pleasant reactions and restructure responses that don’t serve us. Tracking is the foundational skill because it helps us identify what is working for us by monitoring the body’s reactions and sensations.
Models like this – that highlight the beauty in resilience and showcase the strength of our people – are some of the most accessible tools we can teach our communities. First 5 Humboldt looks forward to sharing the skill of tracking and other CRM wellness skills at upcoming workshops through the Welcome Baby: Pathways to Resilience program, and has also incorporated some key concepts of the CRM model into other community engagement efforts.
Whether you’re looking to join an existing workshop or host a First 5 Humboldt CRM workshop for your team, we’d love to share these tools with you. Reach out today and we’ll talk about options that are right for you or your team.
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