Paul Linden - Aiki Trauma Recovery and Peacemaking

Aikido and Aiki-based body education are useful as complements to traditional approaches to working with conflict resolution and trauma recovery. Resolving the body’s distress response is the key. When people are stressed, challenged or threatened, they typically contract or collapse breathing, posture, movement, and attention—which is experienced as fear, anger, strain, or dissociation. In situations of conflict, these powerful physical response patterns undermine people’s ability to think rationally, interact empathically, and act peacefully. They narrow people’s choices to oppositional ways of behaving. In trauma, these physical response patterns get locked into the body, which keeps trauma survivors weak and unable to move beyond their trauma. In these workshops, Aikidoka (and practitioners of other arts) will learn how to generate a mind/body state of expansiveness, calm alertness and compassionate power. That will (1) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your Aikido, both as self-defense and as a meditation on harmony, (2) give you tools for helping clients break free of the physical trauma patterns, and (3) offer a rapid, systematic way of teaching non-aikidoka principles of aiki peacemaking. The workshop will include Aikido practice as well as body work and movement training.

“I am astounded at Paul’s ability to read the significance of the smallest body response. I would like to strongly recommend Paul's workshop on Aikido and body work to all Aikidoists. I believe that Being In Movement training is insightful, profound, and deeply healing.”    Mary Heiny Sensei, 6th Dan Aikido