Legacy of Love is Stronger than the Legacy of Pain.
Trauma - the individual's experience of the event and their perception of it. An experience that overwhelms a person's ability to cope.
Trauma Response - different for everyone, stored in the body and comes back as a reaction in the body rather than a cognitive memory.
Your Trauma has a Whakapapa - Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0J4Mm4uxPjCBYTeqr2TxUI
A resilient nervous system isn't always calm; it moves through swings of stress and calm.
The body doesn't always match the words, so it helps us understand the response.
Sympathetic pathway - flight / fight state - tunnel vision - not personal; just the history and experiences they are projecting onto you.
You are able to be a Curious observer if you are able to regulate your sympathetic pathway when someone in flight/fight is reacting to a trauma experience.
Work with biology, not against biology! Hit it so it is responsive, not reactive!
Connect with your nervous system first - put your oxygen mask on first - drop your shoulders and jaw intentionally, slow your breath and feel your feet on the ground
Mobilise, mobilise, mobilise! - walk to regulate, spin, move, get active - five ways of wellbeing
Something cold, something sour - cold flannel/cloth behind the neck (science lab/reset room), lemon or imagining sucking something sour stimulates saliva, which stimulates the stomach, which helps regulate.
Body resistance exercise and heavy work activities - push down on chair while pulling up
Physiological sigh - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxOSlR_Mf-s
Dorsal Vagal Pathway
Interoception—often called the "8th sense"—is the ability to notice and interpret internal bodily signals (like heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, temperature, or a full bladder) and link them to emotions or physical needs.
Building Body Vocabulary & Awareness
Body Scans: Lead short "head-to-toe" check-ins asking children to notice internal signals without judgment ("Is your stomach full, empty, or fluttering? Is your chest feeling tight or soft?").
Signal Identification Cards: Use visual charts linking internal body sensations to feelings (e.g., Fast heart + tight hands = anxious/excited; Cold hands + low energy = tired/overwhelmed).
Explicit Naming: Model interoceptive language during regular class routines ("My throat feels dry, so my body is telling me I need water," or "My shoulders are up by my ears, which tells me I'm feeling rushed").
Noticing Physiology in Action
Before & After Movement: Have students place a hand on their chest before and after a quick exercise (like jumping jacks or a game of tag) to notice how their heart rate and breathing shift from slow/quiet to fast/pounding.
Temperature Tracking: Help children notice temperature changes when entering from outdoor play or when feeling flustered ("Notice if your cheeks feel hot right now").
Hunger & Fullness Check-ins: During snack or lunch times, prompt students to notice how their stomach feels before and after eating rather than just focusing on finishing the food.
Environmental & Regulation Connections
Bathroom & Hydration Signals: Teach children to listen to subtle physical cues (like a heavy lower belly or dry lips) before an urgent need arises.
Connecting Sensation to Action: Guide students to choose a regulation strategy based on body cues ("If your hands feel jittery or filled with extra energy, let's try wall pushes or a hand squeeze").
Breathing Feedback: Use tools like a pinwheel or a breathing ball (Hoberman sphere) so children can visually match their internal lung expansion to an external object.
- Over-sensitised to stress load
- Behaviours are clues to what is going on in the nervous system
- Grounding techniques - notice patterns on the wall, feeling the back of the chair
- Gentle stretches and movement - releasing the energy
- Being in the presence of someone/animal soothing and safe
- Sensory items to touch and smell - hand cream, tapping
- Music to alert the brain and body
- Rolling Swiss over the back, wrap in a blanket
Pushing and Pulling ("Heavy Work")
Chair Push-Ups: Sitting on a chair, gripping the sides of the seat, and pushing up to lift the bottom off the chair for 3–5 seconds.
Wall Pushes: Standing facing a wall and pushing firmly against it with flat palms as if trying to move the wall.
Tug-of-War: Playing a quick game of tug-of-war using a sturdy rope or resistance band.
Desk/Table Pushes: Carrying or pushing small stacks of heavy books, classroom bins, or moving chairs.
Weight and Pressure
Self-Hugs / Deep Squeezes: Wrapping arms tightly around the chest or squeezing arms and legs firmly down toward the ankles.
Weighted Objects: Carrying a weighted backpack, holding a lap pad, or hugging a heavy soft toy during floor time.
Beanbag Toss: Throwing and catching heavy beanbags or mini medicine balls.
Movement and Resistance
Animal Walks: Doing bear crawls, crab walks, or frog jumps across the room.
Resistance Band Exercises: Pulling or stretching elastic exercise bands with the hands or keeping a band wrapped around chair legs to push feet against.
Climbing and Hanging: Monkey bars, climbing frames, or hanging from a pull-up bar on the playground.
Stomping & Jumping: Jumping on a trampoline or stomping firmly on the ground in place.
- Before and after transitions
- A whole-class regulation strategy
- During learning when you notice a child losing focus
- grounding
- temperature shift
- deep pressure
- safe image visualisation
- move my body
- hand cream
- physiological sigh
- transition ritual
- somatic anchoring
- listen to music
- tapping
- self compassion
- What is beneath the behaviour?
- Over-sensitised stress load
- Behaviours are clues
- Understanding the nervous system responses
Consistent Greetings: Welcome every student by name at the door with a calm, warm presence, giving them a reliable standard start to their day.
Transparent Schedules: Display visual timetables and preview changes/transitions ahead of time so children feel secure in knowing what comes next.
Predictable Reactions: Maintain a steady, calm tone of voice even when a child is dysregulated, showing them that your support remains stable regardless of their behaviour.
Practising Curiosity Over Judgment
Viewing Behaviour as Clues: Recognising that acting out, withdrawal, or "pleasing and appeasing" are signals of an overwhelmed nervous system, not deliberate misbehaviour.
Non-Judgmental Inquiries: Asking open-ended, supportive questions like "I notice it's hard to focus on this right now—how is your body feeling?" rather than reprimanding off-task behaviour.
Separating the Child from the Reaction: Acknowledging that fight/flight reactions are projections of stress or past experiences, not personal attacks on the teacher.
Regulating & Co-Regulating
Putting Your Oxygen Mask On First: Intentionally lower your shoulders, unclench your jaw, and take a physiological sigh before responding to a stressful moment.
Safe Presence: Sitting quietly near a child in dorsal shutdown or stress, offering a low-demand, reassuring presence without forcing them to talk immediately.
Dignity-Saving Resets: Offering sensory options (like a cool cloth, hand cream, or a quick heavy-work errand) to help a child regulate without calling negative attention to them in front of peers.
