Healing begins when you slow down and welcome yourself as you already are, without judgment, right here in the present moment. At the core of relational trauma is a deeply fractured relationship with ourselves. It is in doing the work of repairing this relationship that we can begin to heal this core wound - that of belonging in our own bodies.
Access guided meditations, in-the-moment interventions, and practical tools for instantly reducing anxiety and managing reactivity
All your Humanness is Welcome Here
You are in the right place. Healing begins when you slow down and welcome yourself as you already are, without judgment, right here in the present moment. At the core of relational trauma is a deeply fractured relationship with ourselves. It is in doing the work of repairing this relationship that we can begin to heal this core wound - that of belonging in our own bodies.
Life can be complicated and overwhelming, especially if you’ve experienced, or are still enmeshed in relational trauma. If there is ongoing threat and reactivity in your life, you may feel like you have reached your breaking point. At times, it simply becomes too much for the heart to bear. Your body may feel broken, your spirit, frazzled, and your soul, tired. Your nervous system may be completely overwhelmed and you might even be creating storms with your hyper-vigilance, constantly anticipating triggers and threats before they even happen, feeling like you are always tiptoeing around eggshells and broken glass.
The good news is that simple mindfulness practices that are available anytime, and anywhere can help. The tools offered in your free guide can be incredibly effective for regulating and repairing your nervous system, which is the first step to transforming your relationship to yourself.
Use this 12-minute guided mindfulness meditation to support you in slowing down, arriving in the body, and caring for yourself. You can do this practice using a meditation cushion, seated in a chair, or lying down. Let this be a time when you don’t have to do anything else, or be anything for anyone. You are worthy of care and attention.
Healing is Possible.
Stop living in fear. Tend to your wounded heart. Repair your relationship with yourself.
Transform your relationship to stress and rewire your brain for belonging.
Life can be complicated and overwhelming, especially if you’ve experienced, or are still enmeshed in relational trauma. If there is ongoing threat and reactivity in your life, you may feel like you have reached your breaking point. At times, it simply becomes too much for the heart to bear.
Your body may feel broken, your spirit, frazzled, and your soul, tired. Your nervous system may be completely overwhelmed and you might even be creating storms with your hyper-vigilance, constantly anticipating triggers and threats before they even happen, feeling like you are always tiptoeing around eggshells and broken glass.
The good news is that simple mindfulness practices that are available anytime, and anywhere can help. The tools offered in the following pages can be incredibly effective for regulating and repairing your nervous system, which is the first step to transforming your relationship to yourself.
Implementing these skills in my daily life has been powerfully transformative for me and my family, and I’ve seen the impact that my consistent practice, care, and kind attention have on the world around me. There aren’t any shortcuts for doing the work, but over time, one moment and one step and one breath at a time, you can replace your habits of self-criticism, shame, blame, rumination, anxiety, and worry with positive self-talk, enoughness, gratitude, safety, and belonging.
About Me
Cynthia Garner is a certified mindfulness instructor, somatic psychotherapist, public speaker, single mother, former classroom teacher, and author.
Her passion is helping trauma survivors find refuge in the present moment, reclaim their power, and come home to their authentic selves. As a coach, she works with educational leadership and survivors of domestic violence, offering practical coping skills, secular mindfulness, and in-the-moment interventions for managing reactivity and breaking the patterns of generational, systemic, and relational trauma.
Cynthia studied counseling at Regis University, earned a doctorate in Body-Mind Health from the Parkmore Institute, and is trained in group psycho-education through the UCSD Medical School, the Centre for Mindfulness Studies, Inward Bound, Mindful Schools, and the Hakomi Institute.
Work with me: Start your Healing Journey
My mindfulness practice and somatic therapy training brought me home to myself, after years of alienation, betrayal, and emotional violence. Understanding how trauma is stored in the body and learning tools to regulate my nervous system offered me the opportunity to reclaim my mental real estate, stabilize my attention with anchors in the present moment, and tend to my wounded heart.
Gradually, one baby step at a time, I began to widen my window of tolerance, develop the capacity to ride the waves of emotion, and to learn how to disengage from the conflict in a non-violent way.
I am so grateful for the lessons that my experience taught me, and that now I have the opportunity to raise my daughter in a regulated and compassionate environment, and that I get to share these practices and teachings with other survivors of relational trauma who don’t know where to start.
There are a few different ways you can work with me to learn mindfulness, heal your relational wounds, and come home to yourself:
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These intimate groups are open for enrollment 3 times per year in February, May, and September. Groups meet online for 12 weeks on Saturday mornings and include trauma-treatment, grief work, mindfulness-based interventions, somatic practices, and reflective writing prompts. Join the Waitlist.
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Sometimes we need individual therapeutic support to identify our core beliefs and discover the deeply engrained patterns that keep us from moving forward. When we work together one-on-one, you’ll be guided in gentle somatic awareness practices and mindfulness meditations to help you make space for feeling what you feel, and retraining your nervous system to rest in the present moment. Schedule an introductory session.
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In this 12-week, live online workshop, you’ll be guided in somatic mindfulness practices, reflection, and writing prompts to support you in welcoming yourself, reconnecting with your inner child, and soothing your wounded parts. Our focus will be on identifying our core experiences, how they shaped our sense of belonging in the world, and through writing we will offer ourselves the care we did not get to have when we were young. The program will include live practice sessions twice per month, with writing prompts and workbook material released to you on the alternating weeks. This series will be facilitated by Dr. Cynthia Garner, a certified mindfulness instructor, somatic psychotherapist, and author.