Staci Haines

Staci K. Haines is an author, activist, and somatics teacher who lives in the USA. Quotes The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice (2019) Somatics is a holistic way to transform. It engages our thinking, feeling, sensing, and actions. Transformation, from a somatic view, means that the way we are, relate, and act become aligned with our visions and values - even under pressure. More than understanding and insight, it supports us in embodying new ways of being, aligned with a broader vision. (1: Somatics-A Radically Different View of Who We Are) To be a part of change, whether personal healing or widespread social change, we need to be awake to how we embody and participate in social conditions that harm, consciously and unconsciously. We have been and are shaped by power-over social and economic conditions, rather than ones based on power-with, or the interdependence of life. To move toward more healing, systemic equity, and sustainability on the planet, we need to transform these conditions into ones that are life-affirming, just, and sustainable. We need to change ourselves to change society, and we need to change the structures of society to change ourselves, at scale. (2: Sites of Shaping Sites of Change) These twenty-five years into somatics, trauma healing, and social justice work, I have seen over and over again that there is a draw and pull toward life deep within our somas. As we un-numb, allow more aliveness, relearn to feel ourselves and others, this draw increases. By becoming more embodied, we are invited toward more life, even when the road to healing and getting there may be difficult and take courage. I see so often a deep and powerful move toward transformation and harmony within us. We can purposefully heed it, and use our courage to follow it. We can nourish it through our attention (individually and collectively), our practices, and our gratitude. (4: The Impact of Trauma and Oppression) Individual and social experiences of trauma are discussed as separate experiences, but they are not, in essence, separate. Traumatic experiences are always happening within a social context and shaped by social conditions. They are nearly always perpetuating the "rules of engagement" of our social conditions. (4: The Impact of Trauma and Oppression) What do you want? What do you value? What do you long for? What is yearning to heal? What do you want to be possible for your community or for the world? These are the questions we begin with, when looking to heal trauma or engage in personal or group transformation. (7: Arc Circle One-Vision and Longing) Sometimes people who are more focused on their internal lives will stay internal and not attend to their lives in the world. Sometimes those very focused on social equity or their work will focus exclusively there, not attending to and including themselves personally. We have capacity and need for all of these. We are individuals with particular paths. And, we are people in families, communities, and part of the broader social and economic landscape. A full human life crosses all of these. Healing trauma crosses all of these, too. (7: Arc Circle One-Vision and Longing) Healing is for ourselves and for others. Sometimes we start healing through collective action. Sometimes healing leads us to collective action. This interdependence of healing and social action, of loving internally and externally, is affirming of life. Yours and ours. (12: Arc Circle Five-Embodying Change) Healing Sex: A Mind Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma (1999) What is so threatening about a sexually empowered woman? A sexually empowered woman is a woman who is embodied, whose sexual expression is a part of herself, and whose sex life is self-defined. A sexually empowered woman is able to make choices for herself; she is able to express consent and maintain boundaries that serve her. She can ask for what she wants. She becomes self-referential, meaning she trusts her own experience and intelligence over external messages. Incest is the ultimate training in not trusting one's self. Becoming sexually empowered restores that self-trust. (Introduction) You are more powerful than what happened to you. (Introduction) What if triggers were not to be avoided but rather explored, felt, and healed? What if triggers were flags waving as if to say, "Hey, over here, there is something needing healing and attention"? Triggers are healable. You need not assume that because oral sex triggers you now, it always will. Once you have released the trauma from the area of your body where the trigger is stored and processed the experience emotionally, the trigger will fade. (chapter 11) The pain of recovery is essential to healing, though. You can't heal from childhood sexual abuse without feeling the emotions associated with the trauma. (chapter 17) Quotes about Staci Haines is one of our central teachers weaving the Somatics lineage with social justice and being in the body in community, increasing the possibility that we can be in collective bodies of justice. This book maps the cycles of healing that shift us from being victims of systemic injustice to being shapers of constant change and liberatory systems. Adrienne Maree Brown, used as blurb for The Politics of Trauma The Politics of Trauma is a bold and important response to a long-existing split between those who work on individual change and those working to change the institutions of society. The profound gift of Staci's book is that rather than diagnosing what doesn't work, it offers us a remedy: Somatics - a body-centered approach to transformation that fully integrates the healing of individuals with the creating of a more just and equitable society. Robert Gass, used as blurb for the book Haines brings a political clarity desperately needed and reminds us that we must courageously embark on our own healing journey, grounded in racial, economic, and gender justice. Then and only then will we be able to live whole, vibrant, resilient lives and bring about the transformation we seek in society. Marielena Hincapié, used as blurb for The Politics of Trauma External links personal website Goodreads page Instagram Category:Living people