If the primary symptoms of physical and mental health arise from disconnection, why don't our medical and mental health systems teach people how to connect?
introducing
THE RESTORATIVE PRACTICES ALLIANCE
We are living in a moment, in modern global capitalist culture, where 4 out of 5 visits to primary-care physicians are stress-related. In the United States, 4 out of 5 adults report having experienced a significant stressor in the past month. 4 out of 5 Americans have experienced at least one significant Adverse Childhood Experience. The most ‘developed’ nations on earth are experiencing a ballooning mental health crisis. At the same time we are under-going massive global humanitarian crises, massive systemic oppression, and a global ecological crisis. What is going on?
For 99.9% of human history, the way that we lived was all about connection. In the 2 million years that humans have been on the planet, the entire foundation of culture was oriented towards creating a context where we could deeply connect with ourselves, one another, and the living world. These are the Original Instructions. At a physiological level, this profound orientation towards connection brings online and stabilizes our Connection System, the physiological system responsible for wellbeing. What we are connected to we have a relationship with. When we have a relationship with something we value it. When we value it we take care of it. When we don’t, we don’t. This applies to our relationships with ourselves, one another, and to the living world. What we don’t have a relationship with we don’t understand. What we don’t understand we fear. What we fear we destroy.
Declining wellbeing, social oppression, and ecological alienation are all facets of the same fundamental problem: modernity arose from disconnection. It arose through the separation of the mind and the body, through dominance and colonialism, and through the objectification of Nature. Modern western (allopathic) medicine and mental health, which emerged from this worldview, is de-contextualized from the fabric of connection, so it treats individuals in isolation, treats the mind and the body as if they were separate, and doesn’t even have a language for remediating social or ecological trauma and alienation. It therefore fails to address the pressing needs of 4 out of 5 modern people.
We are standing on the threshold of a profound revolution in wellness, heralded by the burgeoning mindful awareness movement, breath-taking advances in applied neurophysiology (centrally arising from the Polyvagal Theory), an awakening in science and medicine to the wisdom of indigenous and ancestral cultural and healing practices, and the emergence of new liberatory psychologies. Restorative Practices is a collaborative healing model emerging from the synthesis of ground-breaking work in mindful awareness, neurophysiology, trauma healing, somatic awareness, relational mindfulness, cultural linguistics, indigenous lifeways, psychologies of liberation, and work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Many of our 40 advisors are world-renowned pioneers in their respective fields. Our mission is to re-unite the human family with themselves, one another, and the living world.
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How it Works
Proprietary Assessments
Hundreds of Practices
A Learning Community
The Restorative Practices Film Series
Diversity
Restorative Outcomes
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FOR PRACTITIONERS
You are a wellness practitioner who knows that often the best hour of your patients/clients’ week is with you, and you want to help them sustain that wellbeing all week long. You want an adjunct wellness model that can pull alongside your practice, increase your efficacy, and help your patients/clients feel well.
FOR
ORGANIZATIONS
Yours is an organization committed to the wellbeing of your people. You understand that creating a culture of wellbeing is about more than just checking a box or giving your employees access to a mindfulness app. You’re looking for a deep and scalable wellness solution that will up-level your organizational culture.
