Personal Transformation Resources

Resilience

Resilience helps us adapt and bounce back from stress and adversity. It is thought of as an asset that benefits not just us, but our families, social network, and work. While resilience helps us cope with difficulty, some of our means of coping are healthier than others. Factors that determine our capacity for healthy coping and resilience include self-confidence, optimism and a strong sense of purpose.

Resilience in our home and work life helps us know when and from whom to seek support. We all face stress at home and in the workplace: The needs of others, finances, deadlines, workload, managing people, projects, family and organizational change. These require more than coping. We need a high level of resiliency that comes from a capacity to know ourselves, be present, give and receive and to stay within our Window of Tolerance or what we at Ryzio call our Window of Presence.

Interested? Here are some suggested readings:

• Understanding Resilience, by Gang Wu, Adriana Feder, et al., Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 

• The Road to Resilience,  from the American Psychological Association

• How To Develop Resilience And Make Yourself The Hero Of Your Story, by Andrea Simon, Forbes

Epigenetics

• How You Can Change Your Genes and Change Your Life, from Re-set.me—how our earliest experiences determine the expression of our genes. 

• Scientists Finally Show How Your Thoughts Can Cause Specific Molecular Changes To Your Genes, Faye Sakellaridis, Reality Sandwich

Epigenetics Applied

Dr. Bruce Lipton, the scientist and author, offers a number of different articles and lectures explaining how we can change our epigenetics—the expression of our DNA—through changing our practices, our thoughts and our beliefs. His website is right here.

• Early Experience Can Alter Gene Expression and Affect Long Term Development, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, Harvard University

Mindfulness

“Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.”

• Mindfulness,  articles from Psychology Today

• Why Mindfulness Matters, RelaxLikeABoss.com

• Getting Started With Mindfulness, Mindful.org

• Want to Practice Mindfulness? Start at Work  Huffington Post

Polyvagal Theory

… Or, How your nervous system develops and what you can do to better experience calm and connection.

Polyvagal Theory is one of the most important findings of this century. Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory relates to our capacity to be calm and present; to read and accurately understand the non-verbal cues of others and relate meaningfully to them; and to handle stress and even digest our food. It sounds complex but once you understand the basics you will perhaps understand your responses to stress, your success in relationships, and even things that have held you back in your life. The good news is you can develop your capacity to calm your nervous system, handle stress in healthier ways and, in general, have a more satisfying life. At Ryzio, you will learn the very specific tools to enhance your capacity for calm, confidence and connection.

• Stephen Porges’ Website Packed with free resources: videos, webinars, podcasts and articles. It’s all right here.

• You can also watch this YouTube video of Dr. Porges, Polyvagal Theory: How Your Body Makes the Decision.

Porges emphasizes that for optimal emotional functioning, we must, first and foremost, feel safe. This article summarizes some good points about what makes us feel unsafe at work how to create a safer environment in the workplace:

• The Magic of Feeling Safe at Work, Tony Swartz in the New York Times

• The Importance of Emotional Presence and The Vagus Nerve , an interview with Dr. Marti Glenn

Neuroscience

The neuroscience that informs our practices and processes at Ryzio deals with the human mind and the cultivation of well-being. Here are some of the most interesting and important references in the field right now:

Dr. Dan Siegel is a pioneer in the field of interpersonal neurobiology, what he calls the “mindsight approach.” He provides interesting and understandable explanations and processes from this latest science. His website is full of valuable and intriguing resources. You can find it here.

In his latest book, MIND: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, Dr. Siegel explores the topic of neuroscience and the mind in a refreshing and easy-to-understand way. He shows how the mind is influenced by culture, purpose, values, science, spirituality, and our experiences in the moment. He invites us to explore our own mind as a way of understanding more of who we are. This book is a great introduction and review of neuroscience and the brain and includes stories from his own journey. Click here to read more about it on Amazon. 

Further reading:

• Workplace Neuroscience: How the Brain Works at Work, by Jessica Miller-Merrell, takes a look at neuroscience in the workplace.

Additional Resources

• It’s Not Always Depression, by Hilary Jacobs Hendel, is a valuable resource for resiliency and thriving. Her work is very much in line with Ryzio’s principles. In presenting her Change Triangle, she walks you through processes for listening to your body, discovering core emotions, connecting with and living from your authentic self.  Check out her blog and website here: https://www.hilaryjacobshendel.com/

• Helpguide is a go-to source for short, information rich articles relating to many aspects of mental health. Helpguide gives you access to the wide range of unbiased, motivating resources and self-help tools. This non-commercial site breaks things down into 24 different topics from abuse and ADD to stress and suicide prevention. It also includes a free“Emotional Quotient” course that includes video classes and audio processes and meditations. Harvard University Health is a partner.

• Trauma, Brain and Relationship  This powerful YouTube documentary features doctors Bruce Perry and Daniel Siegel, Ryzio’s own Marti Glenn, and other renowned experts in the field of childhood trauma, and attachment and bonding. This is a great way to share with friends, colleagues, and caregivers a new understanding of how trauma effects the development of the mind-body system, and how it affects children’s behaviors and social relationships. This is a popular training video with agencies for training and for group presentations.