Therapy Through PLAY and Relationships

25/12/2025

Future of schooling in Australia is already here👌🙏❤️

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23/12/2025

21/12/2025

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21/12/2025

Parents, behold; a festive reminder:
Vagus Nerve Regulation Does NOT Require Products, Devices, or Money
You can turn off fight-or-flight and turn on healing for free

One of the biggest myths in the wellness space right now is that you need a device, supplement, patch, app, or product to “stimulate the vagus nerve.”

You don’t.

The vagus nerve is not a gadget-activated system.
It is a state-dependent biological pathway that responds to signals of safety.

And your body already knows how to generate those signals.

Fight or Flight Is a SWITCH — Not a Personality

When the nervous system perceives threat, it activates the sympathetic branch:
• elevated heart rate
• shallow breathing
• poor digestion
• inflammation
• immune suppression
• pain amplification
• anxiety and irritability

This is not a disorder.
This is a protective survival response.

The parasympathetic (vagal) state is the opposite:
• slower heart rate
• deeper breathing
• digestion turns back on
• inflammation reduces
• immune function improves
• tissues repair
• hormones rebalance

Healing happens here.

And here’s the truth most industries don’t want you to know:

You can access this state intentionally, without buying anything.

The Vagus Nerve Responds to BEHAVIOR, Not Products

The vagus nerve is activated by:
• breath
• posture
• muscle tone
• vocalization
• facial expression
• movement
• rhythm
• safety cues

Not powders.
Not sprays.
Not patches.
Not expensive devices.

Those can be supportive for some people — but they are not required.

Free, Immediate Ways to Activate the Vagus Nerve

You can begin shifting your nervous system state in minutes using methods your body is wired to respond to.

Slow, extended exhales
Longer exhales directly signal safety to the brainstem.

Diaphragmatic breathing
Belly expansion stimulates vagal afferents and calms the stress response.

Humming, singing, chanting, gargling
Vibration through the throat activates vagal branches.

Gentle neck and upper-spine mobility
The vagus nerve travels through the neck. Reducing tension here matters.

Softening the jaw and face
Facial muscles communicate safety to the brain.

Orienting to your environment
Slowly looking around and naming what is safe reduces threat perception.

Warmth
Warm showers, warm drinks, and warm environments signal “I’m safe.”

Rhythmic movement
Walking, rocking, swaying, gentle repetitive motion calms the system.

Connection
Safe eye contact, calm conversation, and co-regulation are powerful vagal activators.

Why Devices and Products Are Over-Marketed

Because selling “vagus nerve stimulation” is profitable.

But if people understood that:
• regulation is skill-based
• safety is internal
• healing is state-driven

They wouldn’t need constant purchases.

This doesn’t mean devices or supplements are always bad.
It means they are adjuncts, not gateways.

Why This Matters for Healing

You cannot heal in fight-or-flight.

No supplement overrides a nervous system that feels unsafe.
No protocol works if the body believes it’s under threat.

Once the vagus nerve is engaged:
• digestion improves
• nutrient absorption increases
• inflammation drops
• pain decreases
• sleep deepens
• tissues repair

This is why so many people feel “nothing works” — because they’re trying to heal while their body is still in survival mode.

The Most Important Reframe

Healing is not something you buy.
It’s something your body does when conditions are right.

You don’t need to wait.
You don’t need permission.
You don’t need a product.

You can start turning the healing switch on today — with your breath, your posture, your movement, and your awareness.

That power has always been yours.

And once you learn to access it, everything else works better — or becomes unnecessary.

Carey Ann George
Mind-Body Detox Specialist | Psychoneuroimmunology ND

05/12/2025

“When we hug, the combination of tactile and thermal signals increases our sense of body ownership, so we are more connected to our embodied sense of self,” says Dr Crucianelli. “Feeling warm touch on the skin enhances our ability to sense ourselves from the inside and recognise our own existence. We feel, ‘this is my body, and I am grounded in it.’”
Scientifically put, warm interpersonal contact engages specialised C-tactile afferents and thermosensitive pathways that project to the insular cortex, facilitating interoceptive signalling associated with safety and affective regulation. This sensory input is accompanied by oxytocin release and reductions in physiological stress, supporting social bonding and enhancing bodily self-awareness, and ultimately, wellbeing.
In other words, “Warm touch reminds us that we are connected, valued, and part of a social world,” says Dr Crucianelli. “Humans are wired for social closeness, and hugs briefly dissolve the boundary between ‘self’ and ‘other’.”

Changes in skin temperature play a key role in how strongly we experience our bodies as our own.

21/11/2025

“We think that when you are overstimulated by sensory input, you compensate by dialing up your brain’s inward-focused networks to gain self-control. You also dial down your outward-focused networks to minimize sensory input,”

New research reveals a distinct brain activity signature in children who become overwhelmed by sensory input such as noise, touch, or bright lights.

20/11/2025

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07/11/2025

"True independence is always rooted in fulfilled dependence."
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06/11/2025

02/11/2025

Play Therapists recomend -...“readiness cues, behavioural change tools, storytelling, sensory supports, hygienic wipes and a play-based structure all in one”.
Monica explained that while many systems focus on just one piece — whether that’s the potty design, rewards, training pants or timers — her system approaches the “full emotional and developmental journey”

Shoppers can’t get enough of it.

29/10/2025

".....play facilitates communication, fosters emotional wellness, enhances social relationships, and builds personal strengths. These capacities touch nearly every aspect of mental health, including self-esteem, stress regulation, learning, empathy, and resilience."

"Play isn’t just a frivolous pastime for children. It’s a powerful, even essential, tool for healing," writes Cas Holman.