Have you ever felt like you couldn’t shake off a stressful experience, even after the moment had passed? That lingering tension could be your nervous system stuck in an incomplete stress cycle. In our „Understanding Trauma for Safer Spaces“ training, I was introduced to the term of “closing the loops” as a way to complete a stress response cycle. It’s a gentle yet powerful way of thinking that helps the body resolve unfinished stress responses. It is important to close loops.
How does it work?
Our nervous system is designed to handle stress by activating certain responses—like fight, flight, or freeze—and then returning to a state of calm once the danger has passed. When we return to that state of calm we have closed a loop and have returned to homeostasis. However, modern life, with its constant demands and unresolved traumas, often interrupts this natural rhythm. When the nervous system can’t complete its cycles, it can leave us feeling stuck in states of hyperarousal (anxious and on edge) or hypoarousal (numb and disconnected). Somatic practices, yoga, the alexander technique and meditation offer accessible ways to gently “close the loops” and restore the body’s capacity for resilience.
But yoga and meditation are not the only way. In our resourcing course we will explore additional ways of closing loops. And some also involve running, dancing, singing, shaking and even loud vocalizing. We will explore together what ‘safe’ feels like to you, and what a state of being stuck in hyper- or hypo- arousal also feels like. Our goal is for each participant to find their own ways of releasing these states. Furthermore, our goal is to become very familiar with our body’s signals.
Why Closing the Loops matters
When we take the time to explore our nervous system, we’re not just healing from past stress. We’re building our capacity to handle future challenges with more ease. Closing the loops is a practice of compassion. It is an acknowledgment that we deserve to feel safe and whole in our bodies. By noticing when we are stuck in a flight, fight or freeze state, and consciously using a resource to bring us back to our window of capacity, we can nurture our ability to recover from stress, connect with others, and experience life differently.
Pinelopi embarked on her yoga journey in 1999, completing a 600-hour Hatha Yoga Teacher and Vedantic Philosophy Training course in Valencia, Spain. She founded English Yoga Berlin in 2010, and now has over 15 years of experience as a full-time yoga teacher.
She deepened her knowledge by studying Yoga Anatomy with Leslie Kaminoff. Additionally, she trained with David Moore and attended his “Injury-free yoga” workshops, integrating the Alexander Technique into yoga poses. This comprehensive training enriched her expertise in both fields.
In January of 2023, Pinelopi achieved a significant milestone by becoming a certified Alexander Technique teacher. This was an intensive training for 3.3 years, totaling 1600 hours of dedicated study with Jorg Aßhoff.
Pinelopi’s ergonomic consultations integrate anatomy, Alexander Technique, and yoga’s mind-body understanding. Her holistic approach optimizes well-being in the workplace through comprehensive guidance.
She has completed training in ‘Understanding Trauma for Safer Spaces’ with Legacy Motion and ‘Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies’ with Linda Thai. Her meditation philosophy is deeply inspired by Tara Brach, particularly the RAIN meditation. She is also the author of a children’s book, ‘The Magic of Rain,‘ which introduces the RAIN meditation to children and their grown-ups. It will be published in 2025 by Mango Publishing.
