Kristy Arbon's HeartWorks

Self-Compassion, Mindfulness, Emergent Self-Wisdom with Kristy Arbon

  • About
    • Start Here
  • Articles | Meditations
    • Article Topics
      • Anger
      • Anxiety
      • Boundaries
      • Common Humanity
      • Forgiveness
      • Inner Critic
      • Lovingkindness
      • Men
      • Parenting
      • Parts
      • Perfectionism
      • Resistance
      • Shame
      • Social Justice
      • Women
    • Meditation Topics
      • Breathe Contentment
      • Calm the Inner Critic
      • Care for the Caregiver
      • Comfort Your Sadness
      • Console Poor Health
      • Draw on Inner Wisdom
      • Generate Contentment
      • Move Your Body
      • Quiet Anxiety
      • Relax Your Nervous System
      • Restore Attention
      • Settle Ungroundedness
      • Take a Break from Work
      • Tend to Difficult Emotions
      • Tend to Your Internal Parts
      • Tune in to Your Body
      • Validate and Soothe Anger
  • Somatic Self-Compassion
    • About
    • Trainings
    • Article Topics
      • Interoception
      • Journaling
      • Mindfulness
      • Movement
      • Neurochemicals
      • Practice
      • Ritual
      • Self-Care
      • Self-Compassion
      • Sensory Modulation
      • Social Creatures
      • Somatic
      • Training
      • Trauma
      • Values and Strengths
    • Meditation Topics
      • Awareness (Topic 1)
      • Affection (Topic 2)
      • Values and Strengths (Topic 3)
      • Goals and Motivations (Topic 4)
      • Neurochemicals (Topic 5)
      • Nourishing Self-Care (Topic 6)
      • Attention Restoration (Topic 7)
      • Expanded Awareness (Topic 7)
      • Body-Centered Awareness (Topic 8)
      • Calm Nervous System (Topic 9)
      • Wake Nervous System (Topic 10)
      • Interoception (Topic 11)
      • Body Wisdom (Topic 11)
      • Wellbeing and Pleasure (Topic 12)
      • Living Spiritually (Topic 13)
      • Connection (Topic 14)
  • Professional Development
    • Trainings
    • Article Topics
      • Business
      • Healers
      • Leadership
      • Teaching
      • Trauma
      • Workplace
  • Mindful Self-Compassion
    • About
    • Articles
    • Practices
  • Mindfulness
    • Articles
    • Practices

Remembering to Snarl

September 6, 2019 by Kristy Arbon

Photo by Jeroen Bosch on Unsplash

Lately I’ve remembered to snarl,
to bare my teeth,
to growl and hiss.

I first remembered
during a demonstration Somatic Experiencing therapy session
in front of 60 people
(snarling in public)
while telling my story of a 5-year-old’s trauma
and claiming my present day power to threaten and defend.

Then I re-remembered while walking
past an animal trap in the grass
that had previously triggered me
over and over.

Then I remembered again
while walking past a road drain
that had associated itself
with my neglected cat Jennie
and the “taken” scene from “It”
and my fear that I’d chased a baby raccoon to its death one night.

Then I snarled again
at the Rottler man
who laid the trap.

And as I snarled
my 5-year-old’s fear and fragility
transformed into my dangerous old woman,
stepping forward toward that which isn’t right
and giving it a name.

I bared my teeth
at ghosts,
at the careless,
and at the ones who intentionally planted fear for money.

I reclaimed my snarl
because fear became tiresome
and because it’s about bloody time!

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Kristy Arbon

Founder of HeartWorks, creatrix of Somatic Self-Compassion and developer of Live Online Mindful Self-Compassion for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, Kristy Arbon is an Australian living and loving in the US. After discovering the deep healing power of emergent self-wisdom and self-compassion in her own life, Kristy felt called to share these practices and trainings with others. She's since made it her life's work. "I teach so that I can learn, and I learn so that I can teach.”

Author's website
  • Lovingkindness for Ourselves (13 minutes) - November 17, 2021
  • Lovingkindness for a Loved One (19 minutes) - November 10, 2021
  • Soothing Touch and Self-Compassion Break (24 minutes) - November 3, 2021
  • Affectionate Breathing (18 minutes) - October 27, 2021
  • Arriving Meditation (9 minutes) - October 20, 2021
View All Posts
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Like this:

Like Loading...
« On Flight
Starting a New Chapter with Backdraft »

Comments

  1. Mac says

    September 6, 2019 at 1:57 pm

    F**k yeah! Hell right!

    Loading...
    • Kristy Arbon says

      September 6, 2019 at 2:21 pm

      Priceless!! 😉

      Loading...

trauma recovery

Self-Compassion training can support your healing journey and tend to your body now. If you suffer from the effects of trauma and you need to do deep somatic work to heal the past, there are a bunch of great resources available to you. Here are some of them:

 Cheetah House

 Deirdre Fay

 International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation

 National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network

 Odelya Gertel Kraybill (Expressive Trauma Integration)

 Psychology Today

 Sidran Institute

 Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute

 The Center for Self-Leadership (Internal Family Systems)

 The Daring Way (Brene Brown's shame resilience methodology)

 Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga

Donate
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Tasteful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

%d