Julie Jewels Smoot

The title The Body Chooses When reflects the understanding that many processes within the nervous system happen in their own time. Awareness arrives when it arrives. Rest emerges when it is possible. Sensations surface when enough safety exists to notice them. The body is not withholding. The body is not resisting. The body is not failing.

The title What Was Never Released reflects the understanding that the body sometimes carries what could not be expressed when it first emerged. Feelings may be postponed. Reactions may be interrupted. Needs may be set aside in service of survival, responsibility, or safety. The body remembers these unfinished moments. Not as a failure. Not as a mistake.

The title The Jaw Remembers reflects the understanding that the body often carries traces of experiences that the conscious mind may no longer actively think about. Muscles adapt. Patterns develop. Protective responses become familiar. The jaw may tighten during stress. It may brace during uncertainty.