Resources for being human
A collection from Rising Strong Wellness
There are times when we need a practice. Times when we need information. Times when we need to hear someone else's story, find a good book, locate actual support, or simply discover that there is another way of thinking about something we've carried for a long time.
This is a growing collection of resources I've gathered, created, returned to, and shared through Rising Strong Wellness.
You don't need to read everything here. You don't need to download every tool or work your way through these resources in order.
Follow your curiosity. Take what supports you. Leave what doesn't. Come back when you need something different.
Some of My Favorite Things to Take In
Books, podcasts, poems & other things worth spending time with
Part bookshelf, part listening list, part collection of things that have made me think, soften, question, laugh, learn, unlearn, or understand the body a little differently.
You'll find resources exploring embodiment, nervous-system care, body image and liberation, Ayurveda, food and eating, relationships, trauma, spirituality, grief, feminine wisdom, disability, chronic illness and personal growth.
This isn't a required reading list or an endorsement of every idea contained in every resource. It's simply a shelf of things I've found interesting, meaningful or useful along the way.
🌿 Keep Listening, Learning & Unlearning
The Whole Body Experience — Resource Library One
Our relationship with bodies doesn't exist in isolation. It is shaped by culture, history, race, size, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, food, healthcare, trauma, access and the stories we've inherited about whose bodies are considered good, healthy, desirable, safe or worthy.
This curated library offers places to keep learning through voices and experiences that may be different from your own. It includes books, podcasts, organizations and educational resources across body liberation, fat liberation, racialized experience, disability justice, gender and sexuality, nourishment, religious deconstruction and collective liberation.
You don't have to consume it all. Choose one voice, one question or one pathway and begin there.
Whole_Body_Experience_Resource_Library_One.pdf
🤲 Find Support, Care, Access & Advocacy
The Whole Body Experience — Resource Library Two
Sometimes another book isn't what we need.
Sometimes we need help.
This library was created for those moments. It gathers starting points for finding affirming professional care, practical assistance, healthcare, food support, legal advocacy, accessibility resources and civil-rights information.
It also includes questions you can ask potential providers about weight-inclusive care, accessibility, informed consent and experience supporting marginalized bodies and identities.
You do not have to know exactly what kind of support you need before you begin looking.
Whole_Body_Experience_Resource_Library_Two.pdf
💬 From Reaction to Response
A practice for creating a little more room in difficult conversations
A text lands badly. Someone says something that hurts. We feel criticized, misunderstood or defensive. Our nervous system responds, our mind begins filling in the blanks, and sometimes we've written the response before we've even figured out what happened inside of us.
This tool isn't about becoming someone who never reacts.
It's about creating a little more space between what happened, what happened inside of you, and what you choose to do next.
The practice walks you through:
Notice → Feel → Locate → Wonder → Need → Choose
It includes reflection prompts, common human needs, questions for replacing assumption with curiosity, and language for communicating clearly while still maintaining boundaries.
Because understanding another person does not require abandoning yourself.
🏡 Coming Soon: The West Michigan Community Guide
Find your people. Find support. Find ways to connect.
One of the things I hope continues beyond The Whole Body Experience is connection.
Following the gathering, this space will become home to a growing guide of West Michigan organizations, businesses, practitioners, artists, community groups, educators and resources doing work that supports belonging, access, creativity, care and more body-worthy communities.
Rather than simply asking Where can I get help?, I want this guide to also help us ask:
Where can I belong?
Where can I participate?
Who is doing good work here?
How can we support one another?
A Little Note Before You Go
Rising Strong Wellness | Somatic wisdom • Seasonal living • Community care
