I’ve had chronic fatigue for years. It has debilitated my social life and ability to exercise, go out, and have fun. I tried everything with diet, supplements, meditation, gentle yoga, etc.. Despite being disciplined and a saint in those areas, I was still having insomnia, migraines, difficulties focusing at work, and was exhausted all the time.

I tried releasing the core belief that “I’m not good enough” through counselling and meditation but it kept on rearing its head in unexpected ways causing suffering in my life. I could also feel fear, anger, and sadness (my old traumas) as tension stuck in my body. I tried different modalities to release them but I was impatient and they wouldn’t release. Some meditation techniques were even too cathartic and re-traumatized my nervous system instead.

Working directly with and at the level of the nervous system was the missing piece. Irene’s 12 week SmartBody SmartMind (SBSM) program helped me understand why I still had all these repeating issues and the exercises helped (and still are helping) me get unstuck.

SmartBody SmartMind is laid out in a way that releases stored trauma, creates more space, and capacity in the nervous system in a gentle way. This process is slow and takes time, but it’s potent and lasting. I didn’t finish the lessons and exercises in 12 weeks, but Irene encourages us to listen to our bodies and slow down when we need to, so I did that. I reduced my hours at work and dedicated myself to this practice last summer. I noticed improvements early on and it has accelerated my progress in healing. Even my Somatic Experiencing (SE) teacher was amazed at how far I had come along in 6 months!

I also love the science she brings into this. I’m a former PhD physicist, so it’s important to me that things make sense. Through her lessons, I learned why these neurosensory exercises work and why I sometimes must slow down. The nervous system cannot be pushed into healing. As an over-achiever slowing down has always been difficult because I believed that you must “do-do-do” to achieve, but armed with this new knowledge it’s easier to let go, rest, and trust in the wisdom of the nervous system to heal itself.

Here are some improvements I experienced from doing SBSM: The frequency of insomnia is decreasing, and I sleep better.

I have an easier time falling asleep and falling back asleep when I wake up in the middle of the night to pee.

The frequency of headaches and migraines has dropped. I take more breaks and Irene’s exercises help release some of the stuck tension.

Whereas I used to have to plan a whole week around one event or social occasion, I am starting to be more spontaneous. I have more energy to get chores done.

I don’t need as much recovery time as I used to. Of course, I still am more limited than others and I have to be careful not to expend too much energy, but the fact that I have some life energy back is huge progress.

I have more energy to handle stressful days at work. In fact, I am also generally calmer during work. I have more containment to handle being out in public and unfamiliar places. Leaving the comfort of my home, my safe space, can still be overwhelming at times, but much less than before.

As I am releasing fear in my body through this work – my actions are becoming less fear-driven and I make healthier choices now. I haven’t had a huge burnout from doing too much since I started this work.

Re-wiring the nervous system is a slow process, at times painfully slow, and sometimes you feel worse before feeling better, therefore I am also grateful for the encouraging and supportive SBSM Facebook community (the fellow participants, Irene, and her professional staff).

It was also wonderful to finally connect with a group of people that understood what chronic fatigue syndromes (CFS) is and what I was going through. I still have chronic fatigue, no stamina to exercise, and need more rest and quiet time than others, but I am more content with this condition now. I know how to work with it instead of feeling like it is working against me.

I am so mind blown by this experience that I am inspired to become an Somatic Experiencing practitioner eventually myself.

Thank you, Irene. I feel nothing but deep gratitude for you.”