Ukraine Trauma-Resilience Project

With over two million Ukrainians fleeing into Poland, we have assembled our team of skilled Ukrainian, Polish and international trauma release practitioners and launched a Hub in the capital city of Warsaw.

In this Hub, we are offering trauma-release and resilience workshops for Ukrainian citizens, with the majority of participants so far being women.

These refugees are struggling to cope with the uncertainty of their future due to experiencing acute trauma, stress, fear, grief, and depression.

We have discovered that these refugees can access immediate relief in just one initial workshop, develop resilience and create community, via this Hub and the support of trained practitioners.

Our mission is to continue to provide these trauma-release and resiliency tools so that Ukrainian refugees can improve their mental and psycho-social health, and physical health, identify resources, and expand their resilience.

We need your financial contribution to keep these workshops available to all Ukrainian refugees at no cost and to maintain this groundbreaking humanitarian effort.

OUR COMMITMENT

We intend to maintain the Hub, train additional workshop leaders and expand to multiple locations in Poland and around Europe to support as many Ukrainian refugees as possible.

With support, we can also expand the Hub to offer workshops to aid workers as well as the thousands of local families who are hosting refugees in their homes and also experiencing challenges.

HISTORY OF WHO WE ARE

The Biodynamic Breathwork and Trauma Release System (BBTRS®) was developed by Giten Tonkov, a Ukrainian-born refugee who immigrated to the United States. Integral body institute is a Polish-based organization founded by Erick Nisarga Dobz. Together we are offering immediate psychosocial support to populations affected by the Ukraine conflict.

A contemporary body-based trauma release modality, BBTRS® blends the latest research in Polyvagal Theory, mindfulness, body-oriented therapies, trauma science, Somatic Experiencing, TRE®, and Bioenergetics with conscious connected breathing practices. The BBTRS® modality integrates six components: breath, movement, sound, touch, emotional expression, and meditation. These modalities release segments of acute or chronic muscular and fascial tension in the body that stores trauma, building on Dr. Wilhelm Reich’s somatic therapy work.

In order to ensure safety, individuals are first guided to strengthen resilience by learning to access and grow both internal and external resources. Once stabilized in their resources, which can take more than one session, they engage in soft conscious connected breath to stimulate the Autonomic Nervous system. They then begin expanding their window of tolerance by pendulating and titrating expression within the bounds of safety and resource.

The BioDynamic Breathwork and Trauma Release Institute have trained thousands of practitioners around the world over the last decade. In conjunction with the Integral Body Institute (IBI) in Kików, Poland, led by Polish-native Nisarga Eryk Dobz, we have led multiple trauma-informed training programs annually in Poland to more than a thousand Polish and other European practitioners.

BBTRI is certified by the International Breathwork Foundation, Global Professional Breathwork Alliance, Australian Breathwork Association, and is an approved continuing education credit provider by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (USA).

This has been a self-funded all-volunteer effort thus far.

We are aware that the effects of this will unfold over time. Contributions to this initiative will further allow us to bring this project to refugees.

We greatly appreciate any support for this cause.