Embodied Self-Regulation
Regulation of self through embodied practices (e.g., yoga and mindful practices). An effective tool in the prevention and treatment of psychosocial disorders.
The Representational Self: Attunement and Embodied Self-Regulation
My research focuses on the exploration and validation of the Attunement Model of Wellness and Embodied Self-Regulation. This interactive model is composed of two systems: the Internal System and the External System.
Healthy, embodied self-regulation occurs when an individual is able to maintain an awareness and maintenance of the needs of the inner aspects of self (i.e., physiological, emotional, and cognitive), while engaging effectively within the context of family, community, and culture.
The self system is an internal system experienced by the individual as his or her Real Self.
The external system is modeled after Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1979).
Attunement is the process by which the Internal and External Systems are interconnected.
The Embodied Self is the constructed self that is presented to the external system.
Attunement
The two systems are interconnected by a process: attunement. Based on Daniel Siegel’s theoretical work, attunement is defined as a reciprocal process of mutual influence and co-regulation (Siegel, 1999, 2007). Attunement of the internal system and external system is facilitated by the Representational Self.
The Representational Self
The Representational Self (or the Embodied Self) is the active construction of self. It is the embodiment of the ongoing behavioral patterns — how they engage with their environment— that creates and maintains attunement within an individual’s inner and outer lives (Cook-Cottone, 2006; Cook-Cottone, 2015a, 2015b).