APPROACH

Zephyr's work is rooted in the integrative, somatic

approach developed by Ray Castellino. Zephyr works with

people of all ages to heal patterns interfering with

living a full life in the present moment.

BIRTH STORY IS THE FIRST STORY

Whether perceived as joyous or challenging, birth is a

landmark experience that we often cannot fully digest as it is

occurring. Parents and baby(s) supported to share with each

other their experiences of the birth in a titrated way deepen

their connections and foster more harmonious relationships.

Kilometer Thirteen uses an integrative, somatic approach

to support all kinds of families to recover from birth

experience and NICU experience.

Your child’s essence has just transitioned from a purely

energetic existence into the physical world. This is the

process of embodiment. This recent experience is foremost

in your baby’s awareness. Like adults, babies want to share

their story. Zephyr will support you to recognize your baby’s

storytelling and provide accurate reflection, which supports

your baby to process their experience. The interconnected

nature of the family is such that what is healing for the

baby is healing for all, and vice versa.

When you have an intense experience, have you noticed

that you keep finding someone new to whom to tell your

story until you find someone who understands? Do you

know that feeling of being able to finally settle in yourself

in relation to what happened to you because you know

that someone else really gets it? It is this same affirmation

that your baby needs and seeks. Zephyr will support

you to provide affirmations of your baby’s experience.

When a neonate or infant does not receive respect for their

sentience, accurate reflection of their story, and affirmation

of their reality, they are unable to process their experience. This

creates tension that can interfere with the baby’s ability to connect

with self and others. You may observe that your baby does not

find it easy to connect with you, to settle, soothe, or feed.

Your baby may not sleep well or may cry for long

periods or in an intense manner. All of these

may be indications of unprocessed birth story.

THE PARENT'S DILEMMA

It is rare for any of us to have received acknowledgement

of and respect for our sentience as a prenate, neonate,

and infant. The neglect of our consciousness by our caregivers

at an early age can cause us to lose connection with our

own depth. When we see our own children, we may be unable

to perceive those aspects that were denied in ourselves. Zephyr

will support you to honor your young self, so that you may

connect with your child in the present moment. This is the

challenge of the parent, to give what you were not given.

The conception, pregnancy, and birth of a child, or

contemplation thereof, is likely to call to the surface events

and emotions from the birth story of the parent. Even when

there is no conscious memory of events, the body retains an

implicit memory that often displays itself in bodily gestures

or emotional intensity. Creating space to work through the

legacy of the parent’s birth story can promote greater

presence and connection with the child now

being conceived, embodied, and born.

NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Before the NICU

In some situations, parents are aware before conception or

during the pregnancy of the potential or certainty that their

baby will need the special attention after birth that can only be

provided by the neonatal intensive care unit.

Zephyr supports parents to process their own

birth stories, so that they may focus on the present, rather

than be hijacked by unconscious and unresolved feelings

from their own past.

Zephyr helps parents to improve self-awareness,

communication, and partner-partner relational connection.

These skills serve as resources for self-regulation, partnership,

and parenting before, during, and after the NICU stay.

During the NICU Stay

While your baby may need intensive medical care,

this does not alter the fundamental need of your

baby to be seen and heard, and to be in resonant

connection with you, their parent. Your baby’s

emotional, somatic, and energetic needs

are not separate from their health.

The basic indicators tracked in the neonatal intensive care

unit (NICU) are heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation

level, blood pressure, and digestive processes. These measures

are determined by physiological processes controlled by your

baby’s autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is that part

of the nervous system that functions without conscious direction.

We do not “tell” our body to beat the next heart beat

or take the next breath, but these things happen

due to regulation by the ANS.

The newborn baby is incapable of regulating their ANS.

They learn from their parents the physiological rhythms

and emotional patterns that will form the basis of their

behavior. This aligning of parent-baby biological-

physiological processes is called "coregulation." The

quality of trust and safety in the bonding and

attachment between parent and baby will set the

trajectory of the baby's neural development (mental

capacity) and ability to form close human

connections for a lifetime.

The reduced opportunity for coregulation resulting from the NICU

setting is sufficient to cause the dysregulation of your baby’s ANS.

Their heart rate may spike or drop. Their respiratory rate may

rise or fall. Their oxygen saturation level may drop. If these events are

sustained or repeated with high frequency, they may trigger

medical interventions by NICU personnel. Many times such

interventions are necessary, even life-saving. Conversely, many

times, ANS dysregulation may be resolved or prevented through

the provision of resonant coregulation with a caregiver.

When parents are able to spend time in

conscious connection with their baby in the NICU, this

supports healthy regulation of the baby’s ANS. However,

it is not always possible for parents to be present. You

may authorize the holding of your child by others in

your absence. Some NICUs have cuddlers whose sole

purpose is to comfort NICU babies. Zephyr is available

to spend quality time with your baby when you are

unable to be present.

Post NICU

Kilometer Thirteen supports families in their homes after the

baby has been discharged from the NICU. There may

be residual feelings from the birth story and NICU

experience, that may interfere with bonding and

attachment, feeding, sleeping, and ability to soothe.

ADULTS WHO WERE ONCE BABIES

The same principles and support mechanisms that serve

neonates and infants in the NICU also support the healing

of adults. Individuals seeking support to move through a stuck place

in their life may benefit from participation in a Womb Surround

Process Workshop (Womb Surround). This is a highly efficient and

effective mechanism for healing old patterns that are interfering

with present life. The womb surround format created

by Ray Castellino provides individual adults with the

support of a social nervous system.