Thank you for playing Protection Song!
If you are feeling anxious, it can be helpful to perform some somatic or breathing exercises to calm your nervous system, so I've linked to some of my favorites below.
I hope that you enjoyed your experience, and perhaps it inspired you to learn more about how our nervous system developed and operates. I've included some research references that I used while making the piece, in case you want to explore further!
If you would like to review the experience again at your own pace, here is the Twine itself: Protection Song.
Credits
Heather Kelley (@PerfectPlum)
Created in Twine
Image this page: Reconstruction of Huaxiagnathus, by Thomas Miller
Consulting Experts:
Jessica Beu, LCSW
Brie Code
Jimanekia Eborn, MS
Dr. Rose-Marie Muzika
Dr. John Wible
Playtesters:
David Blackman
Shalev Moran
Martin Nerurkar
Laura Palavecino
Jens Rushing
Short somatic exercises to help calm the nervous system
Prentiss Hemphill's Street Somatics exercises on IGTV (video)
Soft Belly Breathing with James S. Gordon, MD (audio)
20 Minute Yoga to Heal Stress - Yoga with Adriene (video)
Note: assumes some understanding of basic yoga poses such as Child Pose)
15 Minute Neurosensory Exercise with Irene Lyon (audio)
Mesozoic era paleobiology
Science Channel: Mammals vs. Dinos
Nature: How the earliest mammals thrived alongside dinosaurs
National History Museum, London: The Dino Directory
Ben Garrod: A Grown-Up Guide To Dinosaurs
Washington Post: Fossil is Oldest Placental Mammal
Vagus Nerve and Polyvagal Theory
Dee Wagner: Polyvagal Theory In Practice
Bessel van der Kolk: author of The Body Keeps the Score
Markham Heid: Science Confirms That the Vagus Nerve Is Key to Well-being
Stephen Porges: Polyvagal Theory
Irene Lyon, MSC: nervous system and somatic neuroplasticity
Deb Dana, LCSW: Polyvagal Theory in Therapy
Somatic therapy and Embodied Activism
Prentiss Hemphill: Movement facilitator and Somatics teacher
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen: Body-Mind Centering