Body Signals

Body signals are sometimes called our ‘early warning signs’; they let us know immediately when we feel stressed or unsafe. That’s why they’re crucial for protective behaviours, trauma-informed practice or simply for navigating everyday life. Recognising and managing body signals helps build emotional and mental resilience—whether it is pre-schoolers transitioning to big school, young people navigating relationships, or adults dealing with life’s ups and downs. This marvelous mob of meerkat characters will help people of any age tune into their body signals and build a vocabulary to describe them.

• Pick cards for what happens in your body when you’re happy, sad, scared, angry, hot, tired or hungry.
• Which body signals mean you feel unsafe?
• Who could you tell when you feel unsafe?
• Pick several cards—what others words could describe the body signals?
• Like a faulty car alarm, body signals are triggered if we’re anxious, even when we know there’s no real danger. How can you soothe unwanted body signals?

Sometimes called our early warning signs, body signals let us know when we feel stressed or unsafe. Everyone needs to recognise their body signals as they play an integral role in forming protective behaviours and navigating everyday life.

Body Signals is a 40 card resource pack featuring a beautifully illustrated mob of meerkat characters, designed to help people of any age tune into their body signals and build a vocabulary to describe them. Each card features an individual body signal with a supporting illustration.

A variety of activities and conversations can be built around the cards, allowing participants to gain a deeper understanding of their body’s natural responses.

Body Signals is a fantastic addition to any toolbox to support the strengthening of body intelligence and empower people to describe their body’s feelings.

Suitable for:

• Early childhood and preschools
• Schools
• Counselling
• Therapeutic settings
• Social work
• Health and medical settings

40 laminated, full-colour cards, 120 x 150mm, polypropylene box, plus 40-page booklet.

Stories

“One of the challenges I found when working with children and teens is linking emotions or feelings to the body and its physiological responses or sensations. I found that a lot of my clients in therapy were unable to articulate or identify the sensations they experienced. I was on the hunt for something fun and practical to help raise my clients’ awareness and be more attuned to their bodies. This is when I found the beautiful Body Signals cards.

I have just launched an emotions and feelings intervention workbook for children and teens, and a major focus is linking the mind and body to support my clients with expressing and labelling their emotions. The Body Signals cards play a major part in this intervention workbook, and so far I have had amazing results where my clients are able to identify body signals when using the cards.

I use the cards in conjunction with my own worksheets, where I have a blank body outline and a particular emotion listed at the top, and together, we go through all the Body Signals cards and map out the appropriate physiological sensations when that emotion is experienced. If you work with children and teens and want to add new resources to your toolkit, I highly recommend the Body Signals cards.” Janelle Lorenzini, principal counsellor/owner of J Lorenzini Therapy & Wellness