At the heart of every survivor’s journey is the search for healing, not just from the past, but toward a future reclaimed with dignity, agency, and hope. At OMID Foundation, we work with Persian-speaking girls and women who have endured devastating traumas, ranging from gender-based violence and systemic oppression to sex trafficking and institutionalized silence against these crimes against women. Through it all, we have been able to see firsthand how evidence based practices can translate into universal restoration.
This is where OMID’s Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) program becomes more than just a modality, it becomes a lifelong practice of alignment that allows our survivors to victoriously return to their highest self.
What Is Mind-Body Medicine?
Mind-body medicine is grounded in the understanding that our emotional and physical experiences are deeply intertwined. Trauma doesn’t just scar the psyche; it imprints on the body, showing up as chronic pain, tension, dissociation, or even illness. Neuroimaging research by the National Institute of Health (NIH) supports that mind-body practices can reduce amygdala hyperactivity and increase prefrontal cortex regulation, helping to restore the brain’s balance disrupted by trauma.
OMID’s Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) Approach
CMBM helps individuals heal holistically by integrating practices that calm the nervous system, restore inner balance, and reconnect us with our bodies in compassionate ways.
Healing Practices Include:
- Body scanning to regulate stress responses and increase physical awareness.
- Guided imagery to process and reframe difficult memories
- Meditation and mindfulness to anchor survivors in the present
- Art and movement based modalities to give form to voiceless emotions
Our ultimate goal is to empower survivors to be their own healers that can reclaim their trauma from something endured to something understood, integrated, and eventually transcended.
OMID’s Commitment to Trauma-Informed Healing
At OMID, we are proud to integrate CMBM’s principles into our trauma-informed therapeutic programs. Many of the young women we serve carry layers of complex trauma, to the compounded invisibility they face as women in patriarchal societies.
For them, healing cannot be linear. It cannot be dictated. It must be nurtured—from the inside out. Our girls are introduced to CMBM practices not as obligations, but as invitations to solely listen to themselves through mind to body connection. Whether that is through our guided techniques led by experts or their own self-discovery through these practices – our methods empower survivors to reshape their internal dialogue and reclaim authorship of their lived experience.
Why Mind-Body Medicine Matters Now
In a world where gender apartheid, displacement, and state violence persist, trauma is not an anomaly, it’s an epidemic.
By embracing mind-body medicine, OMID offers holistic tools for lifelong resilience. We create safe spaces survivors defy silence, surpass limits, and reclaim strength.
As we continue our work, we call on allies, educators, and changemakers to recognize the importance of these healing practices, especially in conflict-affected and culturally stigmatized communities. Trauma may fracture the soul, but we accomplish authentic healing through action rooted in hope, action rooted in OMID.
Join Us in Supporting Healing
Your support makes this work possible. By donating or volunteering, you help OMID Foundation provide trauma-informed care to marginalized Persian-speaking women and girls.
Donate Now: https://omidfoundation.com/donate/
Volunteer here: https://omidfoundation.com/volunteer-fundraising/
Watch our documentaries: YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@omidfoundation
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