Illustrated cards for recognising the feelings in our body
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.
Recognising and managing body signals helps build emotional and mental resilience – whether that’s for pre-schoolers transitioning to big school, young people navigating relationships, or adults dealing with life’s challenges.
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.
NEW! With every card set purchased, you now get exclusive access to an online Toolbox of extras.
The Toolbox includes:
- a digital version of the booklet.
- access to a digital set of the cards that you can download and use anywhere, anytime.
- ideas banks, blogs, card hack videos, interviews and other support material.
We are adding and updating the Toolbox content regularly so check in to see what’s new.
Suitable for:
- Early childhood and preschools
- Schools
- Counselling
- Therapeutic settings
- Social work
- Health and medical settings
- Parents
Additional resources:
Body Signals® – Signposts for Feelings
Body Signals®: Wisdom from Within
Furious! Helping children manage anger
Can Bears and Meerkats be Friends?
Listen to the Body Signals Podcast for an insight into the research behind the importance of understanding body signals in trauma-informed care
40 laminated, full-colour cards 120 x 150mm and online booklet
Presented in a polypropylene box
ISBN: 978 1 925657 12 8
Booklet author: Karen Bedford; Illustrator & designer: Mat Jones
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Stories and Reviews
Linking Body Signals to emotions and response
‘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
