Pause. What do you notice? Your breath? Are there parts of your physical body that you can feel are tense? When our autonomic nervous systems are overloaded and our bodies engage in fight, flight, or freeze response, our physical body carries the weight of our internal selves. Have you ever been able to feel this distress? What does your body feel like? When you can acknowledge that your body is protecting you from pain, emotions, or trauma you can begin to embody the response. I began doing this simply by being aware of what my body felt like in times when I was triggered by trauma, stress, or overwhelm. I am able to become aware of how it is responding physcially, and then incorporate intentional movement to reset. I can tell you firmly, that one of the most effective practices that I have found help me in these moments of regulation is connection. Leaning into a nurturing relationship, whether it be a friend, partner, or collective aids in activating the vagus nerve. I have been enjoying learning the multitudes of practices that do this. I’ll share a couple of them here, which have held me in my own ritual of grounding my internal self back into my physical body.

Somatic Eye Movement. Either sit upright with your shoulders straight or lie down on your back with your hips directly under you. Take deep even breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Choose a place to fix your gaze (either straight ahead or straight up depending on how you chose to position yourself) and look with only your eyes to the left as far as you can, holding for 30 seconds, then relax your gaze. Repeat, but this time with your right eye. Relax your gaze. What you might notice during this practice is an involuntary movement in the form of a sneeze, a cough, twitch, etc… this is completely normal. This is a physical response to your vagus nerve activating. You can do this in multiple sets if you choose, but I would suggest if this is a new practice to you, simply starting with each eye.

Body Awareness. When you begin to tune into the distress calls of your nervous system, simple physical relaxation of your body may be helpful. Find a quiet place and sit comfortably or lie. Begin to notice each breath in and out. Inhale. Pause. Exhale. Pause. Then, moving from your crown to your root, relax your muscles. Unclench your jaw, let your shoulders drop, open your fists, feel your chest as each breath makes it rise and fall. Imagine that you are rooting deep into the earth, like a seed that has just been planted. Allow your hips, then your feet, to sink deeper and deeper. Return to your breath. Do you feel more grounded?

I also enjoy walks in nature, especially the midwest prairie in this season, and writing or journaling as a form of identifying what I may be sitting with. What practices do you enjoy for embodying your internal self?