One of the biggest steps I see missing when it comes to anxiety and nervous system healing is this: Nervous system healing is experienced, not just learned.
Don’t get me wrong, the books, the science, the inner learning of nervous system healing are things I absolutely love! However, true regulation and getting unstuck from chronic states of survival, such as fight, flight, shutdown, freeze, and fawn, happen when the nervous system has new experiences, not just new knowledge.
By providing evidence that we don’t have to run away, lash out, or shut down in order to experience safety or reprieve, we give our system the opportunity for new responses, impulses, feelings, and outcomes. This is how we build new procedural patterns—subconscious habits and reactions governed by the nervous system.
Understanding the context and science behind our physiology is a profound first step in this process.
Yet, without the experience, the nervous system will remain stagnant and stuck in survival mode.
Understanding the context and science behind our physiology is a profound first step in this process.
Here’s an example: Think of it like reading an exercise manual but not going to the gym and expecting to see results. This is why daily somatic practices and regulation practices should always be encouraged and explored.
We do this in the Body Flow Method through daily tracking and journaling, and our live Somatic Movement Sessions (a somatic guided practice or what I lovingly refer to as “the nervous system gym”).
Curious to learn more about nervous system healing and how you can start to implement this work in your own life? Check out my complimentary mini-training and guide today.
Strengthen your body for the coming season by securing your spot in our intimate virtual accountability group of 5, moving weekly for 90 minutes.
Stay grounded and keep growing!
With love and healing,
Shauna
Speech Therapist, Certified, Embodied-Dance Instructor and the creator of the BodyFlow Method
Comments