Take a moment to ground yourself.

Let me teach you a few ways to settle through time honored and research backed methods for self-soothing.

somatic micro-break: self massage

Self massage is a way of stimulating your vagus nerve, which is in charge of the rest-and-digest” state of your nervous system.  Using these intentional touch points activates the relaxation response by releasing physical tension in your body, or offering a gentle wake up when it is in “freeze mode”.

somatic micro-break: grounding holds

This tool will help you sense the boundaries of your body, which in turn helps to ground you and bring you back to the present moment. Sometimes “simpler is better”, and the beauty here is that its simplicity lets you be more attentive to the regulating experience of touch and connection.

Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping)

I invite you to join me in this grounding practice that involves gentle tapping on specific meridian points. Tapping these points helps you to down-regulate the amygdala (the brain’s stress center) and offers a simple way to process and release emotions  (in real time), without relaying on your “thinking brain”.

feel it to heal it: guided pendulation practice

Feeling you feelings is an important part of building resilience and expanding your window of tolerance (your capacity to handle hard things)…AND feeling them can be a bit much without help...  this practice can help you process your emotions in manageable doses by purposefully moving between states of distress and rest.

guided meditation: a mindful moment (for everyone!)

Mindfulness is a way of practicing non-judgmental,  intentional awareness. This downregulates an active mind and gives better perspective on where we are and what we need, which gets us out of stress-driven autopilot and negative thought loops. Sounds nice, right? Let me teach you how.

self compassion break

Our resilience is better when we are kind to ourselves—and even more when we are ACCEPTING of ourselves unconditionally.  Offering yourself care in a hard moment supports and activates the vagal pathway (part of the body's caregiving system) which promotes a feeling of calm. A self-compassion break is a good way to get there.

guided meditation: self-compassion for young humans

Kids can do this too! Learning this tool early helps your young person build their capacity self-soothe. Plus, it reinforces a sense of sufficiency and self confidence to meet their own needs that can carry into adulthood, which will ultimately make life easier to handle!

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