Nervous System Reset!
March Newsletter: guided practices to calm the nervous system, journal prompts, songs for meditation, book recommendations.
Hello!
Thanks for reading. I appreciate you being here, joining me in seeking to be centered people as we care for those around us, do our own inner work, and engage more wholeheartedly in the beauty and challenges of this world.
This world needs some centered, loving people!
Maybe you too are looking for some ways to calm your nervous system, guided breathing and other body-based grounding practices…
As I’ve shared before, Resmaa Menakem emphasizes how a settled body, settles bodies. Whatever your stage of life or work, we need support to ground our bodies amidst stress and chaos around us.
I intended to keep this newsletter brief with lots of practical resources…and yet ended up adding some informational resources. If you are just looking for guided practices, scroll on down.
We have a normal flight, fight, freeze, faun response to stressful stimuli. The challenge is that we often stay in those zones instead of returning to equilibrium, letting off steam in a way.
In the below Nervous System Reset practices, you will see the term Vagal Tone, which refers to the vagus nerve that extends “from the brainstem down into your stomach and intestines, innervating your heart and lungs, and connecting your throat and facial muscles” ~ Dr. Arielle Schwartz. I am not an excerpt on the vagus nerve or the polyvagal theory.
Although the Polyvagal Theory has received criticism, it has been scientifically established that at the minimum the vagus nerve carries “information from the body to the brain rather than the other way around” (Berthaud & Neuhuber, 2000). Our bodies communicate to us if we listen and there are ways to signal safety to our bodies.
And even the critics agree that of course:
“Taking a moment to yourself to pause a stressful situation and focus on your breathing can, indeed, temporarily help with feeling unwell” (McGill U, 2022).
Trauma Therapist Ryan Kuja just responded to the critique in his recent Substack, writing:
“What Polyvagal Theory offers is language: a way to describe how safety, connection, threat, and shutdown are experienced in the body. For many clinicians and trauma survivors, that language has been profoundly organizing and helpful, leading not only to insight, but to self-compassion and empowering ways to work with rather than against autonomic responses.”
- Ryan Kuja
So much more could and has been said on this (for example Clinical Reflections by Dr Arielle Schwartz) also just wrote on this:
If you are just looking for some simple practices to calm your nervous system…
Check out these free resources: from 7-8 minute practices on to 60-90 minute yoga sessions with Dr. Arielle Schwartz a psychotherapists who offers free online trauma-informed yoga.
Love to hear what you think and if you are joining me in this Insight Timer challenge!
GUIDED MEDITATION: And here’s one of the guided meditations I recorded:
Standing Tree of Life Meditation
JOURNAL PROMPTS
How is your life affected when you are more grounded and regulated?
How is your life affected when you are anxious, stressed, or emotionally dysregulated?
What practices help you to return to center?
PAST NEWSLETTER: GROUNDING OUR BODIES
SONGS FOR MEDITATION:
Trust in the Weaver, by Alexa Sunshine Rose, Laurence Cole
Lifting Us to Love, by KJ Song
RECOMMENDED BURNOUT ASSESSMENT
I’d love to hear what you think about the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) Assessment?
ProQOL General Helping Professionals (health care, social service workers, teachers, attorneys, emergency response, etc.)
Assessment for Healthcare Workers: more specific to healthcare workers, uses the language of 'patient' but can adapt for your context.
Remember that assessments are only so helpful as they lead to self-awareness, self-compassion, and change. If even reading the word assessment causes anxiety, this is probably not the tool for you, or to do alone. If you do take it, notice how you feel after taking the assessment. Perhaps journal, walk, meditate, consider who you might talk to about this, and/or talk to a trusted friend.
Recommended Resources
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
By purchasing from Bookshop.org you support local bookstores, and I do get a small affiliate compensation.
GUIDED MEDITATIONS
I have other guided meditations available on Insight Timer to engage your imagination and prayerful reflection, you can check them out here: https://insighttimer.com/bethanydhiser/guided-meditations
