Unusual ways to connect to your nervous system

Over the past nine years as I've studied and trained in Somatic Experiencing, I've started realizing that there are a lot of way to take care of ourselves, mentally, physically, and emotionally, that are highly effective yet not yet 'common sense' in the public sphere.  I'd like to share some of these with you.

1. Using your body to lower stress levels.  
Movement specialist Betsy Polatin offers very simple, yet potent ways of using your body to shift your patterns of stress.  Even something as simple as taking your right hand, placing it gently on the skin of your left wrist, and taking a few moments to enjoy the contact of skin on skin can help your breath deepen naturally, and your shoulders begin to relax.

2. Using your unfocused mind to refresh your focus and your will.
Author Srini Pillay, M.D. explains the benefits of 'spacing out', and offers guidance on three different ways to space out in the most effective, healing way possible.  For example, while you surely know that dwelling on "what you should have said" over and over can stress you, imagining something whimsical like running along a cliffside near the ocean can help you reconnect to your sense of self, and manage change more effectively. 

Sometimes it can be hard to use these approaches when you're around other people.  Our sense of social duty can distract us from taking care of ourselves, and it can be exhausting just to try to stay present with those around us.  So, I've written a short article exploring:

3. How to recover yourself even when you're with others.
Even something as simple as how you're holding tension in your face can drain you of social energy far faster than you might imagine.  And yes, I'm linking to my own blog from 6 years ago, don't judge me!