The Nervous System Archives - Page 3 of 3

Is there a deeper reason behind the workaholism?

July 2, 2020 0Comments

My client, an entrepreneur with a business she adores, is a hard worker. Like many ambitious women, she thrives on serving her clients and doing excellent work. When she came for sessions in Somatic Experiencing (SE), she had several goals in mind. But as often happens, sometimes something unexpected will emerge. One of the basic…

Does the healing journey feel endless? Unpacking the process and seeing the light.

April 21, 2020 0Comments

Sometimes, being on a journey of healing can feel endless. I often work with folks who come into my practice after having already done years or decades of various healing practices. There is sometimes a feeling of "will it ever end?" For some, the healing journey has felt like a hamster…

Befriending the Uncomfortable Sensations

February 28, 2020 0Comments

Healing from trauma is about coming back into your body. It’s about reclaiming your space, renewing your right to existence, returning to the heart of you. In our quest to heal, to live a spiritual, high-vibe, positively focused life, sometimes it’s tempting to push over the places that feel less good. “If I…

Sensation: The Language of the Reptile Brain

February 27, 2020 0Comments

“You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves” - - Mary Oliver In the personal growth and self help worlds, we often work with our mindset, our thoughts, and our beliefs. Often, we work with our our emotions, and typically we come from an intellectual and “understanding”…

Why Do I Get Anxious When I Meditate? Why “Calming Down” May Not Always be the Optimal Goal

February 23, 2020 0Comments

The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices are becoming more and more well known. And yet, many folks struggle to meditate and find it an extreme challenge to “go inside” and be still. Often, the assumption is that the individual simply needs to exert greater discipline or “just practice”. And it…

How the Nervous System Works Part 2: How Trauma Affects the Body

January 2, 2020 0Comments

Let's talk about how trauma affects the body. We know that in a healthy nervous system, we move easily between the three states of sympathetic, slow parasympathetic (ventral vagal), and quick shutdown (dorsal vagal). In a nervous system that has undergone trauma (or overloads of stress), the nervous system can become…

How the Nervous System Works Part 1: The Branches of the Autonomic Nervous System

October 5, 2019 0Comments

In this post, we'll take a look at how the Nervous System works, and how understanding it can be helpful to our health, wellness, and optimal functioning. Photo: Shutterstock The Autonomic Nervous System is divided into two branches. You may be familiar with the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Branches of the autonomic nervous…