About Nervous System Reset
Containment is not suppression; it is rather building a larger, more resilient vessel to hold the difficult [aspects of life]… –Peter Levine
Resilience is the ability to rise and fall with the currents of life in such a way that we remain flexible and adaptive in our responses. Good regulation means that our nervous systems can also rise and fall in response to environmental cues. Our regulatory capacity and resilience are inextricably linked. If we want to experience true resilience, we need to start with the body level up. And that means learning how to speak the language of the nervous system so that we can begin to partner directly with it to modulate through our stress responses in a more internally-resourced way.
Nervous System RESET teaches people how to recognize their stress responses by attuning to the physical signs, indicators and sensations that signal rising activation levels and/or settling in the nervous system. With this body (somatic) awareness, individuals can begin to track their internal sense of safety and to apply evidence-informed tools and practices which support the nervous system down-regulating its baseline over time.
Cultivating an experience of safety and resilience in the body
The RESET approach aims to:
-
Regulate the nervous system, thereby supporting better overall health
-
Educate people about stress physiology and how it works
-
Promote Self-awareness by teaching Somatic-awareness (body awareness) and cultivating a felt experience of internal Safety in the body
-
Empower people by connecting them with skills and tools that make a difference
-
Support personal Transformation as you settle into a new experience of capacity in the body
The RESET program does this by teaching the following:
-
How to cultivate greater resiliency and adaptability in response to life stressors
-
How to use simple somatic practices to support the nervous system and gradually down-regulate arousal levels over time
-
How to grow increased body awareness and the ability to define a sense of safety or settling in the body
-
How to stay inside of a comfortable window of tolerance in your exploration so that you stay connected to an inner sense of safety
-
How to notice and track body sensations with curiosity and openness without bracing against them, pushing them away or being overwhelmed by them
-
How to follow sensory cues to read whether the nervous system is activating or settling
-
How to explore sensation in small amounts while orienting back towards a felt experience of safety in the body
-
How to recognize the tendency or pattern of overriding body signals and how to trust body signals and work with them in new ways
-
How to build effective self-care and anchoring strategies
At the heart of these practices is the nervous system recovery response, a gentle, vibratory neuromuscular reflex in the body which is a natural mechanism for stress recovery. By learning how to access this restorative recovery reflex and to work with it in manageable and calibrated doses, you can gradually discharge accumulated levels of stress (be it everyday life stress, chronic and ongoing stress, or traumatic stress) and guide your nervous system back to a healthier, more resilient baseline.