When we get stressed or triggered, our nervous system goes into fight or flight mode.

And this affects our brain and thinking.

The calm part of our brain that’s responsible for rational thinking shuts down when we’re in fight or flight.

This is why we can’t think clearly, our thoughts become negative and our mind starts racing.

We go into survival mode and focus on everything that could go wrong.

At the same time, our body is flooded with stress hormones, making everything feel like an emergency and keeping us on high alert.

Trying to slow down, relax or calm ourselves when we’re in survival mode feels incredibly uncomfortable.

We can’t just tell ourselves to calm down or take a deep breath.

Our nervous system needs support to regulate itself.

To calm down, our nervous system needs to feel safe.

Feeling safe and regulating our nervous system requires us to get out of our head and into our body.

Taking deep breaths is not the answer and some breathwork can make us feel worse, especially if we have trauma.

I teach my Alchemy clients how to resource and anchor themselves in times of distress.

They have their own anchors that help them feel safe.

It could be listening to the purr of their cat.

It could be getting sun on their face.

It could be going barefoot on grass.

It could be a warm cup of tea.

It often involves orienting to our senses – what we can see, hear and feel.

Coming back to our body, slowing down our exhales and feeling safe in the present moment.

Nervous system regulation is the foundation of the deep healing work we do in Yoga Alchemy.

We learn how to safely move out of survival mode and how to become unfrozen.

We learn how to deal with our big feelings so they don’t overwhelm us.

And we learn how to reduce anxiety and negative thoughts.

If you have trouble relaxing and slowing down,

If your mind is always racing and filled with negative thoughts,

If you feel stuck or frozen in survival mode

And you want support to heal and thrive, then book a free chat.