nervous system Archives

How does your nervous system respond to the seasons?

June 19, 2022 0Comments

A rainbow in New Mexico. How does your nervous system respond to the seasons? While celebrating my one year anniversary of moving to New Mexico (after spending most my life in balmy and temperate Southern California), I’m LOVING the energy of the elements, lately. The high-desert heat, the intensity of the wind, the sudden rain.…

Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Perceptions are NOT the Truth

September 23, 2020 0Comments

Yesterday, I was reminded of something important by a very wise mentor of mine: "Your thoughts, feelings, and perceptions are NOT the truth." And that statement completely re-calibrated some things that were feeling stuck for me. (Now, this statement might sound surprising coming from me, since I'm always talking about things like trusting…

Upper Limits Part Two: A Client Case Study

July 31, 2020 0Comments

I was happy to receive this from a lovely client today: Hi Rachel, Just wanted to share that I had an important realization related to our work together. Right now, I have more business than ever -- I'm booked for 3 solid weeks and requests for sessions are still coming in. I just sat…

Islands of Safety: Steps to Healing

July 17, 2020 0Comments

In the process of somatic healing, one of the things we start off with is looking for “islands of safety.” When things have been tough for a while, it can become challenging to feel or find any kind of safety. If the nervous system has never actually learned how to settle and feel safe, then…

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…

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”…

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…

Tag: nervous system