Somatic therapy gently supports the nervous system to allow access — a grip on the slippery nature of the freeze — by helping us find our way to the aliveness inside. Coming out of freeze releases a bunch of energy: that can feel super scary! And, with gentle support, your system can shift organically to a state of more aliveness.

You are not broken.

This feeling many of us share -- I'm broken, unloved and unloveable -- boy, is it miserable. This is not just guilt, "I broke something," or injury, "A part of me has broken.” It's at the core of who we are -- unchangeable, or so we believe.

Life sometimes throws us a bunch of lemons. Look more closely*, and you might discover there’s more to the story. Here are some myths about trauma that I hear regularly

Anxiety is energy wanting to move. Whether you notice it in your chest, your thoughts, your wiggly feet, it’s moving with it that can reduce its hold over you.

A safe haven can be an actual place, or a feeling you get when with your safe person or your pet, or even with a memory.

I was part of something large recently. So large, they describe it in all caps: BIG SING CALIFORNIA!

Two thousand of us sang together in Disney Hall, joined by thousands more singing in five other California locations.

Introducing what he calls a “Basic Exercise” in his 2017 book, Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve, author Stanley Rosenberg says it’s so helpful that he’s using it with everybody he sees.

Mind-Body Stress Reset: LaDyne organizes around four tools for self-regulation: Rhythmic Breathing, Seeing & Sensing, Imaging, and Movement, with exercises sprinkled throughout the lessons. The section on movement includes stretches gentle enough to support vagal tone and begin moving out of freeze.

Call of the Wild: Not just a self-help tome, this is Johnson’s clarion Call to healing into feeling better, feeling more, and valuing our feeling of pleasure. Beyond educating on nervous system self-regulation, she calls the reader into her “inner jaguar.”