One of the things I find fascinating about nervous system regulation is that knowing a technique and understanding what our nervous system is actually trying to accomplish are different (but still related) things.
We can learn to slow our exhale. We can practice a mindfulness technique, or other ways to shift our internal state.
And these can really help us.
But there's a way of looking at our nervous system that can make these practices more powerful
There's something that happens when we move from knowing how to use a nervous system regulation tool…
… to understanding what that tool is helping the nervous system do.
We begin to see our inner intelligence in new ways:
A breathing practice is so much more than a way to ‘calm down’.
- It's how we influence physiological activity and create different conditions for attention, perception, and responding.
A mindfulness exercise isn't just to feel better (although yes it very much is!)
- It orients our attentional systems to become more accurate.. To respond to what's happening in the present moment, instead of only to what our brain is predicting might happen.
And helping someone recognize an emotional pattern goes so far beyond just ‘naming a feeling’...
- It’s a way of connecting brain systems that help us understand and coordinate information to guide our behavior in more adaptive ways.
When we understand the biology underneath regulation, we have a way of teaching it differently.
We can explain not only what to do, but why it might help (from a deep, biological perspective)
It can also help us recognize why a particular tool may be useful in one context and less useful in another.
And we can help people understand that the goal isn't to become calm all the time.
It's to become more capable of navigating the changing conditions of being human.
This is one of the most important shifts we can make in the way we teach regulation.
Especially when we're working with people who might dismiss nervous system work as something soft, vague, or unnecessary.
Brining in the science gives us another way to help them recognize what's actually happening.
And sometimes, understanding changes what someone is willing to try.
P.S. - That's part of why I created Teach the Nervous System™.
Nine short modules to help you understand and explain the neuroscience of regulation, so the people you work with can better recognize its value and apply it in their own lives.
Explore Teach the Nervous System™ — 9 short modules, lifetime access, $44
Inside Teach the Nervous System™, you'll learn to:
- Understand the neuroscience behind regulation and why different nervous system responses emerge.
- Explain what's happening beneath emotions, behaviors, and patterns.
- Translate complex brain science into clear, accessible language.
Use it to…
- Help people understand why your regulation tools and methods work.
- Build credibility and buy-in with audiences who might otherwise dismiss this work.
- Help the people you serve develop greater awareness, agency, and capacity to respond.
9 short modules. Lifetime access. $44.
Explore Teach the Nervous System™
