When we talk about nervous system regulation, a lot of people immediately think it means feeling peaceful all the time. Like, once your nervous system is “regulated,” you should be some kind of calm, collected monk floating through life unfazed by anything. But here’s the truth: nervous system regulation isn’t about always being calm. In fact, it’s more about being able to feel it all—the joy, the fear, the rage, the grief—and not get totally swept away or stuck in it.

Let’s unpack that.

Orienting is a simple but powerful somatic practice for soothing your nervous system. Try this guided 5-minute orienting practice.

As a licensed psychotherapist specializing in holistic and somatic therapy, one of the most common questions I hear is, “Can trauma really live in the body?” The short answer is yes—but not in the way many people assume. Trauma isn't just something that happens to us. It's something that can linger within us, especially when the nervous system doesn’t get the chance to fully process and integrate what happened.

Let’s explore how trauma or adverse experiences can show up in the body—and why understanding this connection can be a powerful step toward healing.

Fighting about the same thing over and over again with your partner is exhausting. You know the drill: one of you says something that strikes a nerve, the other gets defensive, emotions escalate, maybe someone shuts down or storms off. Rinse, repeat. You both end up feeling stuck, frustrated, and disconnected. If this feels familiar, you’re definitely not alone—and you’re not doomed.

Bilateral drawing is a nurturing, creative way to process emotions, express yourself creatively, and reconnect with your body. It may sound fancy but in it’s simplest for you use both hands to draw at the same time, mirroring each other. This activates both hemispheres of your brain and can support emotional regulation and helps some folks to feel relaxed and others to feel more energized and less stagnant.

You’ve been there, right? Standing at the edge of something new—maybe a relationship, a job, a big decision—and suddenly your stomach drops, your chest tightens, or your heart races. Your body is shouting “NOPE!” But what does that “no” mean?

Is it your intuition—your inner compass steering you away from danger or something that’s not right for you?

Or is it trauma—a past experience, stored in your body, reacting to something that only feels unsafe, even if it’s actually okay?

Journaling can be a wonderful way to express yourself, process emotions, and reflect and with a little adjustment it is not just supportive for your mind but also for your body/ the rest of your nervous system. If you do not know where to start, these prompts can guide you in deepening your journaling practice or starting a new one.

One of the things I love most about somatic work as a somatic therapist is that there are so many was to weave these healing practices into your life and many of them are free or offer multiple ways to integrate them. Somatic therapy is powerful but it is definitely not the only way to bring mind-body healing into your life and, in fact, having practices outside of therapy to foster embodiment and wellbeing can make your time in therapy more powerful.

Parts-works is based on understanding that every person is made up of multiple experiences, past versions of themselves they needed to be to adapt or survive challenges with limited choices and tools, and multiple perspectives that can be in conflict or harmony at any given time.

This is like strands of thread making up a tapestry. When that thread is woven together in patterns or harmony those different pieces make a whole or those threads can become knotted, unraveled, and unwoven creating a mess of conflict and tension.

A parts check in can help you weave these parts together.

If you're a couple navigating disconnection, conflict, or a painful lack of emotional intimacy, you're not alone. And here's the good news: there is a way to hit pause, cut through the noise, and start healing—together. Enter: couples therapy intensives.

Healing can come in so many forms from movement to dance to acupuncture to meditation to community organizing to deep and intentional time with friends. One of my favorite healing modalities that you can do alone and on your own time is bibliotherapy! Bibliotherapy involves engaging with specific, relevant, healing oriented texts through reading or writing (think guided journaling).

One of the things I have discovered as a Black woman who loves some bibliotherapy is that a lot of books are not written with the experience of Black or BIPOC women in mind.

So here is a starter list of books for Black and BIPOC women to help you along your healing journey!

As a somatic psychotherapist, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful it is to shift our focus from thinking our way through stress to feeling our way through it. That’s where somatic micropractices come in.

These tiny, body-based tools are gentle, grounding, and can help us regulate our nervous systems in everyday moments—no yoga mat or meditation retreat required.

Let’s dive into some of my favorite somatic practices that you can do anytime, anywhere.

Have you ever wondered why some people seem effortlessly secure in relationships while others struggle with closeness, fear abandonment, or pull away when things get too intimate? These patterns often stem from our attachment styles—deep-rooted strategies we developed early in life to navigate our need for safety, connection, and belonging.

Attachment theory offers a lens through which we can better understand ourselves and our relationships, not as fixed labels but as adaptive responses to our environment.

Many women who look like they have it all together on the surface still struggle with an overactive freeze response and feel a huge amount of shame around it. Let’s explore why that is.

When you are stuck in survival mode everything can feel urgent, heightened, and like you are missing or falling behind on something important. Here is how you can start to break free.

Have you ever felt like you’ve talked about something a thousand times in therapy but still feel stuck in the same emotional loop? Like your mind understands, but your body hasn’t quite caught up? That’s where somatic psychotherapy comes in.

There’s something miraculous about spring. Don’t get me wrong, I love the cozy slowing down of winter but after gray skies and rain, bare trees, and needing a sweater (if you live in California like me) or a giant parka (if you live anywhere else) to run the smallest errands it can feel so good when the world thaws. The sun is out a bit longer, birds fill branches, and color returns to the trees and flowers and seems to awaken the colors inside of us as well.

What are therapy intensives and do they actually work?

A healthy, secure-functioning relationship provides a safe harbor for each person, a separate world of security and comfort and nurturing where each partner is seen and cared for. This harbor or separate world gives each member of the couple the boost of regulation and nurturing that they need to take on challenges, problem-solve, and face the issues that any day may give. This harbor or separate world is called the “couple bubble” in PACT

Hey sis, this healing choice by choice stuff it not at all for the weak.