The Nervous System Awareness Page
The Mending Journey is a website I created to help people understand stress and give them practical ways to regulate their nervous system and develop habits that support greater calm and connection. On the website, you'll find guided practice videos and tools to increase your emotional capacity and your physical health.
This website was designed for anyone with a stressful job, which is almost everyone. Practically everyone can benefit from the nervous system regulation practices found here. Unfortunately, most people were never taught by their parents and family how to regulate their emotions and nervous system in a healthy and positive way. TheMendingJourney.com/NSA gives you the tools you need to be a better husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, boyfriend, girlfriend, employee, boss, etc.
Additionally, anyone who has experienced relational trauma or suspects they have CPTSD can benefit from these exercises, and it will make the other therapeutic modalities they are working with more effective.
This is not therapy, but it can help make therapy more effective. Many people with trauma find therapy difficult and overwhelming. Nervous system regulation exercises can help you stay present when dealing with hard topics or big emotions in therapy, which will help you progress faster in your healing journey.
If you are a therapist, teaching nervous system regulation to your clients can help them make more progress in less time.
It really depends. Some people start feeling better immediately. For some people it takes a couple of months. I would say give your body 1–3 months of consistent nervous system regulation before quitting.
It's important to remember that as your body adjusts from being in chronic stress to being in rest and repair mode, you might feel worse in some ways. This is normal, and if you keep going, you will achieve levels of healing you never thought possible.
No, because you are not broken. What it will do is give your body the tools that it needs to heal itself. Your body has incredible healing abilities, including neuroplasticity, which is the ability to change your neural connections, and epigenetics, which is the ability to change your DNA expression. You just need to teach your body's nervous system how to be in rest and repair mode so that it can access these healing abilities.
Start of the day
I recommend that you start your day with a rhythmic movement exercise. These movements don't just regulate the nervous system. They also help with lymphatic drainage and help move your fascia. Starting the day with light movement will help you get more done throughout the day.
Every two hours
Then, I recommend that you do an EFT tapping exercise or a rhythmic movement exercise every two hours so that you keep your nervous system within the window of tolerance, which will help you be more productive and have better relationships.
With meals, or three times a day
I also recommend that you do the eye brain exercises with meals or three times a day. These are actually called functional neurology exercises and are scientifically proven to help the brain function better. A better functioning brain means a better functioning nervous system, and that means you will have more energy to show up and be present for the people you love.
Whenever you feel overwhelmed
I recommend that you use the voo breathing and psychological sigh exercises as needed throughout the day. Whenever you feel a little overwhelmed, pull one of these exercises out of your back pocket to keep you from disconnecting and dissociating. You'll find that these basic exercises are the backbone of keeping your nervous system regulated.
Finally
I recommend that you don't overdo it. No matter how many exercises you try to cram into your day, you will not teach your nervous system to be in safety overnight. You did not end up this way overnight, so you will not change it overnight. Daily practice will make a difference. Even if you forget for a day or two, start again and keep going.
30 minutes to 1 hour
It depends on what you need. I would say around 30 minutes to 1 hour. And reading that, I'm sure it feels like a lot of time. But if you've found this page, I'm sure that you're spending more than a couple of hours a day scrolling on social media or using other unhealthy coping mechanisms or addictions.
Think of the time you spend doing nervous system regulation exercises as an investment that will pay off big time in the future. Imagine using all the time that you waste now to build the life you want, with the relationships you want and the job you want. That's what you can have if you invest 30 minutes to 1 hour a day doing these exercises.
This YouTube channel has a lot of good information and tips related to dealing with trauma.
(opens in a new tab)This YouTube channel has a lot of information related to nervous system regulation, how it works, and why it is important.
(opens in a new tab)The Primal Trust program is really amazing if you are dealing with chronic pain or chronic health issues that you think are related to chronic stress, chronic nervous system dysregulation, or complex trauma. It is expensive, around $100 a month, but if you want more information specifically related to chronic illness, check out her website and look for interviews she has done on YouTube.
Honestly, just go search. These days there is so much good information out there for free. It is amazing.
I don't want to paywall potentially lifesaving information.
The free account has everything you need to regulate your nervous system. This information made a huge difference in my life.
The paid Mending+ membership is extra stuff like group Zoom calls where we practice nervous system regulation as a group, along with Q&A. Also, access to other classes and podcasts I will record, as well as a game I'm going to create that will help encourage you to do the exercises on a consistent daily basis.
Basically, the Mending+ membership gives you access to extra resources that will help you, but are not necessary for you to accomplish your life goals.