@Janet Sanford Great that you came up with a whole list!! I just realized that I do have a resource that helps me to reconnect with my body, to become present. It's a soft little monkey toy with a very friendly face. It's very helpful, but not a tool that I can carry with me. I would love to hear your resources! Would you like to share (some of) them? Maybe you give me some ideas! Love, Savannah 🐒

@@SavannahE1972 well, I don’t know where your faith and spiritual practices are at, but I use prayer and worship because I use my mouth and hands to sing and praise. Also I use art because it totally distracts me and again I’m using my hands plus it’s creative and the reward is great. It was House circular reasoning and shows me what’s going on inside to try to put my feelings and thoughts into picture painted or otherwise. A third resource is meaningful significant music. Singing uses my mouth and I use my hands to express how it makes me feel plus lol if you’re singing you can’t be smoking. Some of my resources not related to smoking but related to negative feelings, particularly anxiety, are dark chocolate and small foods like nuts, berries, and chunks of watermelon. Although those might help with smoking because it is a hand to mouth thing. I think I’ll add them to my list!

@@janetsanford2342 How beautiful! Thank you for sharing. And wonderful that you could add another resource to your list :-)

Yes would like to hear about that, too!

OH MY YES. Following.

Such a great question, something I've also wondered! 🙏

Hi Elena Koelink, Jen here from Team Lyon. Yes, it is important to rest but we also want to gently engage the system. The amount we want to do this will depend on the person and the degree of depletion. For example, some people actually have a lot of energy but can't access it due to freeze. This is different to someone whose system is severely depleted. So generally speaking, we want a balance of rest and engaging the system in titrated ways. We do so, and then notice what happens and adjust accordingly.

@@IreneLyonSo it's a matter of testing where our limits are? I've had ME for more than 20 years, and my SE practitioner said she thought I have probably been in a freeze state for the most part of my life. I have made progress with trauma work, but still activity feels like danger to my system. Is titration what to focus on then? 🙏💖 Is there something else one can do to teach the body it's safe to move?

Hi Savannah Engelenberg Personal, Jen here from Team Lyon. It was lovely to read about the way you listened too, digested and explored the teachings in this ABC's and 1,2,3's video. I saw that you wrote about your longing for a community where you can connect with other people who are practicing. It's quite possible that you could create such a community! Irene also teaches a course and a comprehensive program related to learning and practicing this work and to healing trauma, and there are are people in those that you can interact with. Simply reading other people's questions and about what they are going through is often quite helpful. I'll share links to those in case they are or interest, and also to Irene's Drop In classes which can be a lovely way to both learn from Irene love and to learn in the presence of others. 21 Day Nervous System Tune Up - 21daytuneup.com SmartBody SmartMind - smartbodysmartmind.com Drop In classes - irenelyon.com/drop-in-class-1

Hi there, Susan here from Team Lyon. Thank you for your suggestion, I'll pass it along. Irene's KZfaq videos are meant to be a sample of the education she offers. I invite you to checkout the free resources on her website here - irenelyon.com/free-resources-2/, where you will find alternative ways of taking in the information through ebooks, audio samplers, and video trainings that do offer visual components to support you on your nervous system learning/healing journey.

Hi Warda Warda, Jen here from Team Lyon. I'll pass your response along to Irene and will also add that with tinnitus, they have found over 100 different causes. Some of these are nervous system related, some are not. This work can definitely be worth exploring if you're curious about it - even when pain/discomfort doesn't go away, we often have more capacity for dealing with it and overall quality of life tends to improve.

@aliciaschreader1981 Hello, Sophia here from Team Lyon. Thank you for your comment and for sharing about what is going on for you. We don't generally assess individual symptoms because of the complex nature of this work. Irene's work helps most people heal at the nervous system level, which generally has a positive impact on the entire human system. Here is what Irene has previously said about anxiety kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fsCChptk0ZmZkZc.html Please do reach out to our support inbox if you have more questions. I hope this helps!

Hi Lena. Whoops! We forgot to add them. They are up there now. Please know that if something is mention, and it is not there, to type in the name that I mention into the KZfaq platform and my name, and that should also guide you to the video. Irene :)

Hey Gear Head, Seth here with Team Lyon. Yup, mindfulness meditation can be super helpful! And, it also can reinforce traumatic patterns without us realizing it, so it is a tricky beast! I HIGHLY recommend watching this video for a fuller understanding of what I mean... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pKh4ZthjtLapgoE.html

Claudia Muster, Jen here from Team Lyon. Part of this invitation can involve learning to tune into your instincts about who may be receptive to an interaction or a conversation, and who might not be. This doesn't mean you'll always be able to predict this accurately, and it will give you practice and likely offer some clues. If you're nervous about this, you might find a shop or a cafe where you feel (relatively) comfortable, and then notice if any of people working there are prone to chatting. If you find a person who is prone to chatting and order a coffee from them (for example), you'll up your chances that you're engaging with someone who's open to a chat. Any they may even initiate!

Hi lilac, Jen here from Team Lyon. In the moment when that happens you might try a practice of Irene's that I'll link to below called "DIY: Ancient Anxiety Medicine". I'll also link to a free resource of her's that's designed to help with overwhelm. To help lessen the tendency to dissociate over time, you might consider checking out Irene's 21 Day Nervous System Tune Up. It's a self-study course where you learn some basics related to nervous system education and healing and you also have the opportunity to ask questions about your experience as you go through the course and receive answers from trained nervous system practitioners. I'll link to that too in case you'd like to learn more. DIY: Ancient Anxiety Medicine - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Zq9zpsWJuqmvnYE.html&lc=UgzKvm65Pqe9xARznlN4AaABAg 4 Simple Steps to Calm Overwhelm - irenelyon.com/4-steps-to-calm-overwhelm/ 21 Day Nervous System Tune Up - 21daytuneup.com

Hi Luis Roberto Martínez Acevedo, Jen here from Team Lyon. Generally speaking, growing nervous system regulation is about growing access to all of the various nervous system states as well as the systems' ability to engage and move been them to meet what's happening moment to moment. For example, if you are relaxing and watching a mellow movie with a friend, you'd likely want to engage a little bit of sympathetic to allow you to laugh, cry, sit up, etc., along with some ventral vagal to support feeling connected to your friend and what you're watching as you stay somewhat relaxed, and low-tone dorsal vagal to support healthy digestion and rejuvenation. If you're watching a scary movie, or an action adventure picture, ideally more of your sympathetic system would engage. And the extent to which any of the systems are "on" will ideally shift as you cook dinner, take a walk, go to sleep, and so on. As we do this work, we may have responses arise seemingly "out of the blue". When this is the case, we want to allow them to move through to the extent that we have the nervous system capacity to do so. When we do have capacity, we may notice what we call a settling after a response moves through - there might be breath, or a sigh, or a yawn, we may become more aware of our surroundings, to name a few possibilities. When we don't yet have capacity to hold what's arising, we may stay activated, check out, etc, which is a sign that more capacity is needed. I'll link to a few related videos of Irene's in case you'd like to learn more. How is trauma really released? - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gZiGfspzvZ-1onk.html How to build somatic and nervous system capacity - irenelyon.com/2022/01/16/how-to-build-somatic-and-nervous-system-capacity/

@@IreneLyon Oh great! This has been extremely instructive! I did not quite understand and believed that the only option was freeze and fight or flight because of my early experience with threats and that the dorsal ventral was the only state to aspire to, there was a lot of frustration and I was looking for that "monoculture" through the practices , I'm a little more open to sensations now. Thanks again!

Hey there! Seth here with team Lyon. That's probably fine. Cold exposure is good to a degree for sure, and a cold shower is different than staying submerged in freezing cold water. We want to avoid being in the cold so long that it trips our survival responses, which can happen with some of the ice bath methods currently being popular.

Hello, Sophia from Team Lyon here. Irene addresses all this and more in her various free resources, as well as her paid courses in-depth, so I encourage you to start from here, if this type of work interests you: irenelyon.com/free-resources/ (tip: Watch the Healing Trauma mini-training)

HI Winnie, Jen here from Team Lyon. It sounds like you have a have a lot of strength and persistence and that you were able to tap into this to find your way to healing in quite challenging circumstances, which is inspiring to hear! It also sounds like you may have some anger and/or frustration, about the hypocrisy of the question, about the way you felt that you were dying without anyone there to help, and perhaps towards yourself for the way that you answer "yes" when your authentic answer might be quite a different one. In this nervous system work, these are all forms of what we call healthy aggression. It's quite an important energy and one that's often overlooked due to the negative and destructive associations with anger in many cultures. I'll link to a related resource of Irene's in case you'd like to learn more. What is Healthy Aggression? - irenelyon.com/2019/08/19/what-is-healthy-aggression/

Hello JobbaMoscha. The 21 Day Nervous System Tune-Up is a great way to invest in your nervous system's health and healing! Be sure to check out student testimonials at 21daytune.com. Also, when you sign up for the 21 Day Tune-Up you have access to a student-only message board where you can ask course and nervous system related questions and get in-depth responses from trained moderators. Another bonus is that if you decide to take SBSM (JoinSBSM.com) down the road, the amount you paid for the 21 Day Tune-Up is deducted from your SBSM tuition 🙂 Happy learning, Jobba!

@@IreneLyon i would really appreciate an answer to my question since it is detrimental factor for my decision. I read up about the course already.

@@JobbaMoscha, Jen here from Irene's Team. You mentioned that sometimes you're in a state of functional freeze, and somtimes you're in a state of freedom and lightness. You also mentioned that you're working through this with psychotherapy and parts work. You asked if we would have a specific approach for ""that". I'm not clear what you mean by that and don't want to offer an answer that doesn't reflect your question. You mentioned that you haven't found a clear description on how to start moving, feeling and touching in ways to regulate the nervous system. Irene has extensive free resources, and often people need to curated content and additional support offered in her online course or program to learn this. She does offer neurosensory exercises, both in her Free Resource Center and on YT. Exploring these practices may start to offer different approaches to starting to connect with and listen to yourself. Free Resource Center - irenelyon.com/free-resources-2/ Free YT playlist of neurosensory exercises - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iNWAgtByx5eUaKs.html

Later in the day for now.very deep wound originally felt like a dagger thrust into my heart. As above so below. I hate those fucking stupid smiley faces. Thank you

Hi commenter, Jen here from Team Lyon. As we do this work, sometimes symptoms do intensify before improving, or we may move between things feeling a bit easier and then less so. The other thing that can happen sometimes is that the system can read a deeply relaxed or settled state as "dangerous" (remember that safety = familiarity to the nervous system) and respond by going into a state of high activation. When this is the case, we often want to focus on things that feel settling, soothing, and/or resourcing to the system (and not typically on trying to focus on the sensations). I'll link to a few of Irene's related resources in case you'd like to check them out. DIY: Ancient Anxiety Medicine - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Zq9zpsWJuqmvnYE.html&lc=UgzKvm65Pqe9xARznlN4AaABAg 4 Simple Steps to Calm Overwhelm - irenelyon.com/4-steps-to-calm-overwhelm/

@@IreneLyon thank you for this response. It makes a lot of sense. Since diving into retraining, I seem to have developed new symptoms. My breathing dysfunction has abated, but now my skin is burning as if I have a sunburn… and I somehow lost the ability to sneeze. I wonder if my brain is now identifying that as dangerous? (a schedule a Dr appointment just in case). Is it possible for brand new symptoms to come up as you retrain?

@@commenter7375 Seth here with Team Lyon. Yes! It is very very common for new symptoms to arise and in this work this is generally thought to be a good sign, as the nature of trauma is to be stuck. When new symptoms pop up it is often an indication of new things happening in the system, which usually indicates less stuck-ness.

Alicja M, Jen here from Team Lyon. It's great that you found a way to soothe yourself when you need it. No, you don't need to try to stop this. Often as people take steps to grow foundational nervous system capacity and regulation, they find that these habits become less compelling. We may still use them from time to time if they provide enjoyment, and we don't rely on them in the same ways.

Elle, I'll link to a few books by the teachers Irene has studied with and draws from. You may find references in those. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma - www.goodreads.com/book/show/384924.Waking_the_Tiger Nurturing Resilience: Helping Clients Move Forward from Developmental Trauma-An Integrative Somatic Approach By Kathy L. Kain and Stephen J. Terrell - www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562452/nurturing-resilience-by-kathy-l-kain/ The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe. by Stephen Porges - www.stephenporges.com/books - Jen from Team Lyon

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fsCChptk0ZmZkZc.html I just came across this video. Maybe this one will help you with your question? (I have not seen it myself, but remembered your question) I hope it brings you some relief. Love, Savannah

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mrKBgsyqvLLHeJ8.html And this one helped me some while ago when I woke up with a panic attack.

Hi Giesle Vandenndorpe, Jen here from Team Lyon. When we have trauma, our physiology can perceive many things as threatening, including our own internal experience. It often generates threat signaling in the absence of any external threat. This is very common. The way to stop it is to this nervous system work. I'll link to a free video training that Irene has, as well as to a few free resources you might try. free Healing Trauma video training - irenelyon.com/healing-trauma DIY: Anxiety Anxiety Medicine - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Zq9zpsWJuqmvnYE.html&lc=UgzKvm65Pqe9xARznlN4AaABAg 4 Simple Steps to Calm Overwhelm - irenelyon.com/4-steps-to-calm-overwhelm/

Hello, Sophia from Team Lyon here. We cannot assess individual symptoms or offer consultation on this comment section, but we can confidently say that Irene's free resources could offer you a good starting point for this work, to restore safety into the body. You can check them out here irenelyon.com/free-resources-2/

Hi Steph Jackson, Jen here from Team Lyon. Irene doesn't work with clients on a 1-1 basis anymore as she focuses on teaching people to work with their own nervous system through her free education and paid course, program and classes. Some of the Team Lyon members may be accepting new clients, I'll link to the Team list in case you'd like to check it out. I'll also link to two other places where you can search for a practitioner and a video that Irene made with some information you might consider when choosing a practitioner. Team Lyon - irenelyon.com/meet-the-team/ Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Directory - directory.traumahealing.org Co-Regulating Touch - coregulatingtouch.com How to Find a Good Somatic Practitioner - irenelyon.com/2019/11/14/how-to-find-a-good-practitioner/

Hi S Marie, Jen here from Team Lyon. You might need to take steps to grow your capacity and access to more down regulated states that support sleep, rejuvenation and regeneration. Working with directly with the organs involved in the stress response is often especially helpful. You can do this by working with a practitioner trained in Kathy Kain's Somatic Practice work or Stephen Terrell's Transforming the Experience Based brain. Irene also incorporates elements of this work into SmartBody SmartMind. I'll link to a video where Irene talks about working with the stress organs and to two practices you might explore when you can't sleep. How to Heal Adrenal Fatigue by Working with the Stress Organs - irenelyon.com/2019/11/03/how-to-heal-adrenal-fatigue-by-working-with-stress-organs/ 4 Simple Steps to Calm Overwhelm - irenelyon.com/4-steps-to-calm-overwhelm/ DIY Ancient Anxiety Medicine - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Zq9zpsWJuqmvnYE.html&lc=UgzKvm65Pqe9xARznlN4AaABAg

I bet you don’t know what yoga really is and you never really did it.

@@AmorimNaiara haha I did 😭