The Neurobiology of Safety With An Exercise

Dear Brave Ones, Tonight is the last show of the current run of FUKT. Afterwards, I’ll be creating a new schedule for new Brave Spaces. If you want times/days/nights, please reach out and suggest what you want - I am trying to serve you and your needs!

I am aswirl with emotion today, trying to manage the last show and the strike (putting all the stuff away) and letting go. We've had a great run! I have felt so much support from so many of you, I am very grateful. And I am ready to shift my energy toward Brave Space, teaching classes and other projects (after a breather).

Have I been writing? Not much. Besides my regular brain-dump writing, I've done little bits here and there, mostly poetry. The show has been my priority, and staying healthy for the show... so I haven't been upset with myself for not writing.

I have a pretty good relationship with myself these days. I hope you can all say the same or will soon. Until we are in the habit of treating ourselves like we would treat our good friends, we need a compassion practice or a way to pause and be kind to ourselves even if it feels strange at first. We all deserve kindness and compassion.

All the things I used to feel bad about, things that held me back from giving myself the compassion I deserve, I had to let them go. I looked at how these things helped me survive. They were coping mechanisms so I wouldn't have to face my own feelings. Now neurobiologists know how to help us all regulate our systems, so our feelings aren't so difficult to feel. Simple exercises can help us all feel safe.

When I started Brave Space, I didn't even believe in the possibility of safety; that's why the space is called brave! So I think neurobiology and the ability to reset the nervous system is revolutionary.

Give it a try: see if you can ground yourself with your feet supported on a pillow. (See if it helps to support your arches. Find what works for you.) Take a deep breath in and let it out on the sound voo. (Any note is fine.) This will vibrate between your vocal chords and your esophagus, enlivening your vagus nerve. Then make something: a paragraph, a poem, a painting, whatever you make. See how you feel doing it. See what comes up.

Be well,

Emma