Nicole LePera

We can slow our breathing.

We can just like you and I did release some of the tension that we're holding, downshift our body, clear our mind a bit and give ourself the opportunity to now respond in a new way as opposed to react in the way that our body will do.

It will take over.

I mean, what you're doing is you're gradually, instead of turning the knob up and accumulating more stress throughout the day, you're letting that valve out.

You're practicing the habit of checking in with your body first and foremost, but you're beginning to let that valve out.

Because the reality is, and we're talking a lot about childhood trauma and the stress that

is reactivated in these moments where we're triggered or emotionally flooded and the body takes over.

But a lot of us are making a lot of lifestyle choices throughout the day that we don't even realize are causing our body so much stress.

We're not sleeping at night.

We're not moving during the day to the best of our ability.

We're eating foods that are actually causing stress to our body.

We're putting chemicals.

There's a million things now that daily life and some of the habits that we've just maintained over time because at one time they were not as unhealthy and now they are.

all of that is just accumulating stress that we're not even aware of.

So we do get, as you described, to this point of no return where those instincts take over.

We end up once our body calms down.

Some of us even, I know for me, I have a moment where I'm sure how I feel.

I don't like what you did.

I become reactive.

I say something I don't mean.