Your Body Isn't Working Against You: A Sensory Regulation Primer

Do you ever feel overwhelmed, overstimulated, or dysregulated? Do you feel that it's hard to focus on a task or get a good grasp of your emotions because you're feeling all over the place? Often this relates back to sensory input that we are receiving both internally and externally. When we're feeling excited or anxious, or angry, our bodies feel these emotions within us and give us signs and cues as to how it's regulating.

Our muscles might be tight, our breathing might become shallower, perhaps we feel dizzy or like we just can't settle down. These are our internal signs. Perhaps we're hit with bad news all at once or have an overwhelming amount of things to do. These external factors play a role in how our bodies regulate. And this is where sensory regulation can come in.

It's first important to connect with our bodies and listen to what it's telling us, recognizing the signs of what's happening in our body. Where do I feel tense? Where am I tight? What is my heart doing? How is my breathing? And then we can recognize what makes us feel grounded. There are so many different things that our bodies need at different times. Perhaps that's connecting with our breath and slowing down our rhythm.

Maybe it's going for a long walk or a vigorous exercise. Perhaps it's being under a heavy blanket with your head covered or using progressive muscle relaxation to give input to your muscle groups. Maybe it's bouncing on a ball or chewing on gum. The options for sensory integration are endless. And what might work for one situation may not be best in others. Will regulating our bodies help us solve all of our problems? No, but it can certainly help ground us and put us in a better position to make decisions, think clearly, and focus on the tasks at hand. The same goes for children. And it’s all interconnected. If we can regulate ourselves, we can better regulate and model for our children how to slow down, connect with ourselves and re-center to get through tough times.  

I hope to help others recognize that our bodies are not working against us—they are constantly communicating with us. By learning to understand those messages and responding with curiosity rather than judgment, we can build a stronger sense of self-awareness and resilience.