The Gift of Regulation

By Stephanie Siciliano, LCSW, RYT

increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and helplessness. Although we are experiencing the effects of trauma at a micro and macro level it is still common practice to place the responsibility to “self care” on the individual, however clear it may be that we are in need of a national movement toward healing and compassion. Some nations such as Sweden and the Netherlands are taking action to incorporate the ancient healing practices of meditation into daily life. Project EUROPE: Ensuring Unity and Respect as Outcomes for People of Europe, aims to unify diverse groups and lessen the negative effects of poverty, racism, and violence through daily meditation.

In a culture that intellectualizes and even capitalizes on the idea of wellness we must ask, who gets to feel well, whole, and peaceful? Who is granted access to the resources needed to feel joy? There is a price tag associated with wellness and often guilt related to self-care, leaving individuals with the added responsibility to check the self-care box on their ever growing “to do” list. We must shift our perspective of what it means to be and feel well and understand that all people not only have access, but have the innate human ability, to regulate their own nervous system. The gift of regulation is not something granted or achieved, but rather something we are born with and able to access on our own.

The ability to regulate one’s nervous system is a primal practice. It is programmed into the inner workings of every human being through the autonomic nervous system. Regulation happens automatically as our neuroception is constantly scanning our bodies, people’s behavior, and our environment, assessing for safety or danger. When we are living with the effects of trauma or when we are unable to fully move through a traumatic event our ability to regulate our nervous system is compromised. We no longer function in the parasympathetic nervous system where we can access rest, calm, and focus. We may become hypervigilant and function primarily in the sympathetic nervous system, the fight or flight response. Further, we may develop the propensity to shut down, functioning in the freeze state. When we struggle to regulate, we struggle to manage our emotions. Self-efficacy is reintroduced when we sit in conscious awareness of the breath and connect with the body.

The gift of regulation comes in many different packages. Let us unpack breath, the great communicator. Conscious breathing is a fast, effective way to regulate the nervous system and can shift us from a heightened state to a relaxed state.

The first step in using the breath as a healing tool is awareness. Consciously feeling the breath allows us the ability to slow down our breathing, which sends messages to the brain that we are safe. These messages travel along the vagus nerve, the same nerve that is involved in scanning for safety during neuroception. The vagus nerve connects the brain, heart, and belly and is engaged during conscious breathing, thus allowing for greater ability to regulate our emotions.

While in a state of awareness we can deepen the breath. Practicing diaphragmatic breathing or “belly breathing” is the practice of taking deeper inhalations and longer, fuller exhales which helps the body obtain a calmer and more relaxed state. Incorporating a yogic breath practice enhances one's ability to regulate their nervous system. Yogic breath has many names including the Sanskrit, Ujjayi, ocean’s breath, or even Darth Vader breathing. It is an audible inhale and exhale; imagine the sensation of fogging up a mirror. This slight constriction of the throat, creating an audible sound serves as a way to further engage and strengthen the vagus nerve.

An example of a breath work practice to regulate the nervous system:

Finding Calm with the 4 x 8 Breath Exercise.

• Awareness. Observe your breath by finding a quiet place or simply turn your focus inward.

• Inhale for the count of 4. Breathe in through the nose (or if need be through pursed lips), creating an audible sound similar to the waves in the ocean.

• Exhale for the count of 8. Breathe out through the nose or mouth, maintaining an audible sound similar to the waves in the ocean.

• Repeat for 10 consecutive breaths.

Breath is a natural and powerful tool, and yet is not accessible for everyone. Those experiencing chronic stress or those functioning in a constant state of fight or flight often have difficulty accessing the breath as a healing tool. This is a common human experience and should be respected as the journey to wellness is not a one size fits all approach. Trauma sensitive yoga is another effective regulating tool. It does not involve fancy poses, yet emphasizes one’s ability to feel their body by practicing conscious awareness and encourages choice. Participants choose how and when it feels best to move their bodies. This awareness and choice encourage selfefficacy over one’s ability to regulate their emotions and thus how they choose to live their lives.

The impact breath and bodywork has on one’s spirit is undeniable. These are ancient and empirically researched practices, and yet we may not be ready for the shifts they elicit. We must remember social work’s ethical responsibility to meet the client where they are, as well as the first limb of yoga, Ahimsa , which translates to, “do no harm.” Nervous system regulation should always be a choice and client led. The walls of defense we put in place to protect ourselves are powerful. Only we decide when we feel safe enough for them to come down. With deep compassion and respect, we can use breath and body work to heal ourselves and those we serve.

References:

1Haridasani Gupta, Alisha. “Just Breathe”. New York Magazine, 23 March 2023. https://www. nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/03/well/mind/breathing-exercises.html

2Europe: Ensuring Unity and Respect as Outcomes for People of Europe. “Schools in Portugal, Sweden and the Netherlands practice Quiet Time/ Transcendental Meditation”. 4 May 2018. https://europe-project.org/portugal-sweden-netherlands-quiet-time/

3Polyvagal Institute. “What Is Polyvagal Theory?”. 2023. https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/ whatispolyvagaltheory

4Ibid.

5Gessel, Nityda. “Trauma-Informed Yoga: When the Breath Acts as a Trigger”. Elephant Journal, 28 June 2018. https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/06/trauma-informed-yogawhen-the-breath-acts-as-a-trigger/

6Emerson, David. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy. Bringing The Body into Treatment. Norton & Company, 2015. 42-72.

7Gessel, Nityda. “Trauma-Informed Yoga: When the Breath Acts as a Trigger”. Elephant Journal, 28 June 2018. https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/06/trauma-informed-yogawhen-the-breath-acts-as-a-trigger/

8Polyvagal Institute. “What Is Polyvagal Theory?”. 2023. https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/ whatispolyvagaltheory

9Haridasani Gupta, Alisha. “Just Breathe”. New York Magazine, 23 March 2023. https://www. nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/03/well/mind/breathing-exercises.html

10Gessel, Nityda. “Trauma-Informed Yoga: When the Breath Acts as a Trigger”. Elephant Journal, 28 June 2018. https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/06/trauma-informed-yogawhen-the-breath-acts-as-a-trigger/

11Emerson, David. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy. Bringing The Body into Treatment. Norton & Company, 2015. 42-72.

12Satchidananda, Sri Swami. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Integral Yoga Publications. 2012. 30-35.

About the Author:

Stephanie Siciliano, LCSW, RYT is passionate about providing effective trauma informed care. She incorporates trauma sensitive yoga and breathwork practices into the clinical space. This work is client centered and is rooted in respect and self-determination of the individual.

It took a moment to sink in. And then the floodgates burst. I can’t tell you what happened the rest of that day because nothing else mattered. I can tell you that at that moment it felt like the tears streaming down my face were taking the weight of the world away with them. To the other guests, the invitation was likely just an exciting opportunity to dine at the home of the President of Rutgers. For me, after everything I had been through, it seemed like a new lease on life.

You see, I was a Scarlet Knight with a scarlet letter received for a felony I committed when I was 19 years old. At the time, I was less than a month sober and my friends and I hadn’t fully accepted that being sober meant more than not drinking or using drugs. We chased our next dopamine rush with little thought of the potential consequences of our actions. The worst decision we made was “having some fun” by making homemade explosives out of sparklers and matches and blowing them up in the woods of Pennsylvania. When I was charged, I learned that crossing state lines from New Jersey to Pennsylvania affected interstate commerce and our “fun” came with a severe consequence: a federal offense of transportation of explosive materials. I pled guilty, served 5 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and came home having paid my debt to society.

Or so I thought.

What I actually experienced was a punishing, judgmental world where my debt was never considered paid. A world where the local police followed and intimidated me to the point that my parents rented