System Regulation

The blog below describes a few of the movements from the System Regulation practice video above.

This practice is taken from Charlotte's Somatics and Embodied Awareness short online course. 

Returning to Regulation Through Grounded Movement

In this practice, we come into the body to notice our needs and, through that, our capacity to regulate. We begin by meeting the ground, knees drawing toward the chest, head supported as needed, chin lightly moving toward the throat. You can hold the backs of the knees so there’s no grasping at the shins or chasing a particular feeling, but instead settling into a place where the lower back can remain neutral.

Let the upper arms drop toward the ground if that’s available, noticing the breath in the belly and how it responds to being held in this position.

Exploring One Side at a Time

We then let the left leg extend to the ground and interlink the fingers around the front of the right shin. There is a gentle compression on this side as we begin by rotating the right foot, switching direction to wake up the foot and ankle. From here you can start to let the leg explore in anyway that emerging - no agenda or plan, just feeling out movements in any direction, allowing the pelvis to move with the leg. 

As the leg may begin to lengthen, feel it reaches out into the world around and scoops back in. Extending the leg outward in this way, letting it sweep through the air before bending the knee back toward the belly.

As you let the feeling of the leg reaching out and back in towards the belly, feel any shifts the shoulders and arms need to ensure the wrists remain soft, feeding ease in breath at the diaphragm from the periphery. Stay soft in the jaw and eyes as you explore the weight of the leg moving from the centre.

Place the right foot back down where it began. Press and release through the left foot, the left knee lifting toward the ceiling. Allow a small rebound, an easy bounce, into the soft tissues through the inside of the left hip. Draw the knees back toward centre and rest, both feet returning to the ground. 

Lift both feet gently away from the ground, not rushing to repeat the movement on the other side. Instead, feel any natural movement above the pelvis, noticing what the legs want to do before taking the hands behind the knees and coming back to a neutral centre.

Full-Body Rebound and Diagonal Opening

After working individually side to side, allow a gentle full-body bounce. This helps the body reorganize and find centre again. With arms out to the side, begin moving one leg out to the side on an inhale, returning to centre on the exhale.

As the knee moves outward, the opposite hip may lift and the pelvis may roll with it. You might adjust your arms into a Y-shape, reaching from the breastbone diagonally outward. Let the head turn in the same direction as the reaching arm, away from the knee.

Follow the rhythm of your breath as the front body opens. You can extend the leg on the diagonal, about 45 degrees between the hip and the end of the mat, reaching through both arm and leg to open the torso through its diagonal lines. Explore freely and see where the movement leads.

Returning to Neutral and Circular Movement

Bring the feet back off the ground and return to centre. Draw the knees in toward the chest, fingers behind the knees, and make small rotations. Hands can move to the kneecaps to guide circular motion with the knees and feet together.

Star Shape and Gathering In

Extend into a star shape, opening fully through the diagonals explored earlier. Inhale to expand, reaching through the arms and heels. Exhale to release and soften. Repeat this a few times with your own breath, feeling the space around you open and then gently retract.

On the next exhale, gather in toward the centre. This movement reflects the body’s instinctive protective response, paired with a return to rest. Support your head as needed. Allow the body to know it is safe to drop into the space of the exhale.

Rest and Regulation

Let the exhale drop you down toward the ground, and let the inhale follow without effort. There’s nothing to do, just feel the steady tide of regulation through the whole system.

Feel free to stay here longer, or move to side-lying or into a comfortable rest position. Notice any time you come onto your back or front how the exhale brings softening. A gentle sigh now and then can ease pressure and create space between the back teeth, encouraging relaxed attention toward the heart, the belly, and the places where the ground meets you.

Remain as long as feels supportive, even beyond the guidance. Let your own internal cues lead, sensing your capacity to move through transitions with softness and return from inner awareness back into the world with kindness.

If you'd like to explore this topic in more depth, I invite you to look at my Somatic Therapeutic Yoga Training - a my 200-hour trauma-informed, specialist training and personal journey for yoga teachers, yoga therapists and movement professionals. For details, click here.