What if the most political thing you could do right now is learn to come back into your body by deepening your ability for self-regulation?

Self-regulation is the ability to regulate our own states of arousal and our impulses. It has to do with what state our nervous system is experiencing and how we are able to deal with that state.

People who live with a good capacity for self-regulation are living with a nervous system that is in balance. So self-regulation means balance and it also means to feel safe in the here and now.

Self-regulation is not the same as controlling our emotions. It does not mean that we are good at suppressing our feelings and therefore good at functioning.

That would be a misunderstanding, and it is actually a fairly common one. Many people have the idea that when they learn self-regulation, they will simply become better at keeping themselves under control. This would mean rigidity and that is a very different quality from being able to regulate ourselves. So with self-regulation we pursue aliveness not rigidity, we pursue integration of what is, we aim for developing the ability to sit with uncomfortable feelings, sensations in the moment so that they can transform.

In this episode, I give you some practical guidance for self-regulation. What can you do long term, but also in acute situations to bring more balance into your life and step into your power and sense of agency. When we have the ability to regulate the aroused states that our nervous system is experiencing, that is when we can bring sustainable change in our personal lives and in the bigger systems we are part of.I wish you an inspiring time listening and that you feel connected to yourself, all the way through <3

Thank you for being here.

Warmly,Alina

Two-thirds of the year has passed, and the crises around us continue to deepen. Climate change, political instability, technological disruption, social fragmentation continue to deplete the world, while many of us are navigating growing uncertainty and stress.

Countless people continue to care deeply and show up through activism, climate work, social innovation and other forms of collective action. But sustaining this commitment, comes at a cost. Many become overwhelmed, burn out, or eventually step away.

Change is complex and our nervous system plays a crucial role in how we meet it, sustain it and bring it into being.

In this episode, I explore what our nervous system has to do with our capacity for change, both in our personal lives and within the larger systems we are part of. Through a neurobiological and psychotraumatological lens, I explain what dysregulation and self-regulation is and what are the biological conditions that support meaningful transformation in sustainable and healthy ways.

Here are a few resources that I mention in the episode:

* An eye-opening conversation with Clara Mattei on capitalism

* Escape from Capitalism, Clara Mattei refreshing book on the economic system we live within, inviting us to look more closely at its contradictions and painful consequences.

* Anchored, a book by Deb Dana on how to befriend the nervous system rooted in the polyvagal theory

Thank you for being here.

Warmly,Alina