Week 15, 2026
ℱ𝓇𝓸𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝓉𝓸 𝓎𝓸𝓊𝓇𝓈... 🫶💌☕
🗓️ Welcome, April.
Storm Dave has passed. We’ve seen three seasons in one day here in Lerwick over the past weekend, but there’s a sense of calm returning after the wind, rain, and hail, just in time for the week ahead.
The moon joins us tonight in its waning gibbous phase… a subtle time for reflection, noticing what’s lingering before new energy arrives, and an invitation to pause, sense, and settle.
This month, our focus is on Gently Feeling.
Take a moment to notice your body right now:
Where do you feel tension or tightness?
Where do you feel calm, or ease?
Where does your energy feel scattered, and where does it feel steady?
This is your month to practice gentle awareness. As always, noticing what’s present, without needing to fix or change it, is enough.
I’d also like to take a moment to share a small shift in how The Grounding Guide will move forward in a way that feels sustainable for me (aligned to my word for the year: “promise”), but still supportive for you.
As such, on the first Monday of each new calendar month, you’ll receive:
An embodied insight letter (psychoeducation without the jargon), each with its own theme
A somatic snack (micro practices, usually under two minutes) to support your nervous system
A full transcript, plus downloadable MP3 and MP4
Related guided somatic practices and recommended resources to explore the theme more deeply
Think of The Grounding Guide as a library of short, guided support that you can return to whenever you need a moment of grounding, steadiness, or clarity.
Alongside this, I’ll be gently evolving The Somatic Lab into a deeper space for somatic practice and nervous system regulation. It’ll be a more intentional, immersive, and container-based space for those of you who’d like longer guided sessions to support more sustained reconnection.
I’ll share more on all of this over the next couple of months.
In the meantime, this is your space to simply be.
And if it feels right, whisper to yourself:
“I am safe. I can feel what I can handle right now.”
Allow yourself to return to this awareness whenever you need.
Gently Holding What You Feel.
We all know our bodies carry feelings… not just the big, obvious ones like love or fear, but the subtle currents weaving through our nervous system every day.
Sometimes we swing between feeling too much and not enough:
One moment, your chest feels tight, thoughts race, your heart pounds.
The next, you collapse into fatigue or dissociation, barely able to move or speak.
These shifts (known as over-arousal and under-arousal) are your nervous system doing exactly what it’s designed to do: to protect you.
Let’s start with a quick physiology insight…
Your nervous system is constantly scanning for safety. When it perceives threat (real or remembered) it may tip you into:
Over-arousal: racing heart, tense muscles, rapid thoughts
Under-arousal: numbness, fatigue, dissociation
These shifts directly affect your emotional experience: emotions feel more intense, flat, or hard to access. They’re not failures; they are your body’s natural protective responses.
By noticing your body and emotions gently, you help your nervous system learn it’s safe to settle. This is the first step in regulating your emotions: allowing yourself to feel what’s present without being flooded or shutting down. Over time, this strengthens your nervous system’s ability to hold your feelings with safety, steadiness, and compassion.
It’s safe
to feel
only what
you can handle
right now
Your Emotional Landscape
Some parts of you may want to feel deeply, process, cry, or rage.
Other parts may feel terrified, wanting to withdraw, shut down, or escape.
All of this is valid. All of it is you.
Parts of yourself have spent years learning how to survive. Now, gently, they can learn how to be safe.
Even a small moment of noticing (“I am tense” or “I feel flat”) is enough to begin understanding your own emotional rhythms.
Even
small awareness
is progress.
The goal isn’t to control or eliminate your feelings. You’re learning to hold them safely, long enough to:
notice,
breathe,
be with them without overwhelm.
Being able to feel doesn’t have to hurt or destabilise you.
If worry or fear arises, I invite you to imagine a gentle dial in front of you (if you can):
Visualise
a dial
that gently
adjusts your energy
to a safe level.
Place one hand on it and imagine adjusting your energy to a level that feels manageable, where you can notice feelings without being flooded.
Your body and emotions are not enemies. They’re messengers, carrying wisdom about:
your needs,
your boundaries,
your readiness to engage with life.
Each time you notice, pause, and allow a part of yourself to be seen, you give yourself a precious gift: safety in feeling.
I invite you to take this month gently. Allow the parts of you that feel:
Frightened, tense, or quiet,
to coexist with the parts that feel:
Brave, curious, and wanting to feel.
You are not broken. You are not too much, and you are not too little. You’re learning to be with yourself in a whole, tender way.
2-Minute Somatic Snack:
Gently Feeling Your Emotions
Check your arousal level: Place a hand over your chest and/or belly and silently ask:
“Right now, am I feeling too much, too little, or just right?”
Notice whatever comes up… no need to change it.Gently pendulate:
If over-aroused, exhale slowly, soften your shoulders, and take three gentle breaths, letting your body sink slightly into your chair or feet.
If under-aroused, inhale fully, stretch your arms gently, and exhale with a slow sigh, noticing the movement and energy in your body.
Find your safe middle: Visualise the dial again, adjusting your energy to a level where you can feel without being overwhelmed.
Close with grounding: Place both feet on the floor, rest your hands comfortably, and take one final mindful breath. Notice your body and emotions as messengers, offering insight about your needs, boundaries, and readiness to engage with life.
This practice reminds your nervous system it’s safe to feel… gently, and without overwhelm.
For the month ahead, take gentle moments to:
Notice how your arousal shifts and label them as over, under, or balanced.
Pause and pendulate whenever you feel caught at the extremes.
Give yourself permission to experience your emotions without judgement… even 30 seconds counts.
Your body and emotions are not enemies. They are messengers, offering insight about your needs, boundaries, and readiness to engage with life.
You are not broken. You are not too much, and not too little.
Over- and under-arousal are not failures… they are signs of a nervous system protecting you.
Regulation begins with noticing.
Even small awareness matters.
As always, this is your space. Pause when you need to, step back if it feels too much, and return when it feels right.
Until next time,
take care.
𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒢𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓉𝓊𝒹𝑒,
🙏 𝒟𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝓍𝑜
Also in the Embodied Insight Series:
P.S. If you’d like to explore this theme a little further, you might find these helpful:
🧘♀️ Related guided somatic practices
The Protective Self — explore your nervous system with curiosity and compassion
Dual Awareness — gently notice present sensations while holding space for tension
Holding Your Quiet Strength — reclaim presence and steadiness in your body
When the Body Speaks, Let Go — notice what your body carries
Ripples of Presence — cultivate small, steady awareness of your sensations
📚 If you’d like to explore the theme more deeply
Core concepts (why your body feels this way):
Gentle practices (how to work with it):
Compassion & parts work (understanding your inner experience):
🔍 Key search terms (if you’re curious to explore further)
Window of Tolerance
Somatic Tracking
Dorsal Vagal Shutdown (Under-arousal)
Sympathetic Nervous System Activation (Over-arousal)
Co-regulation
