Dancing with Your Nervous System: How to Playfully Explore Hyperarousal and Hypoarousal.
Your nervous system is a powerful, dynamic part of who you are. It shapes how you experience the world, respond to challenges, and move through moments of stress, connection, and joy. Often, we think of regulating the nervous system as a reactive process—something we do after we’ve been thrown into dysregulation. But what if we could playfully and mindfully explore our nervous systems so we have knowledge before challenges arise?
By intentionally creating experiences of hyperarousal (energy, excitement, or activation) and hypoarousal (slowing down, stillness, or numbness), we can better understand how our systems respond, what tools work best for us, and how to expand our sense of choicefulness. This playful exploration builds resilience and confidence, turning nervous system regulation into a dance and perhaps even sometimes kind of fun!
Why Play with Your Nervous System?
Exploring your nervous system in a mindful, intentional way allows you to:
Build Awareness: Learn how your body feels in different states (like hyperarousal or hypoarousal) and recognize the early signs of these shifts.
Expand Your Capacity: Practice moving through different nervous system states safely, which can expand your ability to handle stress and challenges.
Develop Your Toolbox: Experiment with tools and practices that help you shift between states, so you’re better prepared when real-life challenges arise.
Cultivate Choicefulness: By getting curious about your nervous system, you can reduce the feeling of being “stuck” in a state of dysregulation and instead feel empowered to shift gears intentionally.
How to Create Playful Containers for Exploration
Before diving into playful nervous system exploration, create a safe and supportive container for yourself:
Set an Intention: Approach this practice with curiosity, not judgment. You're not trying to "fix" yourself—you're here to learn and play. Keeping your intention simple and process oriented (as opposed to outcome based) can help with establishing it as a guide for your practice.
Create Safety: Make sure you have the time and space to explore without distractions. Have grounding tools that work for you ready, like a weighted blanket, good snack, or soothing music. Consider having a trusted friend or therapist you can reach out to if needed.
Tune Into Your Capacity: Start small and listen to your body. If something feels too intense, it's okay to pause or shift gears. If you’re trying this out for the first time, err on the side of keeping practices short (set a timer!) and not letting the practice get above a 3/5 level of inner intensity for you. There will most likely be great information to gather from this place.
Playing with Hyperarousal
Hyperarousal is the state of heightened energy and activation. It can feel like excitement, joy, or focus—or, if it becomes overwhelming, anxiety or panic. This can be the complicated thing about ‘wanted’ versus ‘unwanted’ activation: the ‘felt sense’ of both excitement and panic can sometimes feel remarkably comparable! By intentionally activating your system in safe, playful ways, you can explore how to work with high energy without flipping into dysregulation.
Activities to Try:
Exciting Movement: Dance to fast-paced music, run around, or engage in a high-energy workout. Notice how your body responds as you increase your heart rate.
Challenge Yourself: Try something that’s just a bit out of your comfort zone, like public speaking, a timed puzzle, or a creative project with a deadline.
Stimulate Your Senses: Listen to loud or energizing music, eat something spicy, or step into a cold shower. These sensory experiences can bring your system to life.
Play with Speed: Do something you’d normally do slowly—like cleaning or walking—at double speed. How does your body respond to urgency?
Make it Sexy: I’ll leave this to your imagination! What erotic practices support you in feeling energized, heightened, or excited?
Questions for Reflection:
How does hyperarousal feel in your body? Where do you notice sensations, temperature changes, breath pattern or vision changes, etc? What textures, energy movements, and postures show up?
Are there specific sensations, thoughts, or emotions that arise?
Tools for Regulation:
After intentionally activating your nervous system, practice bringing yourself back to a state of feeling grounded. Here’s an article with some suggestions for grounding practices.
Playing with Hypoarousal
Hypoarousal is the state of low energy or slowing down. It can feel like restfulness and calm—or, if it’s a nervous system trigger or activation, it is what we often call numbness or disconnection. By curiously exploring hypoarousal, you can learn to recognize when it’s restorative and nourishing versus when it’s a signal of a nervous system collapse.
Activities to Try:
Stillness Practices: Sit in silence, lie down in a dark room, or focus on your breath. Notice how your body responds to slowing down.
Gentle Sensory Deprivation: Try closing your eyes while listening to soft music or wearing noise-canceling headphones in a quiet space.
Meditation or Daydreaming: Allow your mind to wander without judgment. Explore what it feels like to "float" without a specific goal.
Play with Pauses: Interrupt a high-energy activity (like dancing or exercising) with moments of complete stillness. How does your system adjust to the change?
Make it Sexy: I’ll leave this to your imagination! What erotic practices support you in feeling slow, blissful, or grounded?
Questions for Reflection:
How does hypoarousal feel in your body?
Are there moments when it feels soothing versus moments when it feels heavy or dull?
Tools for Regulation:
After exploring a hypoarousal-based practice, try re-engaging your system with a small burst of mindful energy: play upbeat music, move your body, or drink a glass of cold water. Or, perhaps try something that brings that same energy of slow groundedness, with a focus on mindfulness. Here’s some more information about regulation practices.
Building Your Toolbox: What Works for You?
The beauty of this practice is that there’s no right or wrong way to play with your nervous system. The goal is to experiment, reflect, and build a personalized toolbox of practices that work for you.
Some tools might help you shift out of hyperarousal, while others bring you out of hypoarousal. Some might help you expand your capacity to stay with intense sensations, while others help you recalibrate when you need rest.
Expanding Your Feeling of Choicefulness
By intentionally exploring your nervous system in a safe, playful way, you can expand your sense of choicefulness. You’re no longer just reacting to stress or dysregulation when it arises—you’re learning how to dance with your nervous system, experimenting with tools and strategies, and building resilience in the process.
This practice isn’t about mastering your nervous system or forcing it to behave a certain way. It’s about cultivating a relationship with it—one rooted in curiosity, compassion, and play. Over time, you’ll feel more confident navigating the ebbs and flows of life, knowing you have the tools and awareness to support yourself, no matter what comes your way.