Co-regulation is the way that the nervous system of one individual influences the nervous system of another. It’s an interpersonal, neurological and biological process.

Co-regulation begins with the shared experience between a developing baby and mother. Before birth, the baby hears its mother’s voice, which becomes a sound of safety. As an infant, it pairs the voice with a parent’s smiling face, and later as a toddler can look to them to find regulation (after falling down, for example). It is a proven fact that a lack of emotionally safe and nurturing relationships in childhood makes children less likely to become happy, healthy, independent and resilient in adulthood (Winston & Chicot 2016).

Our nervous system works on a subcortical level, in other words, “beneath the cortex”. These subcortical structures include a group of diverse neural formations deep within the brain which include the diencephalon, pituitary gland, limbic structures and the basal ganglia. These are involved in activities such as memory, emotion, pleasure and hormone production.

Our nervous system also has an exteroceptive awareness pathway. Or in other words, “body schema”. If refers to the implicit knowledge we have of our body in relation to its environment, space and movement. It refers to any form of sensation that results from stimulus located outside of the body. It’s detected by exteroceptors, including our vision, hearing, touch, heat, cold, pain, smell, taste. It is sensory: we feel what and who feels safe and good to be around

Through neuroception (referring to our neural circuits that scan and distinguish whether situations or people are safe, dangerous, or life threatening), interoception (our internal sensation system and 8th sense) exteroception (our external scanning system) our bodies automatically attune to other bodies and nervous systems that we meet.

My nervous system is regulated, and I am in balance between my masculine (Sympathetic Nervous System) and feminine (Parasympathetic Nervous System) energies. When you’re in my presence, you will feel this and begin to attune to my nervous system, helping your nervous system to feel safe, where it can calm down into the green zone (Ventral Vagal State). Through my own subconscious rewiring, I’ve created the capacity in my body to be able to be hold space for people who are dysregulated and in trauma and stress response. This is how I am able to help others souls; I’ve done the work within myself.

Be super intentional with who you work with on an energetic level, as you absorb and attune to the energies in your environment through many neural portals.