Excerpt: Grounding Exercise - From a Place of Calm 2 - Trauma Session 8
Course: Moving Through Trauma
Speakers: Matthias Barker
Quick Anchors: Finger Tapping and Breath for Immediate Calm
When stress starts to take hold, pulling us out of the present moment, we need simple, accessible tools to ground ourselves. Here are two quick techniques you can use anywhere, anytime, to gently bring your mind and body back to a place of calm.
Re-Engaging Your Brain
The first technique involves a gentle tapping of your fingers to the pad of your thumb.
One Hand at a Time (Practice): Touch the pad of your thumb with the pad of each finger, one at a time. Practice this slowly to get a feel for the movement.
Both Hands Together: Once comfortable, do this with both hands simultaneously. You can maintain a slow and deliberate pace, or speed it up if that feels right for you. Find a rhythm that feels natural.
What’s happening in your brain: This simple dexterity exercise helps activate brain centers that tend to become less active when we’re stressed. By focusing on the physical movement of your fingers, you’re gently forcing your mind to engage with your body, helping to bring those underactive areas back “online.” It’s a subtle way to shift your focus from racing thoughts to a physical action.
The Grounding Breath
The second technique uses a specific breathing pattern to help regulate your system.
Inhale: Breathe in slowly and gently through your nose.
Hold: Hold your breath for a count of one second.
Exhale: Breathe out slowly and completely through your mouth.
Let’s try it together:
Breathe in… (hold)… Breathe out.
Repeat again:
Breathe in… (hold)… Breathe out.
Continue as needed: Repeat this breathing pattern for as long as you feel necessary. Pay attention to your body. You might notice a shift from feelings of agitation, restlessness, or a racing heartbeat towards a sense of calm. Allow that feeling of calm to arrive before moving on.
These two quick anchors – finger-thumb tapping and the inhale-hold-exhale breath – are simple yet powerful ways to interrupt the stress response and gently guide yourself back to a more grounded and present state. Practice them regularly so they become readily available tools when you need them most.
If you like the content, you can continue in a few different ways…
- See the outline below and check out other sections from the Moving Through Trauma course.
- Take the full small group course to your church community! The first course your church runs is free! Reach out to us here to learn how.
- Connect with a Share The Struggle Coach for one-on-one support. Let’s face it, some of us have tried kicking this thing, and we’ve had no luck. It’s time to start looking toward forms of support that can help us see and feel the beautiful life God has in store for us.
Session 1
Welcome to the Moving Through Trauma Course
Video: Welcome
Video: Guardrails & Grace for the Journey
Video: For Those of You Who
Topics: Hypoarousal; Hyperarousal; Grace
Session 2
Video: Grounding Exercise - From a Place of Calm
Video: Unpacking Trauma
Video: Our Trauma Threshold
Topics: Embedded Trauma/Traumatic Event; Traumatic Threshold
Session 3
Video: Grounding Exercise - Breath and Bilateral Stimulation
Video: How Trauma Functions in our Emotions, Brain, and Body
Video: Our Three Primary Responses to Trauma
Topics: Neuroscience Terms; Fragmentation/Dissociation/Isolation
Session 4
Video: Grounding Exercise - Lowering Stress in the Nervous System
Video: How Family & Collective Systems Impact How We Experience Trauma
Video: Trauma’s Connection to our Health and Wellbeing
Topics: Attunement; Containment; Rupture & Repair; ACE Study (Third Video)
Session 5
Video: Grounding Exercise - Breathing in Hope
Video: How We Heal
Topics: Healing: Reconstruction; Release; Acceptance
Session 6
Video: Grounding Exercise - Grounded in the Present
Video: Relationship with God
Topics: Relationship with God; Prayer Practices
Session 7
Video: Relationship with Self
Topics: Cold Water Treatment; Developing Story Awareness
Session 8
Video: Grounding Exercise - From a Place of Calm
Video: Relationship with Others
Video: Redeeming Trauma
Topics: Building Support; Listening Triad
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