SALT LAKE CITY, UT (Good Things Utah) – What role does your nervous system play in your well-being? Compassionate Inquiry Coach Chelsey Murdock helped us to better understand our nervous systems and how it shows up in our daily lives.

Your gut, your lungs, your heart, and your mind are all connected. Your sense of safety or danger plays an important role in how you feel throughout the day. Chelsey walks us through something called the polyvagal ladder to help us better understand the different states of our nervous system.

The sympathetic step in the ladder is the feelings of fight or flight that you might have. Your muscles feel tight, your heart is pounding, and your breath might be quick and shallow. When this happens, as yourself: What do I feel? How does the world feel? Once you hear your internal voice and analyze your feelings, you can use the right tools to calm yourself down.

The ventral vagal is the step on the ladder where you feel calm and engaged. You can know when you’re in this state if you’re walking through life with confidence and in control. This is the sweet spot for our nervous systems and where we want to be.

The dorsal vagal is the step of shutting down, an opportunity for rest and digestion. The heavy feeling where you want to rest and want to be isolated is the dorsal stage. When you feel alone and hopeless, ask yourself once again: What do I feel?

Chelsey works with customers to help them better recognize these different states and come down from them when it is needed. For more information on how to get coaching from her, check out her website where you can get 20% off with code “goodthings”.