We Do Want You to Try This at Home: EMDR Exercises for Relaxation
The Benefits of EMDR Phase 2: Resourcing
If you begin a course of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with your trauma therapist, you will hopefully spend a good amount of time in Phase 2, also called the “resourcing” phase. This phase comes before you dive into the more difficult and traumatic material and emphasizes stabilization and safety. You will be guided through many different resourcing practices, such as visualizations, breathing exercises, and somatic techniques, which you will practice and, hopefully, begin to internalize. In this phase, your therapist is responsible for helping you feel a strong therapeutic alliance, which will support your nervous system to feel calm and safe in the therapy office.
Overall, EMDR Phase 2 lays the groundwork for a safe and collaborative therapeutic journey, ensuring individuals are well-prepared for subsequent phases of memory processing. This phase is about nourishment, safety, and preparation for what’s to come next.
EMDR Phase 2 and Ventral Vagus
EMDR therapy is known to have a positive impact on the ventral vagal system, a component of the autonomic nervous system responsible for promoting social engagement, feelings of safety, and overall regulation. Your therapist may use bilateral stimulation (with buzzers or eye movement) to reinforce the positive nervous system state achieved through internal resource development. By fostering a state of safety and calmness, EMDR promotes social engagement and an optimal environment for processing traumatic memories.
It’s always important that your EMDR therapy starts with resourcing before you continue with processing difficult memories. We want your nervous system to be able to dip into regulation (or ventral vagus) even when you are triggered. The goal is to expand your ability to be with discomfort (also called your “window of tolerance”) so that even when you feel triggered by past traumatic material, you can keep one foot in the present and practice resourcing skills to come back into regulation.
EMDR Skills to Try at Home
At Sona Collective, we encourage our clients to practice the skills they learn in EMDR therapy sessions at home. The work you do in your EMDR therapy sessions should continue in your daily life where you have the opportunity to actually practice what you’ve learned in therapy in real time.
The following list is a set of EMDR resourcing technique skills that you have likely learned in your EMDR therapy sessions, which you are encouraged to try at home.
Calm Place Visualization
Calm place visualizations are meant to activate your ventral vagus nervous system response through the power of imagination. Imagine a calm and safe place in your mind where you can go when you start feeling overwhelmed.
Close your eyes and picture this place, engaging all five senses, including the sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and even tastes associated with it.
Practice going to your safe place when you’re feeling stressed or anxious.
Grounding Techniques
Grounding exercises are meant to bring you back into the present moment after you’ve noticed yourself dissociating or moving into a state of “hyper-arousal” (e.g. anxiety, panic, rage). Focus on your five senses.
Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Push your feet into the ground.
In a sitting position on a chair or couch, practice pushing your feet into the earth as hard as you can. Feel the muscles of your glutes and legs contract. Release and notice the difference between the pushing action and relaxing. Remember to breathe. Push again as hard as you can and then release and notice. Repeat this exercise as many times as it feels good.
Resource Development
Identify positive memories, strengths, and coping skills. Think of your past week and try to find at least one moment you’re proud of. Take time to recall what it was like to feel your own strength and abilities.
Notice how it feels in your body to feel proud and present. Reflect on these internal resources (e.g. resilience, wisdom, discernment, courage) and create a mental list or image of them. Practice recalling these positive traits when you need additional support.
Breathing Exercises
Practice taking long deep breaths. You can start by breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth with a longer exhalation. A longer exhalation and shorter inhalation signals to your nervous system that it’s okay to relax.
Try breathing deep into your lower belly for a diaphragmatic breath. Notice your chest and belly rise on the inhale and contract on the exhale. Focus on slow, rhythmic breaths to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety.
Container Exercise
Imagine a container in your mind’s eye where you can store overwhelming emotions, body sensations, or memories. Picture yourself placing distressing thoughts or feelings into the container, closing and securing it. You may add extra protection to it, such as an additional padlock or a magical spell. Optional: You may wish to shine your container through with a healing color or light to practice giving the contents some nourishment and love.
Reassure yourself that you can open the container with the help of your therapist when you are ready to process those memories.
Remember that to create a new habit, you will need to practice the same skill over and over again. Each time you engage in a resourcing practice, such as the ones listed, the neural pathway in your brain becomes more powerful. Eventually, it will become second nature to go towards a positive coping skill (e.g. deep breathing) rather than a harmful one (e.g. yelling at your partner).
As they say, “what you practice grows stronger.” If you continue to use nervous system regulation skills every time you feel scared, anxious, or otherwise triggered, you will notice that over time, you can bring yourself back into a state of regulation faster.
Learn More
If you are interested in learning more about EMDR therapy for nervous system regulation and healing, please reach out to schedule a complimentary consultation. We would be glad to discuss how EMDR can benefit you.