Hello and happy Sunday!

This week, I've been reflecting on the many activities that we tend to do on our days off at the end of a working week, and how we all process our weeks differently. 

What I have noticed is that some of the activities we do to decompress and/or recharge also have some commonalities with strategies I use in my processing sessions with clients in therapy.

Specifically I am thinking here about bilateral stimulation and its role in helping us process our feelings, as well as to feel balanced. I use bilateral stimulation in my EMDR and Brainspotting Therapies with clients, and the type that I use is mainly eye movements or bilateral sound. But there are many activities that we do that involve this bilateral stimulation.

I mentioned last week that I use bilateral sound when writing, to help me get into a state of flow more easily and also to assist with processing. But have you ever thought about running and walking as an activity that gives you bilateral stimulation?

Have you ever gone for a walk or run and then afterwards felt that it helped you with something you were thinking or feeling? As if walking helps you process, and feel balanced afterwards? I have often felt that walking had an almost magical ability to help me somehow clarify my thinking, almost without thinking. It sometimes feels like I stop thinking and then a different part of my mind takes over to help me see things from a wider perspective. I also feel physically different at the end of a walk, to when I started out on the walk. There is so much research into walking, walking in nature, and exercise generally, that it is hard to pick apart the aspects that are specifically involved. However, one thing that we are certainly doing when we are walking, or running, is moving our bodies bilaterally, and this rhythmic, bilateral movement is mirrored in the hemispheres of the brain.

Walking is an activity that involves alternating rhythmic movements of both sides of the brain and body. This alternating rhythmic pattern of movement is said to assist in the integration of information between different parts of our brain, and can also produce a calming, or balancing effect on our nervous systems.

Walking for Emotional Clarity?

Think about the last time you went for a walk to help you think through something. Did you notice a shift in your thoughts or feelings at the end of the walk?

The Science Behind Bilateral Stimulation

Bilateral stimulation is known to facilitate the integration of information in the brain, assisting with emotion processing and the integration of traumatic memories. I have added some links below for you to read more about this if you are interested in this area.

References:

Using EMDR Therapy Tools to Overcome Trauma and Anxiety

Walking and EMDR: Grounding and empowering one step at a time

Benefit of human moderate running boosting mood and executive function coinciding with bilateral prefrontal activation - PubMed

Book:

Let me know your thoughts on this, I would really love to know what you think about this area!

Weekly Process with Bilateral Sound

I am thinking about re-starting my Sunday sessions on YouTube where we collectively meet for 15 mins to offload and process the week with bilateral sound and expressive writing. Would this be something you would be interested in? I think you could also walk instead of write if that felt better for you. Hit reply and let me know a quick 'Yes' if you would be interested.

When 
Sunday at 7.30 pm (GMT/London/UK Time) is my preferred time to do a weekly process. But I am curious to know if a different time would work for you. Let me know a day/time/timezone that you think could work as a weekly process time.

Bye for now and a happy Sunday everyone!