When feeling triggered, moving your body helps calm your mind and gives you space to react in a positive way.
Science of Moving Your Body
Our brains are wired to stop us from changing. They naturally default to old neurological patterns.
Building new patterns is tricky but it is possible when we create a stopping ritual.
A stopping ritual is something that creates enough space between a thought and an action to stop the old pattern and consciously decide what to do, building new neurological pathways.
And that stopping ritual, my friend, is moving your body.
How Moving Your Body Helps
Picture this: Your child (no matter how old they are) is completely losing it.
Do you have that image in your mind? Good. Now, what do you do?
The NATURAL thing our brain wants to do is slip right into negative thought patterns:
- “She’s doing this on purpose to make my life miserable.”
- “This is ridiculous! Why does it even matter!”
- “If I were a good mom, he wouldn’t be acting like this.”
Do any of these sound familiar?
These negative thought patterns make us want to react accordingly by yelling and losing our cool.
The KEY to breaking those destructive thoughts is to give your brain a stopping ritual (like we mentioned above).
Moving your body stretches out TIME long enough for you to stop the old thought pattern and start a new one.
If you can create more time between a child’s behavior and your response, it’s far less likely that you will say or do something you will later regret.
Does it seem too easy? It really is!
My Favorite Ways to Move
Take slow deep breaths
I know, you’ve heard this before, BUT there’s a reason for that. It works! It slows your heart rate and gives your brain the oxygen that it needs to think clearly.
Put your hand on your heart
This not only calls your attention to your heart rate but also reminds you to seek connection first.
Tune into your senses
Take a deep breath and notice what you smell. Close your eyes and listen. Eat something. Do anything with your senses that take you out of your racing mind and back into your body.
Get down at their level
(My personal favorite) Kneel or sit down at your child’s level. When you take a submissive position it cues your body to calm down. It also gives you the opportunity to remember what it was like to be little.
Walk away to clear your head
It makes such a difference to pull yourself out of the situation for a few minutes. It saves so many regrettable interactions AND it teaches your child a lot about self-control. Just say, “I need some time,” and walk yourself upstairs or around the backyard.
Repeat a mantra
I love the simplicity and power of a good mantra because it gives the brain enough time to pause, get a clear perspective, and respond while staying calm. Mantras take no preparation or thinking on your part. When you are struggling to stay calm, simply repeat an intentional phrase over and over again to yourself. This puts the triggering behavior into perspective and gives you a chance to not react in haste. I have a blog post all about my favorite mantras here.
All of these motions create new space for a new emotion.
This new emotion can be based on love, understanding, and logic, instead of anger stemming from negative thought patterns.
In a recent reel I’ve shared more ways you can move your body to reset your emotions.
Resource: Moving Your Body
We have created a printable resource you can use to help you remember that moving your body is the simplest way to reset your brain and stay calm in a tricky situation.
- Print out these pages on cardstock and cut out each shape.
- Hang the most helpful cards in a place where you commonly find yourself feeling triggered, stressed, or just plain worn out.
- Look to these cards in those moments and remember that moving your body helps you clear your head, take a moment’s pause and respond in a way that will help you be a kinder parent.
If you want to learn more about your power as a parent, check out these other resources: