Erin Michael Grimm

I think that it is important to realize that we are all at different stages of wellness. Medication does not guarantee wellness, but neither does avoiding medication and thinking that you’re well because you are not medicated. I have worked through more trauma in the past few months and am making serious headway in building up my nervous system and my vagus nerve.

Cultural somatics practitioner Resmaa Menakem calls the vagus nerve the soul nerve because of its ability to viscerally impact our experience and be impacted by our experience. In his book My Grandmother’s Hands, he encourages us to work through exercises that will help us be embodied as we address triggering issues like race. He mentions that a lot of his clients visit him precisely because of his well-regulated nervous system, which in turn balances them out.

Working through somatic issues can be triggering. It has taken me years to get to the point where I can get through the exercises. It is highly rewarding to work towards my own embodiment and health. If you work through somatic healing workbooks and start getting triggered, find a professional somatic practitioner who puts off energy that resonates with your own system so that you can make headway.