Dexter and Alessandrina

Our live session on self-regulation brought together teaching, practice, and community exploration in a way that deepened the work we've been doing throughout our self-regulation campaign that still runs until December 28th.

If you weren't able to attend or if you want to revisit what we explored, the full recording is now available to watch on YouTube.

This session offers both intellectual understanding and embodied practice. You'll leave with a clearer grasp of how self-regulation develops, why it's important, what gets in the way, and most importantly, how to work with your own nervous system to build greater capacity, flexibility, and resilience for being with life's full spectrum.

The practices are gentle, accessible, and designed to meet you wherever your nervous system is right now. You don't need to be in a regulated state to begin working with regulation. You start exactly where you are and build from there.

Access the recording through the QR code or use this link: . This is yours to enjoy and revisit as often as it serves and supports you. (Link: https://youtu.be/p-IRv81ddKg)

#SelfRegulation #LiveRecording #NervousSystemHealing #SomaticPractice #TraumaInformed #RegulationSkills #EmbodiedLearning #HealingResources #OnDemand #BeautifulHuman #NervousSystemSupport #ConsciousHealing

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13 minutes ago | [YT] | 0

Dexter and Alessandrina

Join Me: 14 Days of Self-Regulation Practice

Starting Monday, December 15th, we're beginning a 14-day practice challenge focused on embodied self-regulation.

Each day, I'll share one simple practice through a short reel that you can do in the moment and integrate into your daily life over time.

All the techniques are simple and don't require any prior knowledge, training, or special equipment. They're accessible, evidence-based practices drawn from somatic psychology, polyvagal theory, attachment theory, and nervous system science.

Each practice is designed to help you work directly with your autonomic state, build regulation capacity and flexibility, and develop a more attuned relationship with your own nervous system and body.

The practices will build on each other, supporting you in expanding your window of tolerance, strengthening distress tolerance, and developing sustainable regulation skills and nervous system resilience.

Some practices focus on grounding and orientation, some on working with breath and rhythm, some on gentle movement and discharge, and some on building internal resources.

You can join at any point and do the practices in whatever order best supports you, allowing yourself to learn what works for you through experimentation.

The invitation is simply to explore the practices with playful curiosity, and notice what you discover.

Throughout those 14 days, I'll be doing these practices alongside you, exploring what emerges when we commit to daily nervous system care for a full two weeks.

On Thursday, December 18th at 1pm PST, we'll have an opportunity to practice together, in community, and you'll get to ask any questions you may have about self-regulation.

Scan the QR code to join the challenge for a chance to win a free session or a half-day VIP Retreat in Sedona.

#SelfRegulationChallenge #14DayChallenge #NervousSystemHealing #DailyPractice #SomaticPractice #TraumaInformed #RegulationSkills #MindBodyHealing #HealingJourney #EmbodiedPractice #BeautifulHuman #CommunityHealing #ConsciousPractice #NervousSystemSupport

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3 days ago | [YT] | 1

Dexter and Alessandrina

When your window narrows, let yourself be supported.

Today is the first day of our 14-Day Self-Regulation Challenge, and I want to share an herbal ally that's been a foundational part of my own nervous system practice for almost 15 years now.

When I can feel my window of tolerance narrowing, when my emotions begin to intensify and I need support staying present with what's arising without tipping into dysregulation, I reach for Emotional Ease from Orion Herbs.

This high-quality, carefully crafted and sourced formula has been in my daily practice for years, and it's what I turn to during the challenging moments when my system needs extra support.

Emotional Ease doesn't numb feelings or create artificial calm. It simply helps your nervous system metabolize emotions the way it's designed to, by processing rather than suppressing, staying present and resourced from within rather than collapsing or dissociating. The formula includes herbs like motherwort, passionflower, and hawthorn that have been used for centuries to ease emotional distress while maintaining presence and clarity.

During this 14-day journey of building regulation capacity, you might find yourself touching difficult emotions, noticing patterns you've avoided, feeling things you've kept at bay. This is part of learning to self-regulate, and it's important to give yourself extra support for those times when emotions are heightened and intensified.

Emotional Ease has carried me through countless challenging moments on my own healing journey, times when I was getting flooded, overwhelmed, or near collapse, and I've watched it support so many of my own clients as they do this deep nervous system work and face some of the most challenging moments in their own lives.

If you're looking for herbal support during the challenge, scan the QR code or use this link: orionherbs.com/?sca_ref=5129207.tPHLelOfRz

This is an affiliate link, which means I receive a small percentage of any purchase you make through this link. This helps support the free resources I create while connecting you with products I genuinely use and trust in my own healing practice.

If you decide to get some Emotional Ease, I'd love to hear how you like it.

3 days ago | [YT] | 1

Dexter and Alessandrina

Starting Today, December 15th, join me for a Free 14-Day Self-Regulation Practice Challenge designed to help you build nervous system's capacity, flexibility, and resilience to return to center, even when life pulls you toward overwhelm or shutdown.

When you sign up, you'll immediately receive:
✧ A comprehensive Self-Regulation Practice Guide with the top 5 practices for building nervous system capacity with clear, simple instructions for daily integration
✧ A 10-minute guided meditation you can download and return to whenever you need support finding your way back to regulation
✧ Daily practices for 14 days to deepen your embodied understanding
✧ Access to our live session on December 18th where we'll practice together (requires signing up for a free account on Insight Timer to attend)

These practices support you in feeling safer in your body, more grounded in your center, and more resourced from within. They offer gentle pathways back when anxiety, overwhelm, or shutdown have become familiar patterns. Through consistent practice, your window of tolerance naturally expands, and life's challenges begin to feel more manageable

Self-regulation isn't about never becoming dysregulated but about recognizing when it's happening and having the tools to support yourself back toward center with compassion and skill.

Your nervous system remains capable of developing new capacity throughout your entire life. These 14 days are an invitation to build that capacity, flexibility, and resilience together.

Scan the QR code or click the link in bio to sign up and receive your free guide and meditation immediately.

I look forward to practicing with you over the next 14 days

Alessandrina 🤍

#SelfRegulation #NervousSystemHealing #14DayChallenge #FreeGuide #GuidedMeditation #SomaticPractice #PolyvagalTheory #WindowOfTolerance #TraumaInformed #EmotionalRegulation #RegulationSkills #NervousSystemSupport #BodyWisdom #MindBodyHealing #SelfCareChallenge #InnerWork #HealingJourney #TraumaRecovery #BeautifulHuman #ConsciousLiving #EmotionalWellbeing #HealingPractice #NervousSystemWork #GroundingPractice #BreathWork #SelfRegulationChallenge #NervousSystemCapacity #DownloadNow

4 days ago | [YT] | 1

Dexter and Alessandrina

Nervous System Regulation: Simple Practices to Support Self-Regulation

As we complete these two weeks exploring self-regulation, I want to offer a perspective that might be helpful as you continue this work. Self-regulation isn't a destination you arrive at and then maintain perfectly from that point forward. It's a practice, a return, a constant process of noticing when you've become dysregulated and gently supporting yourself back toward center.

You will tip out of your window of tolerance. You will have moments where you're more reactive than you want to be, where you shut down when you wish you could stay open, where your nervous system responds from old patterns rather than present reality. This doesn't mean you've failed at self-regulation. It means you're human, living in a complex world that constantly asks things of your nervous system.

The practice isn't about never becoming dysregulated. It's about building the capacity to notice more quickly when it's happening, to have tools available that can support you in finding your way back, and to approach yourself with compassion rather than judgment when you discover you've been swept away by activation or shut down.

Self-regulation develops over time, through thousands of small moments where you choose to pause rather than react, where you offer yourself grounding rather than criticism, where you work with your nervous system rather than against it. Each of these moments builds. Each one strengthens the neural pathways that make regulation more accessible the next time you need it.

As you move forward, remember that this is developmental work. You're not fixing anything. You're building capacity that grows naturally when you bring the right kind of attention and practice to it. Be patient with yourself. Be playfully curious about what you discover. Trust that your nervous system has an innate wisdom that's supporting you even when the path feels unclear.

Over the next two weeks, we'll move into a practice challenge where you'll have the opportunity to embody these principles through daily practices. For now, I want to acknowledge the attention you've brought to understanding your nervous system. That understanding is the foundation everything else builds upon.

#SelfRegulation #NervousSystemHealing #HealingJourney #TraumaInformed #SelfCompassion #PersonalGrowth #EmotionalRegulation #InnerWork #SomaticHealing #MindBodyConnection #PracticeNotPerfection #BeautifulHuman #ConsciousLiving #EmotionalWellbeing

4 days ago | [YT] | 2

Dexter and Alessandrina

The gap between knowing about self-regulation and actually being able to regulate your nervous system in the moment can feel immense. You might understand the theory perfectly and still find yourself reactive, shut down, or unable to sleep when your body needs rest.

In this post, I'm sharing the specific embodied practices I use daily and teach my clients: breathwork matched to different nervous system states, orienting and grounding techniques, movement practices for discharge and activation, touch and self-soothing approaches, and the more advanced concepts of titration and pendulation.

These are the tools that help you move from conceptual understanding to somatic experience, building regulation capacity and nervous system flexibility and resilience through practices that speak your nervous system's language: sensation, rhythm, movement, and felt safety.

Scan the QR code or click on the link in the bio (Instagram users) to read the full blog.

#nervousystemregulation #polyvagaltheory #traumahealing #somatichealing #selfregulation #windowoftolerance #embodiedhealing #traumainformedcare #nervousystemhealth #vagusnerve #somaticexperiencing #traumarecovery #healingtrauma #mindbodyhealing #holistichealing #breathwork #groundingtechniques #emotionalregulation #anxietyrelief #traumatherapy #nervoussystem #mentalhealthawareness #somatictherapy #bodymindconnection #healingjourney #traumasurvivor #cptsdrecovery #anxietysupport #regulationtools #selfcare

5 days ago | [YT] | 3

Dexter and Alessandrina

The holidays can quietly push us into overdrive. Between managing emotions, navigating family dynamics, and honoring expectations, our nervous system often ends up carrying more than it can hold.

This season, you don’t have to navigate it alone. The Beautifully Regulated Package offers three sessions designed to help you settle out of stress patterns, nurture your inner safety, and move through the holidays with more ease.

If you notice yourself overextending, saying yes without space to breathe, or feeling pulled in every direction, these sessions can be a gentle companion.

20% off all packages through the end of the year with code GENTLEHOLIDAY20. Sessions never expire and can be gifted. 🤍

Scan the QR code to learn more or click this link: api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/YmYoj8H1ezDjct…

#nervousystemhealing #somatichealing #holidaystress #embodiedhealing #nervousystemregulation #traumahealing #innerwork #gentlehealing #selfregulation #holistichealing

1 week ago | [YT] | 2

Dexter and Alessandrina

One of the most powerful practices for developing self-regulation is also one of the simplest: learning to pause and check in with your body before reacting to what's arising.

This isn't about controlling or changing what you find. It's about creating a moment of space between stimulus and response where conscious choice becomes possible.

When something activates your nervous system, whether it's a comment from a colleague or a family member, a news headline, or just the accumulated stress of the day, your body responds faster than your thinking mind can process. Your heart rate changes, your breath shifts, tension moves into your shoulders or jaw or belly.

These physiological responses happen automatically, and they're preparing you to deal with what your system perceives as a threat.

The practice of pausing creates a small gap where you can notice what's happening rather than being swept along by it. In that noticing, you often discover that you have more options than your initial reactive impulse suggested.

You might realize your body is responding to an old pattern rather than the present moment. You might recognize that what feels overwhelming is actually manageable when you break it down and give your system a chance to orient to what's actually here.

This practice of noticing doesn't make difficult things disappear or immediately calm you down. What it does is begin to build the neural pathways that support self-regulation. You're training your nervous system to include awareness as part of its response pattern rather than moving straight from stimulus to automatic reaction.

Over time, that awareness becomes more accessible, and the range of choices available to you expands.

Start small with this. You don't need to catch every moment of activation. Just begin noticing when you can, without judgment about all the times you don't catch it. Each moment of awareness strengthens your capacity for the next one.

#SelfRegulation #SomaticAwareness #MindfulnessPractice #NervousSystemHealing #InteroceptiveAwareness #PauseAndNotice #ConsciousResponse #EmotionalRegulation #BodyAwareness #TraumaInformed #HealingPractice #MindBodyConnection #BeautifulHuman

1 week ago | [YT] | 3

Dexter and Alessandrina

There's a particular quality of presence some people carry - a steadiness that allows them to hold difficult emotions without becoming consumed, to meet challenges without spiraling into overwhelm or shutting down completely. You might have assumed this is just who they are, a personality trait they were born with. But what looks like an innate quality is actually a developed capacity, something that grows and strengthens through understanding and practice.

This capacity is called self-regulation, and understanding how it works can fundamentally change your relationship with yourself, your emotions, and your ability to navigate the complexity of being human.

In this post, we explore what self-regulation actually is, how it emerges from the foundation of co-regulation, why it can feel so elusive or impossible for many of us, and most importantly, how recognizing your own patterns is the essential first step toward building this capacity in ways that are sustainable and real.

We dive into the developmental foundations of self-regulation, the science of your window of tolerance, the Polyvagal perspective on nervous system states, what regulation actually feels like in your body, why it can be so hard to access, and how it shows up across every dimension of your life when you begin to build this capacity.

This is about helping you understand that wherever you are right now in your capacity for self-regulation makes complete sense given what your nervous system learned it needed to do to keep you safe. And that with patience, practice, and the right kind of attention, this capacity can grow throughout your entire life.

Read the full post at the link in bio or scan the QR code. Join us starting December 1st as we move from understanding self-regulation into practicing it together through the end of December.

#SelfRegulation #NervousSystemHealing #PolyvagalTheory #WindowOfTolerance #TraumaInformed #SomaticHealing #EmotionalRegulation #BodyWisdom #CoRegulation #AttachmentHealing #NervousSystemWork #MindBodyConnection #HealingJourney #TraumaRecovery #EmotionalWellbeing #InnerWork #SomaticPractice #RegulationSkills #BeautifulHuman #VagusNerve #NervousSystem

1 week ago | [YT] | 9

Dexter and Alessandrina

There's a moment in early childhood when a toddler falls and looks immediately to their caregiver before deciding whether to cry. In that glance, they're reading the caregiver's face, their tone, their affect, their nervous system state. The caregiver's calm presence doesn't erase the pain of the fall, but it helps the child's nervous system stay within a range where they can process what happened without becoming overwhelmed.

That's co-regulation, and it creates the template upon which self-regulation is built. Through thousands of interactions where someone else's regulated state helps your nervous system find its way back to equilibrium, you internalize that capacity. You learn, at a nervous system and body level, that difficult moments can be met and moved through.

Self-regulation emerges from this foundation. It's your ability to provide for yourself what was once provided externally, to be the steady presence for your own nervous system when activation rises or when numbness sets in.

This doesn't mean you no longer need others. We remain relational beings throughout life. But it does mean you develop the internal capacity to stay with yourself through difficulty, to sense what your system needs, and to offer that to yourself with the same attunement you once received.

When co-regulation was inconsistent or unavailable in your early life, self-regulation often feels elusive or impossible. Understanding this isn't about blame or fixing what's not working. It's about recognizing that these capacities can still develop now, with patience and practice and attuned attention to what your nervous system is actually experiencing.

#CoRegulation #SelfRegulation #DevelopmentalTrauma #NervousSystemWork #AttachmentHealing #SomaticPsychology #TraumaRecovery #EmotionalDevelopment #RelationalHealing #InnerWork #HealingIsntLinear #BodyBasedHealing #PsychoeducationMatters #BeautifulHuman #TraumaInformed

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 4