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Hello Reader!

I nearly missed my window to send this out this week! There's lots of movement in my life these days, which is a good thing, but it requires a good dose of resilience and adaptability. I'm sure it's the same for you: there's lots of chaos out there, and multiple demands on all of our resources. And if you're starting from a place of anxiety, trauma or if you're experiencing pain, then you're already at risk of depletion.

Musings

If you've been reading me for a while, you'll know that I'm very concrete: what does it really mean, to be centered? I look at it not as a vague self-help concept, but as a specific physical state that your brain is constantly striving to maintain. It's homeostasis, your inner equilibrium, but - contrary to what you might think (or want) - it's not a static state. It is a state-in-motion.

So let's apply this to the mind and body. Your brain is a prediction machine. To keep you safe, it constantly monitors and integrates the world outside of you and the state of your body inside.

Neurologically, centering involves the integration of several systems. Your vestibular system (balance), your proprioception (knowing where your limbs are), and your interoception (the landscape of internal sensations) all meet at the middle of your body. When these systems are communicating effectively, your brain feels a sense of equilibrium. This physical balance acts as a prerequisite for emotional regulation.

When the middle is "online," your brain knows exactly where you are. However, when you are under high stress or dealing with pain, the brain’s map of this midline can become blurred. In cases of trauma, you can become dissociated from it completely. If the brain doesn’t know where the center is or what it's doing, it enters a state of alert. It starts "guessing," which often manifests as that familiar feeling of being scattered, overwhelmed, or physically "off."

I joke with my clients that the answer to every problem is "the pelvis". It's not the ultimate answer, but it's almost always the place to start. When the trunk, ribs, spine, pelvis, and breath are working together a little more fluidly, the nervous system often has more room to stop acting like every moment is an emergency. And that can matter for emotional balance. It can matter for pain. It can matter for digestion. And yes, it can matter in trauma recovery too.

Because the body does not separate these things. Try something focused on the center this week.

🎁 NeuroSomatic Practice of the Week

🧠 NeuroMinute...

Greater awareness and organization of the body’s center — especially the pelvis, trunk, spine, and the interoceptive/proprioceptive signals arising from them — matter because these systems sit at the intersection of sensorimotor control, pain modulation, attention, and emotional regulation. This is where our major organs are located, and where our brain directs the most energy.

Interoceptive awareness is increasingly understood as a core mechanism for emotion regulation, with mind-body interventions improving the ability to notice and interpret bodily signals in ways that support self-regulation. Chronic low back pain is associated with impaired trunk control, altered lumbar proprioception, and changes in cortical sensorimotor networks, suggesting that restoring more accurate trunk/pelvic organization is not only a musculoskeletal issue but also a brain-based one.

Chronic mid-section pain (hips, back, shoulders, neck) is also linked to poorer dual-task performance and reduced efficiency in attention-demanding tasks, consistent with the idea that pain and disorganized trunk control compete for cognitive resources. In practical terms, reorganizing the center more clearly may reduce protective over-bracing, improve sensorimotor integration, free up attentional resources, and support calmer autonomic and emotional responses, which together can contribute to pain relief and better overall brain-body functioning.

Warmly,

Joana

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