Regulating Through Rhythm

When the nervous system is dysregulated, everything can feel out of balance and out of alignment.

It can be exhausting, and you might be inclined to take a nap. But maybe that’s not always best.

As an experiment, on a recent day when I felt exhausted, instead of going home for a nap I took a walk through my favorite park.

The park in Larchmont, New York sits on the Long Island Sound. On a clear day you can see across the sound to Long Island.

It was not a clear day. A dense fog hovered over the water, and as I walked along the path I noticed the high water level as the waves lapped on the rocks. It was just after the peak of high tide.

I walked along the stone wall to a bench, and sat for a while, watching and listening to the waves.

Rhythms of Life

Even though I’m very attuned to the rhythms of nature in terms of the planetary cycles and seasons, I realized that I had been disconnected from the rhythm of the tides.

Seasons and planetary cycles orient us to the big picture arcs of life. The tides orient us to the smaller cycles, both daily and monthly rhythms.

The twice-daily rhythm of high and low tide.

The increasing tidal ranges of the spring tides — higher high tides and lower low tides — as we approach a new and full moon.

And also how the height of the tide waxes and wanes with the moon’s cycle.

As I sat by the water and listened to the waves lap on the shoreline, I noticed how my breath fell in sync with their movement.

I was entraining to a primordial rhythm — a rhythm that existed before humans roamed the earth.

I found resonance within myself.

Restoring Through Resonance

The advice to take a walk in nature as a way regulate your system is common — but nature isn’t created equal for this purpose.

In the woods, it’s easy to get lost. You can’t see the forest for the trees.

In a garden, the focus is on what we see. The singing birds speak a language we can’t understand.

By the shoreline, you can connect with the ebb and flow of the tidal rhythms, with the pulse of life itself.

As you entrain to the rhythm of the waves, this primordial pulse directs the pace of your breath.

It brings you back into resonance with yourself. And you find your home.