- make a somatic dancing playlist
- it can be as short as one song, three songs, or 40 songs like mine is
- if you are trying to make dancing a regular practice, you can utilize technology to automatically start playing music at a certain time each day (e.g. morning or bedtime).

tips for your somatic dance practice
- if you're new to dancing, shy, or self-conscious start by just moving one body part. you can do that for a full song if that's what feels safe and comfortable for you.

experienced dancers can try this too if you like; it helps you bring awareness to your body.

Aw, thank you so much Krystal. I appreciate you!

It's hard for the body to panic/ruminate/freak out when you introduce such a strong temperature change. Then all the body's attention goes to trying to figure out how to lower the temp or acclimate. Good distraction when you need one.

I haven't set out the yoga mat for SE and the chair I sometimes sit in to practice is cluttered with clothing. So I'm taking ten minutes to get fresh air and then clean up. The thing with c-ptsd is I can lose a lot of time. The longer I delay using my tools, the worse things can get.

We all have our go-to trauma responses. Freeze, Flight, Fawn, Fight. My default tends to be Freeze. The hardest part is just getting myself to take notice, that oh, I'm in the freeze state, so that I can use the appropriate tools.

The "exercise" can look like dancing for at least three minutes, going for a brisk walk, or vigorously shaking your body. Ice also helps "wake me up" from the freeze state which often feels zombie like, or like I'm just in a dream.

Today I wasn't able to pause and ask that question. But in hindsight I realize I was engaging in dissociation to run away from the feeling of perceived rejection and perceived failure. We can ground ourselves in these moments through gentle self-touch or vigorous movement (e.g. shaking).