What does Step Five Sound Like?

Step Five Respond: Develop Personal Strategies to Promote Restoration & Resilience

As with all the steps of Self-Reg, this last step is very individual.  Once we are able to reflect deeply on which practices help us to restore, we are motivated to regularly put them in place.  A truly restorative practice will be something we are drawn to solely for the sake of restoring.  A restorative practice leaves us feeling good and replenishes our energy reserves.  I love listening to someone describe their unique step 5 practice.  Their eyes light up and their voice becomes more animated as they speak enthusiastically about something that promotes their well-being and resilience.   What do these conversations sound like?  Here are a few examples:

"I love cycling.  It feels so good to get up early in the morning and travel for miles down the highway. It is something I do to give me energy. It makes me feel alive!"
"Biking isn't at all about exercise for me.  An exercise bike is so boring, but biking on the road gives me a feeling of freedom. I miss this feeling and hope I can get back on my bike in the spring."
"Yoga feels so good to me. You should really give it a try.  I feel great afterwards, like I could take on the world."
"I love the pool, so much I go twice a week. I like to work vigorously during my class. I notice the difference when we have a new instructor who doesn't push us as hard."
"I like to go for coffee to do the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper at McDonalds. It is something I enjoy doing everyday."
"I try to get outside every day.  I especially love hiking, but even just taking a walk down the road leaves me feeling relaxed and clear headed."

I believe it is important to practice all five steps of Self-Reg but I also feel that this last step can be difficult to fully understand until you have worked on the other four steps.  If you are caught in a stress cycle, a practice that was once restorative, may no longer produce the same results for you. This step is not simply about choosing a strategy or practice that has worked for you and then doing it all the time, in exactly the same way.  This is a responsive step. A step that recognizes when your body or brain needs something else in order to be able to restore.

This may mean that you have more stress-detecting to do.  Are there hidden stressors at play now? Understanding that the steps are cyclical, and the process is a lifelong one, will help you navigate to at restorative practice that fits you best at any stage of life.