Rhythm, Bilateral Stimulation, and the Body’s Wisdom: Everyday Ways to Support Trauma Processing
Your nervous system carries an ancient intelligence. A wisdom to help you regulate and integrate your experiences.
Long before modern therapy existed, humans healed through rhythm, movement, breath, song, ritual, and connection. Walking, swimming, dancing, drumming, rocking, chanting, or patterned breathing are all ways we naturally engage our nervous system, support emotional regulation, and restore a sense of safety.
Across cultures, these practices have something in common:
they use rhythm and bilateral stimulation — steady, alternating movement that naturally engages both sides of the brain and body.
This mirrors the neurobiological principles used today in Somatic and Attachment-Informed EMDR, two of the approaches I use in therapy.
Although EMDR is a structured clinical process with an experienced therapist, the body’s healing mechanisms are not confined to a therapy room. Many everyday movements can support grounding, emotional regulation, and gentle processing between sessions.
Why Rhythm Helps Settle a Stressed Nervous System
When we engage in rhythmic, repetitive movement, the brain receives predictable sensory input. Predictability tells the nervous system:
“I know what’s happening. I know what comes next. It’s safe to settle.”
Activities such as:
walking
swimming
running
dancing
cycling
drumming
rocking
chanting or humming
juggling
qi gong and martial arts
yoga
naturally create bilateral stimulation — left–right, forward–back, up–down — which has been shown to reduce sympathetic arousal, support vagal regulation, and help the brain integrate emotional experiences (van der Kolk, 2014; Porges, 2011).
This form of movement is not “EMDR,” but it complements trauma therapy beautifully. It engages the same networks of orientation, sensory integration, and rhythmic regulation that EMDR draws on.
How Eye Movements Fit Into the Picture (And Why EMDR Is Not About Eye Contact)
Early EMDR research was influenced by theories around REM sleep. Over time, studies have shown that horizontal eye movements activate the orienting response, a brainstem-based network involved in attention, sensory processing, and threat detection (Solomon & Shapiro, 2008; van den Hout & Engelhard, 2012).
But the field has evolved significantly.
In Somatic and Attachment-Informed EMDR, bilateral stimulation may include:
gentle self-tapping
therapist-guided tapping
alternating auditory tones
rhythmic touch or movement
breath-based bilateral patterns
imagery that moves across the inner visual field
or eye movements, if appropriate and tolerable
Many clients actually process more deeply with eyes closed, because this allows somatic awareness, safety, and attachment repair to come forward.
The principle behind EMDR is not eye gaze.
It is bilateral engagement + dual awareness + safety.
EMDR draws on the brain’s ability to reorganise experience when:
the body feels supported
the attachment system feels safe
both hemispheres are rhythmically engaged
the past is held gently alongside the present
This is why Somatic and Attachment-Informed EMDR is so powerful: it works with the whole nervous system, not just cognition.
How Rhythm and Science Align
Ancient healing practices around the world — from drumming and dancing to chanting, rocking, and patterned breathing — echo what neuroscience now tells us: rhythmic stimulation regulates the autonomic nervous system, reduces over activation, and supports emotional integration (Porges, 2011; Koelsch, 2014).
Bilateral rhythm helps the nervous system move out of survival mode into integration, connection, and safety. It’s the same principle that underpins EMDR: predictable rhythm, safe engagement, and attention across both sides of the body/brain.
Practical, At-Home Ways to Support Your Nervous System
These practices are supportive tools, not substitutes for therapy. They can help you regulate and integrate between sessions.
1. Cadenced Movement
Move your body rhythmically for 5–20 minutes. Options include:
walking or swimming laps
cycling or slow dancing
drumming on your legs
gentle rocking
juggling
yoga, qi gong or martial arts
Let your breath follow the rhythm. Let your body find its natural pace.
2. Gentle Bilateral Eye Tracking (If It Feels Comfortable)
If you feel anxious or overwhelmed:
Keep your head still.
Move your eyes left–right slowly.
10–20 repetitions.
Pause if it feels too much.
Research shows this can reduce emotional intensity by taxing working memory and helping the amygdala settle (van den Hout & Engelhard, 2012).
3. Somatic Orienting
A grounding practice that supports safety:
Allow your eyes to slowly take in the room with soft, sweeping eye movements in all directions.
Notice what feels settling, interesting, or neutral.
Let your breath lengthen as your system recognises “safe enough” cues.
This simple practice resets the threat-detection pathways and supports vagal regulation.
Your Body Is Your Guide
Trauma can leave people feeling either disconnected from their bodies or overwhelmed by sensation. But the body is not the problem; it is the pathway.
Somatic and Attachment-Informed EMDR works with your nervous system’s innate healing mechanisms, using rhythm, breath, and bilateral engagement to reorganise overwhelming experience in a way that is safe, paced, and deeply respectful.
If you feel drawn to this work, I offer a warm, grounded space where your whole self is welcome.
