by Dr. Melanie Carlone | Restoring Flow 🌿
Have you ever noticed that your body reacts much bigger than the moment in front of you?
You’re just having a conversation, and suddenly your chest tightens, your jaw locks, your hands go cold. Someone raises their voice, and a part of you disappears. You smile, you nod, you stay pleasant — while inside, you’re screaming or wanting to run.
Or maybe you go into full freeze: your brain goes blank, your body goes heavy, and afterward you think, “Why didn’t I say something? Why didn’t I move?”
In my last video, we explored how the breath and the vagus nerve can help you come back from freeze. Today, we’re going deeper — into the roots of those reflexes that keep pulling you into fight, flight, fawn, or freeze.
We’ll combine gentle somatic movement with a journaling practice inspired by Nicole Sachs to help your body unwind the old stories that keep it stuck.
Fight, Flight, Fawn & Freeze Have a Story
These patterns aren’t random glitches. They’re stories your nervous system learned about what it takes to survive.
Fight says, “If I push back, I might stay safe.”
Flight says, “If I get away, I’ll be okay.”
Fawn says, “If I keep you happy, you won’t hurt me or leave.”
Freeze says, “If I disappear, maybe this will pass over me.”
None of these are conscious choices. They’re lightning-fast reflexes shaped by repetition and early experiences when we had little power or voice.
So when you find yourself snapping, people-pleasing, or going numb, it’s usually not about that one comment or stressful moment. It’s about every earlier time your body learned, “This is how I stay safe, loved, and connected.”
Nicole Sachs’ JournalSpeak work beautifully complements this awareness. The body holds what it couldn’t express — not because we’re broken, but because we didn’t have a safe place to tell the truth. When we pair her style of uncensored journaling with somatic movement that speaks directly to our survival reflexes — the Green Light (“go, go, go”) and Red Light (“curl and hide”) patterns — we stop managing symptoms and start restoring communication.
We tell the nervous system: “I hear you. I believe you. And I’m going to help you finish what you never got to finish.”
What You Can Do
1. Create Your Safe Space
Find a quiet, private spot. Silence notifications. Let your body be supported in a chair or on the floor. You might say to yourself, “Right now, this time is for me. It’s safe to tell the truth here.”
2. The Three Lists — Past, Present, and Protective Patterns
Create three short lists to help your body organize what it’s holding.
Past Stressors:
Moments that still echo — times you felt unsafe, unseen, or not believed. These might include loss, illness, or emotional distance.
Present Stressors:
What feels heavy now — money, work, health, relationships, loneliness, or frustration with your healing process. Notice how many of these echo the past. That’s your nervous system saying, “We’ve been here before.”
Protective Patterns:
Ways you’ve learned to stay safe — perfectionism, people-pleasing, over-responsibility, anxiety, or numbing out. These aren’t flaws. They’re survival strategies your nervous system built to keep you alive.
Just seeing them on paper begins to loosen their grip.
3. JournalSpeak — “What I Really Want to Say Is…”
Choose one thing from your lists. It doesn’t have to be the biggest one.
Set a timer for twenty minutes. At the top of the page, write what feels alive today — perhaps “I’m so tired of being the responsible one” or “I hate how my body feels stuck.”
Then start with, “I don’t want to feel this, but…” or “What I really want to say is…”
Let yourself be messy, raw, or angry. This is not about being kind or spiritual — it’s about letting the body speak. When you finish, destroy what you wrote. Tear it up, delete it, recycle it. You’re telling your body, “The message has been delivered. You don’t have to hold this anymore.”
4. The Flower Somatic Practice
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
Step 1 – Closed Bud:
Let your knees fall together. Bring your arms in, maybe over your belly or heart. This is your closed flower — the part of you that’s learned to hide or protect. Breathe slowly and thank your body for keeping you safe.
Step 2 – Slow Opening:
On your inhale, let your knees and arms slowly open like petals. Exhale and let them close again. Move at the pace of trust. Each cycle allows your nervous system to sample what it feels like to open safely and return to rest.
Step 3 – Open Flower:
After several rounds, pause with your knees and arms comfortably open. Notice if any part of you wants to tighten. What would it be like to let the ground carry more of your weight? Breathe softly here.
When you’re ready, bring your arms back in and roll gently to one side before sitting up.
Why It Matters
This practice might seem simple — a few pages of writing and a gentle movement. But together, they allow the nervous system to do something profound.
When you journal uncensored, you give the fight, flight, fawn, and freeze parts of you a voice, so they no longer need to shout through pain or tension. When you destroy what you wrote, you signal to your body, “You’re not stuck anymore.”
Through The Flower, you invite those old reflexes — the curl-in of Red Light, the push of Green Light — to complete their cycle and soften. You’re not just learning about safety; you’re experiencing it.
Over time, your nervous system begins to realize:
I don’t have to freeze every time someone’s upset.
I don’t have to fawn to be loved.
I can feel big feelings and stay in my body.
That is the beginning of real change.
If you feel lighter, tired, or emotional afterward, know that this is part of the thawing. Go gently. Drink water. Place a hand on your heart and whisper, “Thank you, body, for how hard you’ve worked to keep me safe. I’m listening now.”
If this resonated, download my Journal and Movement Practice for Somatic Healing — a step-by-step guide to building your own daily rhythm of release and restoration.
Continue Your Practice
🌿 Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxt-D8o2yuA
🌿 Schedule a somatic session: Book a session → https://alignrenewthrive.com/schedule/
This work isn’t just about surviving your past.
It’s about restoring flow — in your body, your breath, and the way you move through life.
Thank you for doing this tender work with me.
See you Gaias later,
Dr. Melanie Carlone🌱✨