When you're stressed, do you nourish or numb?  We often unconsciously use activities which soothe the autonomic nervous system (ANS).  This is the non-conscious part of our brain and body that is responsible for our survival (on a basic level, it's the flight or fight response). These activities help us to come back towards regulation - a calmer, more conscious Ventral state where we can choose how we act rather than react.  (BTW, I'm using the language of Polyvagal Theory [...]