The Hidden Role of the Body in Systemic Change

Climate breakdown, ecological devastation, and deepening social inequalities are not distant or abstract.

They are experiences we feel in our bodies.

• That tightness in your chest

• The constant hum of anxiety

• The exhaustion that doesn’t seem to go away

These aren’t just emotions or passing thoughts.

They are your body’s way of responding to a world in flux.

Beneath the surface, our nervous systems are working overtime. They’re reacting to the existential challenges of our time, shaping how we feel, connect, and act.

So, it matters whether we relate from a reactive or a responsive mindset:

I’ve recently experienced firsthand how powerful it can be to shift from overwhelm or shutdown into a settled body.

This has opened up questions, such as:

• What if navigating our bodily responses could unlock more grounded ways of approaching systemic change?

• What might it look like to build communities where emotional resilience and co-regulation are foundational?

• How can emotional fluidity unlock the cultural shifts we so desperately need?

Let’s explore deeper 👇

3 States of our Nervous System

First off, the basics:

I learned that polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges.

It offers a fascinating lens for understanding how our nervous systems shape our responses to challenges.

It identifies three primary states, which we can track through our awareness:

Adding more nuance to the image:

1. Sympathetic Overwhelm: The fight-or-flight mode where urgency fuels action, our focus is narrow, and our body tense. Here, we need down-regulating practices, such as calming breathing patterns, humming, or non-sleep deep rest.

2. Dorsal Shutdown: A state of collapse and detachment leaves us feeling hopeless and stuck. Here, we need protocols to up-regulate, such as the breath of fire or physical exercise.

3. Ventral Connection: The sweet spot of safety, creativity, and collaboration, where resilience flourishes. Here, we feel calm, our posture is open and our breath is deep and steady.

These states matter for how we engage in the world, families and communities.

Let’s look at how 👇

1. Engaging in Systemic Change with a Dysregulated vs. Regulated Nervous System

The state of our nervous systems directly influences how we engage in community.

We often fall into urgency, control, and burnout when our nervous systems are dysregulated.

But when we regulate ourselves and co-create spaces of care and safety, we become more capable of navigating uncertainty.

Here is the contrast:

As you can see, regulating our nervous system is vital for how we engage in co-creation.

So, our ability to self-regulate and co-regulate is directly related to the collective impact we can generate within our networks and communities.

2. The Body as a Site of Collapse and Transformation: Trauma, Privilege, and Co-Regulation

Trauma doesn’t impact us equally.

It’s carried through generations.

For many marginalized communities, systemic violence often leads to states of hypervigilance or chronic stress.

Meanwhile, those with systemic privilege may experience emotional numbness or disconnection.

So, how our nervous system is shaped by oppression, privilege, and lived experience makes us respond to the world differently.

This raises an important question:

How might co-regulation in community spaces help us shift power structures and dismantle systemic violence?

Co-regulation happens when people support one another in achieving connection and safety.

It’s not about everyone being in the same emotional state or bypassing trauma.

Instead, it’s about honoring where people are, acknowledging the impact of their experiences, and creating the space to move through discomfort together.

Imagine what might become possible if communities embraced co-regulation as a practice:

• Creating safety so all bodies can settle

• Redistributing emotional labor equitably

• Honoring the diverse realities of trauma rather than silencing or dismissing

Healing, then, isn’t just an individual pursuit.

It’s a relational and cultural process.

When we create this collective safety, we do more than heal ourselves.

We’re laying the groundwork to challenge systemic violence and imagine liberated futures.

3. Composting Extractive Ways of Being: Building New Cultural Patterns

Extractive behaviors like consumerism, individualism, and coloniality aren’t just abstract cultural forces.

They live in our bodies, shaping how we relate to ourselves, each other, and the more-than-human world.

These patterns often stem from dysregulated nervous systems operating in survival mode.

What if, by regulating our nervous systems, we create the inner space to break down and transform these ways of being?

Composting is not about discarding or suppressing what we’ve inherited.

It’s about metabolizing i.e. integrating these patterns' lessons, histories, and impacts so they become fertile ground.

Through this process, we can reconnect with what nourishes us, such as:

• Reciprocity

• Belonging

• Purpose

This transformation could allow us to shift:

• From consumerism’s endless urgency to act, acquire, and achieve to emotional fluidity, where emotions are honored as energy that can guide and transform us.

• From individualism, which fragments us from the community of life, to inter-being, where interdependence becomes the foundation of our relationships.

• From coloniality’s drive to dominate land, people, and processes to emergence, where we trust the creative potential of collaboration, mutual care, and the unfolding unknown.

Composting such extractive ways of being is essential for cultural transformation.

It allows us to let go of what no longer serves and creates fertile conditions to nurture life, deepen connection, and center shared purpose.

Final Thoughts: Systemic Change Efforts Are as Strong as the Nervous Systems That Weave Them

Nervous system regulation isn’t just a personal wellness practice.

It’s a foundation for cultural and systemic transformation.

When we address what we hold in our bodies, we compost extractive patterns, making space for regenerative ways of being together.

Cultivating nervous system regulation in ourselves and our communities invites emotional fluidity, relational care, and a deeper connection between our inner states and the outer world we’re trying to change.

This work isn’t about striving for perfection or always being grounded.

It’s about showing up fully, in all our humanity with all the grief, fear, joy, and love and co-creating networks that can hold the complexity of our emotions.

As we step into this practice, let’s keep some questions alive, such as:

• What emotions are you feeling in your body right now?

• How might emotional fluidity shift the dynamics in your relationships and networks?

• What new patterns of connection and co-creation could emerge if you invited more care and co-regulation into your spaces?

Systemic change begins with how we show up from moment to moment.

When we nurture regulated nervous systems, we create the conditions for trust, creativity, and resilience to thrive—within us and across the networks and systems we’re a part of.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to explore how nervous system regulation can transform your relationships and the collective impact of your work and community.

That’s it!

In community,

Adrian

Additional Resources on the Topic

• Decolonizing Trauma Work by Renee Linklater: This book explores Indigenous approaches to trauma and healing, focusing on community-based frameworks.

• Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing by Jen Soriano In this collection, Soriano delves into the lingering impacts of transgenerational trauma.

• Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb Dana: practical guidance on applying Polyvagal Theory to foster safety and connection.

• My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem Focuses on racialized trauma and healing in the context of both personal and systemic change.

• In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter A. Levine: How the body processes and releases trauma, emphasizing the importance of understanding bodily sensations in healing.

• The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe by Stephen W. Porges Porges provides an accessible overview of Polyvagal Theory, highlighting the transformative power of safety in therapeutic settings.

• The Healing Wisdom of Africa by Malidoma Patrice Somé Offers insights into African spiritual traditions and their role in healing and community-building.

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Combines Indigenous wisdom and Western science to explore our relationship with the natural world.

• Redeeming the Past: My Journey from Freedom Fighter to Healer by Michael Lapsley: Father Michael Lapsley recounts his transformation from an anti-apartheid activist to a healer, emphasizing the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation in personal and collective healing.

• The Practice of Embodying Emotions: A Guide for Improving Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes by Raja SelvamIntroduces Integral Somatic Psychology™ (ISP), a body-based method to expand and regulate emotional experiences, enhancing various therapeutic outcomes.