Inner Resourcing: What It Is and How to Practice It
You may have heard the term inner resourcing in therapeutic spaces, but maybe not quite sure what it means or how it actually looks in real life.
Inner resourcing is the capacity to regulate your nervous system and return to a more calm sense of self, even when something feels difficult. It’s the ability to ground when you feel overwhelmed, activated, or pulled out of balance.
Often, we look outside of ourselves to cope, feel better, or find some relief. Some of these ways can be supportive, and some can be more numbing.
Sometimes that looks like:
a drink
a joint
going for a run
scrolling or shopping
food, sex, distraction
But when external resourcing becomes the only way we know how to feel better, we can start to rely on something outside of us to come back to baseline.
Inner resourcing is the practice of building our capacity to come back to a more neutral or even calmer sense of self.
A Simple Inner Resourcing Practice
Take a moment to check in.
On a scale of 1–10:
1 = very grounded
10 = highly activated, anxious, emotional, or overwhelmed
Simply naming where you are, can begin to tame where you are.
1. Imagery
Think of a place that brings you a sense of ease.
It could be:
the beach
the mountains
a memory
or something imagined
I think its pretty amazing how our brain and body can respond to imagined experiences in a similar way to real ones, especially when you engage your senses.
Take a moment to:
picture it
feel it
notice what shifts in your body
2. Movement
It’s interesting that animals naturally shake after something stressful. Our nervous system responds to movement. It can be a way of releasing activation and supporting a shift into the parasympathetic (calm) nervous system.
You can try:
gentle shaking
lightly bouncing up and down
neck or head rolls
3. Another form of movement: tapping
There’s a reason why modalities like EMDR and EFT tapping incorporate movement.
Rhythmic tapping can have a grounding effect and also help the body settle.
This might include:
tapping on points such as the temples, inner corners of the eyebrows, or collarbones
tapping left and right sides of your body (shoulders, arms, legs, or back)
butterfly tapping (arms crossed, alternating taps), also referred to as bilateral tapping
4. Voice
Sound is one of the fastest ways to regulate the nervous system. I’ve been in many yoga and meditation classes where teachers encourage students to sigh it out, and there’s something about that collective exhale that shifts the whole room.
These sounds stimulate the vagus nerve and help bring the body into a more regulated state.
You might try:
a long exhale or sigh
humming
singing
5. Your senses
Our senses can be a powerful way to come back into the present moment.
Smell, in particular, can be a powerful mood shifter
My personal favorite is incense. I’ve found that lighting incense and a candle can create a sense of grounding and helps signal to my body that it’s time to practice conscious breath.
You might notice this with:
incense
essential oils
a familiar scent
With essential oils, you can mix a drop with a carrier oil, place it in the palms of your hands, rub them together, and gently cup your nose for a few moments. Taking a few slow breaths here can help bring you back into your body.
These anchors help bring you out of your head and back into your body.
6. Music and singing
Sound is another simple yet powerful way to shift your emotional state.
You might try:
listening to music that supports how you want to feel
humming or singing
Singing, in particular, engages the breath and the body, and can help regulate the nervous system.
It can also be helpful to have a go-to playlist ready. Something you can turn on without having to think about it. This might be calming, grounding, or more uplifting depending on what you need in the moment.
I’ve found that having something ready to go makes it easier to reach for support in the moment, rather than trying to figure out what to do when you’re already overwhelmed.
Coming back to where we started
On a scale of 1–10, where are you now?
Has there been even a slight shift? It doesn’t have to be a big change. This is how inner resourcing builds over time.
You might think of this as a practice of self-havening, creating a sense of safety and support within yourself.
And just like with most things, the more you practice this, the easier inner resourcing becomes, even in the moments when you need it the most.
If this resonates and you’re wanting support, we can explore this together. You’re welcome to reach out to schedule a consultation or email me at cathyltrenary@gmail.com.