Your body has internal checkpoints – physical sensations that activate when something feels unfair, frightening, dangerous, or otherwise not right. These are signals from your soul [vagus] nerve. They might alert you to something real, something perceived, something possible, or something imagined. (To your body, these are all identical.)
These signals might include a tingle at the back of your neck, a sinking feeling in your belly, a tightness in your shoulders, or some other unpleasant sensation. You’ll know these sensations when you experience them. These checkpoints are your body’s early warning signals. They alert you when you are headed for a fight, flee, or freeze response.
If you’re paying attention, when one of these signals goes off, you can stop what you’re doing and take steps to settle your body. This helps you avoid a fight, flee, or freeze response. It also gives you a chance to change the dynamic of the situation by leaving it, stepping back, or saying something like, “You know what? I’d like to do this differently.”
Whenever one of your body’s checkpoints signals you, investigate it. What do you experience? Where do you experience it? What emotions, thoughts, or images are arising with it?
Then ask yourself, “What is this sensation telling me? What is it urging me to do? What movements do I need to make? What action needs to be completed? How can I respond from my deepest integrity – the best parts of myself?” The answer to this last question will point a way forward.
With practice, you’ll get more familiar with your body’s checkpoints. Over time, you’ll learn to recognize each signal as soon as it activates, and you’ll know what it’s telling you.
— Resmaa Menakem in My Grandmother's Hands