Free somatic tool
Which rung am I on?
Your nervous system is always in one of three basic states, and it announces which one through your body — breath, heart, jaw, energy. This is a ten-second check-in: read the three cards, tap the one that matches how your body feels right now, and get a tailored next move. That's the whole practice.
Completely private: everything happens on this page, in your browser. Nothing you tap is sent anywhere. If you switch on the optional tally below, today's check-ins are kept only on this device — and clearing them is one tap.
You're on the top rung — let it count
Name it to yourself: "this is safe and social." Then savor it — stay 20 extra seconds with the warm chest and the easy breath, because the nervous system learns from marinating in safety, not from rushing past it.
Worth a note, too: what got you here — the walk, the person, the music, the sunlight? That's a glimmer, and knowing your glimmers means you can find this rung on purpose. If you want to map your whole ladder, try the polyvagal ladder tool.
Checking in IS the skill — noticing your state is the first rung.
You're mobilized — and mobilized energy wants to MOVE
Nothing is wrong with you: this is your body flooding you with fuel for running or fighting. The fastest way through isn't to sit still and suppress it — it's to give the energy somewhere to go, then apply the brake.
Three moves, in any order:
- Discharge. 30 seconds of brisk movement — shake out your arms and legs, jog in place, push against a wall. Burn a little of the fuel.
- The long exhale. A slow out-breath is the vagal brake. Six breaths — in for 4, out for 6 — is enough to feel the shift. For a longer sit, open the breathing pacer.
- Orient. Slowly look around the room and name what is actually here, right now — most of the danger is in the forecast, not the room. The grounding tool walks you through it.
Checking in IS the skill — noticing your state is the first rung.
You're in shutdown — and shutdown is protection, not laziness
When things felt like too much, your body pulled the emergency brake and powered down to keep you safe. Be gentle: you don't climb out of dorsal with willpower or self-criticism. Dorsal lifts through the body, in small doses.
Three small moves:
- Warmth. A blanket around your shoulders, a warm drink in both hands. Heat tells the body it's tended to.
- The smallest movement. Wiggle your toes. Stand up. One slow stretch. Not exercise — just proof to your body that it can still move.
- One small contact. Text one person, or step somewhere you can see sky. A sliver of connection or horizon is enough to start.
One thing to expect: the way up the ladder runs through fight-or-flight. If a flash of restlessness or irritation shows up as you come back online, that's not a setback — that's progress, one rung up. See the full climb in the polyvagal ladder tool.
If shutdown comes with thoughts of harming yourself, you deserve more than a webpage — call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), any hour.
Checking in IS the skill — noticing your state is the first rung.
Freeze — revved on the inside, frozen on the outside
Some moments are two rungs at once. Freeze is fight-or-flight and shutdown together — the gas pedal and the emergency brake pressed at the same time. The heart may be pounding while the body won't move, and neither willpower nor waiting fixes it. In Deb Dana's terms this is a blended state, and it's one of the most common ones — especially for people carrying trauma.
The way out is titration — thawing in sips, not gulps, and in this order:
- Orient first. The eyes move before the body does. Without forcing anything, let your gaze travel slowly around the room and name three things that are actually here, right now.
- Then the smallest movement. Wiggle your toes. Press your feet into the floor. One shoulder roll. If a wave of restlessness follows, that's the sympathetic half unwinding — let it move, then take the long exhale.
And not every blend is trouble: play is safe-and-social plus fight-or-flight energy, and stillness — resting in someone's company, meditation, a quiet evening — is safe-and-social plus shutdown's slowness. The difference is whether safety is in the mix.
If the frozen place comes with thoughts of harming yourself, you deserve more than a webpage — call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), any hour.
Checking in IS the skill — noticing your state is the first rung.
This works best as a rhythm, not a one-off. Three good anchor moments: right after waking, before anything demanding — a session, a meeting, a hard conversation — and once in the evening. Three glances a day teaches you your map faster than one long study.
The ladder in one minute
Polyvagal theory pictures the autonomic nervous system as a ladder: safe-and-social connection at the top, fight-or-flight mobilization in the middle, and shutdown at the bottom, with your body moving between rungs all day in response to cues of safety and danger. You don't choose your state, but noticing it — without judgment — is what gives you a hand on the ladder, because each rung responds to different medicine. This framing comes from Deb Dana's clinical work on polyvagal theory, and the check-in itself is adapted from The Healing Trauma Workbook.
One letter page — the three rungs, their body cues, and three moves each. Print it, fold it, keep it where the hard moments happen. Nothing about you is on it.
This tool is psychoeducation for noticing everyday nervous-system states; it is not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional care. If shutdown is where you live most days, or the activation feels unmanageable, a trauma-informed therapist can help you climb with company.
Common questions
What is a polyvagal check-in?
It’s a ten-second practice of noticing which nervous-system state your body is in right now. Polyvagal theory, as Deb Dana teaches it, pictures three basic states on a ladder: safe-and-social connection at the top, fight-or-flight in the middle, and shutdown at the bottom. Read the three cards, tap the one that matches how your body feels, and you get a tailored next move for that rung — with a built-in timer so you can practice it right on the page.
Is what I enter private?
Yes. Everything happens on this page, in your browser — nothing you tap is sent anywhere, and there’s no account and no tracking of your answers. The one optional exception is the “today’s check-ins” tally: if you switch it on, your check-ins are saved in this browser only, on this device only, and the Clear button (or switching the tally off) erases them completely.
What if I seem to be on two rungs at once?
That’s common — states blend, and the moves between rungs aren’t clean. If it feels like fight-or-flight and shutdown at the same time — revved up on the inside, frozen on the outside — that’s freeze, and the “Stuck on two rungs at once?” path under the cards is built for exactly that. Otherwise, tap the card that’s loudest in your body right now and start with that rung’s medicine. And remember that the way up from shutdown runs through fight-or-flight, so a flash of restlessness as you come back online is progress, not a setback.
Can this tell me whether something is wrong with me?
No. This is psychoeducation for noticing everyday nervous-system states — every state it names is a normal, protective response, and none of them is a diagnosis. What it can’t do is assess trauma, anxiety, or depression. If shutdown is where you live most days, or the activation feels unmanageable, that’s worth bringing to a trauma-informed therapist who can help you climb with company.
Using it in session
Use it as a quick opener: ask the client to tap the card that matches their body right now. It gives you a shared, nonjudgmental language for state and helps you decide how to pace the session. Clients who start in shutdown or high activation may need regulation before any deeper work.
As homework, ask for check-ins at set times of day and one note on what preceded each state. Clients who have built a full polyvagal ladder can pair the two. As with the ladder, present the states as a practical map rather than settled physiology.
Documentation example
Client began session identifying a "fight or flight" state (racing heart, tight jaw) after a difficult commute; completed six long-exhale breaths and reported shifting toward a calmer state before proceeding with the session agenda.
Limits and cautions
- Some of polyvagal theory's physiological claims are debated. Use the three states as a descriptive framework.
- Not an assessment of trauma, anxiety, or depression.
- Clients in persistent shutdown need a fuller assessment, including for depression and suicide risk.
Read the guide
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