And as associate director of the Modern Sex Therapy Institute and somatic psychotherapist, Holly Richmond Ph.D., tells mindbodygreen, the first step to coming back to your body is figuring out where your nervous system is at.

As she explains, you can use a simple scale to assess your current state, with 1 being very depressed, and 10 being panic mode. “We’re aiming for that four to six range, that flexibility and elasticity—so when we talk about regulating, are we up-regulating, or are we down-regulating?” she explains.

For instance, if you were feeling depressed and low, you’d want to up-regulate. On the other hand, if you’re feeling anxious, you’d want to down regulate.