COURSE

A Guide To Inner Calm: Understanding The Nervous System

This course is designed to help you understand the inner workings of your nervous system—especially the automatic patterns behind stress, anxiety, shutdown, and overwhelm. You’ll learn how your body responds to threat, why some people stay “stuck” in fight, flight, or freeze, and how chronic stress can affect everything from digestion to sleep to emotional wellbeing. With clear explanations, this course offers a simple yet powerful framework for reconnecting to your body’s natural capacity for healing. By the end, you’ll feel more empowered to recognize your nervous system state, support yourself through difficult emotions, and begin building a lasting foundation of inner calm and resilience. Note this is not a series of guided meditations, the focus is on education and deepening your understanding of your body.

Stress Anxiety Relax Science Stress & Anxiety Health & Happiness Science

Meet your Teacher

Dr. Kim Lye

Chiang Mai, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Dr. Kim is a holistic chiropractor with over a decade of experience helping individuals heal through an integrative approach that blends physical, emotional, and nervous system care. Her work focuses on addressing the root causes of chronic tension and pain by guiding people back into connection with their bodies. Drawing from somatic healing, scientific evidence and her deep understanding of the nervous system, Dr. Kim offers compassionate education that empowers people to create lasting change from within.

7 Days

365 students

4.7 stars

8 min / day

Stress

English

Lesson 1

What Is the Nervous System & Why It Matters

In this first lesson, I break down the nervous system in a way that’s easy to understand — showing how it affects everything from your pain and digestion to your sleep and emotional health. I’ll explain the difference between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, and why so many of us are unknowingly stuck in fight-or-flight. I’ll also share what I discovered in my chiropractic practice that changed the way I help people heal.

Lesson 2

Fight, Flight, Freeze & Fawn Explained

In this lesson, you'll learn about the four main nervous system stress responses—Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn—and how they show up in everyday life. We'll explore how modern life can keep us stuck in these patterns, the physical, mental, and spiritual cost of chronic stress, and why some responses—like Fawn—are more common in women. By the end, you'll be able to recognize your own stress response and begin the journey back to balance.

Lesson 3

Signs Your Nervous System Needs Support

This lesson will help you recognize when your nervous system is stuck in chronic stress, rather than moving through natural cycles of activation and rest. You’ll learn the difference between normal stress responses and long-term dysregulation, and how this shows up emotionally, physically, and in your relationships. Real client stories illustrate how these signs often go unnoticed but are actually your body’s way of asking for support. This lesson builds awareness and reminds you that you’re not broken — your system is simply trying to protect you.

Lesson 4

Polyvagal Theory Explained

In this lesson, we explore Polyvagal Theory—a simple yet powerful way to understand how your nervous system shapes your emotions, behaviors, and energy levels. You’ll learn about the vagus nerve and how your body shifts between states of calm, fight-or-flight, and shutdown depending on how safe or threatened it feels. By recognizing these states, you can start supporting your nervous system to return to balance and resilience.

Lesson 5

The Window Of Tolerance

In this lesson, we explore your Window of Tolerance—the emotional range where your nervous system feels stable, present, and regulated. Chronic stress or trauma can shrink this window, making it easier to tip into overwhelm (sympathetic activation) or collapse (dorsal shutdown). The good news is that with consistent practices, your window can expand, giving you more emotional resilience and control in everyday life.

Lesson 6

Everyday Tools to Regulate Your Nervous System

In this lesson, you'll learn how to choose the right nervous system regulation tool based on your current state—whether you're frozen in shutdown or spiraling in overwhelm. We’ll explore simple, everyday practices like breathwork, grounding, movement, co-regulation, herbs, and nature, so you can start gently rewiring your baseline. The goal isn’t perfection, but consistency—daily micro-practices create lasting calm far more effectively than emergency fixes.

Lesson 7

Trust Yourself

This final lesson explores how to gently rebuild trust with your body after experiences of stress, pain, or trauma. You’ll learn why consistency and kindness matter more than intensity, and how small daily choices can create a felt sense of safety over time. I close the course with my own personal story of healing, reminding you that reconnection is always possible.

4.7 (48)

Recent Reviews

roxanne

February 8, 2026

Just amazing—so easy to understand and so many tools to help guide us. Thank you 🙏🏽

Natalie

January 12, 2026

Thank you 💗🙏

Nour

December 12, 2025

Amazing course very instuful

JoAnne

November 12, 2025

Very helpful foundational course regarding nervous system responses.

Marvel

October 23, 2025

This is a wonderful journey into trusting my body and myself again.

Diane

September 25, 2025

Thank you so much, I've learned so much but i'm sure it will help me as I continue to pay my body attention. I'm on my way to learning calm and also being able to sleep., Thank you again and may the universe bless you for helping me.

Melissa

August 24, 2025

Amazing series. Selected it on a whim but it was exactly what i needed !

Melissa

July 27, 2025

Really enjoyed the course and especially you sharing your own experiences… Bed rot lol I can relate. I appreciate you saying that.

Natalie

July 27, 2025

Enjoyed the course very much. Would have liked some guided mediation, breathing and/or somatic exercises to be interspersed with the theory. Would appreciate written summary or notes to refer to

Kelly

July 25, 2025

Thank you Dr Kim, I found your course on the understanding of the nervous system super interesting and helpful! Looking forward to hearing more. ❤️🤗

Kim

June 9, 2025

Dr. Kim explains our nervous system responses in clear, laymanʻs terms in this beginner course. She also provides methods to regulate unwanted symptoms and real-life examples. Thank you for this excellent and informative course.

Jamie

May 30, 2025

This was wonderful, I have started working with Michelle Spring & the AIP community, doing somatic movement and shaking and I feel better already. Thank you for helping me see that I needed that to shake all those stuck emotions off 🤗 I will be relistening, I’m sure to hear more on the second round. Thank you🙏

Debra

May 18, 2025

Another great course on Insight Timer! I had no idea I was stuck in survival mode. I found myself in all the symptoms flight mode my whole adult life. I can finally turn it off! I can't thank you enough. Love and light!

Lesley

May 17, 2025

Great content and explanation

David

May 17, 2025

I enjoyed listening to this course and it's given me new perspective and insight into myself. It's long enough to learn from it and short enough to be repeatable. I highly recommend this.

Anne

May 15, 2025

thank you for your 7 part course. I learnt a lot about myself and my nervous system, and what I can do to gain a less anxious, calmer , happier, more resilient state of mind and body. I feel more confident about living in the present with greater understanding of what my mind and body are actually feeling and how to help myself to find and live in a more relaxed state of being, a more self compassionate, positive place that enjoys living and loving, myself, my friends, my family, and daily interactions with people. 💕

Teresa

May 14, 2025

I learned so much from this course. There is a lot of hope here. Not at all overwhelming, but small easy steps. Thank you Dr Lye

Glenn

May 10, 2025

Excellent as always Kim 🙏 ☮️ 🦋

Emma

May 9, 2025

Thank you for sharing your journey & wisdom

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