Toolkit for Wellbeing:
Self-Regulation
Self-Regulation Definition: Self-regulation is defined as the ability to adapt one’s behavior and mood appropriate to context.
People often talk about the importance of self-regulation, but what exactly is it? Watch this video to learn here along with why it helps when you are about to do or say something you might regret!
The Benefits of
Self-Regulation
People who are interested in resiliency and wellbeing talk about how self-regulation is one of the most important factors for bouncing back when the going gets tough. However, it often doesn’t get described as well as it can be so that people understand what we are talking about.
Self-regulation basically means: I can control my behavior so that it’s appropriate for the environment I’m in. That doesn’t mean we have to be perfect models of self-control at all, just that given the environment, we have the skills to manage our moods and behavior in a way that doesn’t get in the way of creating the results that we want.
To be clear, though, it’s being able to adapt to different contexts: We want to be able to stand up for ourselves and others with anger when we need to, and to shut down and recover when we need to also. This too is self-regulation.


Practices offered in the Toolkit help us have more awareness of where we are at in our nervous system – are we wired or tired? – and give us a little more control in terms of adapting to the environment in a way that allows us to feel we can be effective with our actions.
Our bodies might be responding to a threat that is just in our minds, or our bodies may be running on empty. When we are run-down, we need ways to “up regulate” and of course the opposite is true, we might be feeling keyed up and need access to practices for “down regulation”.
The Toolkit shares useful strategies for both.
A Library to Practice
Self-Regulation
For ways to practice Self-Regulation, please scroll through our Self-Regulation library.
Straw Breath Video
Yes, you can get better at calming yourself down – and straw breath is a practice that can help you IMMEDIATELY. This video shows you how you can do it right now.
Contact
The Sky Center
For more information on our Toolkit Workshops / Webinars and additional ways we can help your organization enhance resiliency and sustainability, please contact us: