Sometimes pain floods in like a storm, sharp behind the eye, pressing through the neck, pooling behind the cheeks like something stuck. It feels like a sinus headache. A migraine. A vagus nerve flare. All of it at once.

I know this pain. I’ve felt it bloom suddenly, stopping me mid-thought.

And I’ve also found a way to step out of it, not by resisting, but by shifting my relationship to the signal itself.

This is what I do when it comes. This is what I offer you now.

The Step-Out Protocol

A gentle, repeatable ritual for when migraine-type pain arises.

This isn’t about suppressing the signal. It’s about creating space between you and the pain, so your body can remember it’s safe enough to release what it’s holding.

Phase 1: Anchor Awareness

“This is a pain signal. It is not danger.
My body is asking for coherence. I can respond with steadiness.”

• Place your hand over your heart, neck, or cheek
• Name what you feel (pressure, tightness, heat), without fear
• Simply witness it. No judgment. No story. Just presence.

Phase 2: Soften the System

Signal safety to your body through breath + posture

• Begin vagal breathing:  
  Inhale for 6 seconds  
  Exhale for 8 seconds (slow and steady)  
  Repeat for at least 4 rounds
• Relax your jaw, lower your shoulders
• Imagine warm breath flowing from the base of your skull down your spine

Let the body soften. Let the signal shift.

Phase 3: Step Out Gently

“I am not the pain.
I am the space the pain moves through.”

• Visualize yourself taking a step back — observing the pain like it’s across the room
• Say to yourself softly:  “I feel this, but I am not inside it.”  “I am aware. I am safe.”

This is not denial.

This is you reclaiming your agency inside your own field.

Phase 4: Flush + Flow

Support your body in releasing what it held

• Lightly tap:  
  Cheekbones  
  Temples  
  Forehead  
  Base of the skull
• Roll your shoulders or neck if it feels good
• Hum, sigh, or make sound to vibrate the vagus nerve

Optional mantra:

“Release the pressure.
Restore the flow.
Return to calm.”

Phase 5: Return to Wholeness

Seal the ritual with presence

• Place both hands on your heart
• Whisper or feel:  “My body is safe. My mind is clear. I am whole.”
• Stay here a moment. Feel the difference. Let your system receive the shift.

This isn’t a cure. It’s a nervous system ritual that helps you return to your own center when things start to spiral.

May it serve you when the storm rises. And may you know, you are never powerless inside your own body.