✶ Glimmers & the Polyvagal Nervous System ✶ Somatic Pathways to Safety, Pleasure & Regulation
“Glimmers” are micro-moments of safety, warmth, and connection. Miniscule sparks of goodness that signal to our nervous system that we are safe, present, and open to pleasure. In contrast to our triggers, which activate our stress responses, glimmers invite our body into deeper states of relaxation, receptivity, curiousity and joy.
From a nervous system perspective, glimmers are the small, often subtle experiences that signal safety, connection, and ease. Glimmers, coined as a counterpoint to “triggers” by licensed clinical social worker and polyvagal theory expert Deb Dana. Glimmers are moments that gently activate the ventral vagal pathway, a state where the body feels resourced enough to be present, curious, and open. A warm cup in the hands, soft eye contact, pleasing scents, slow exhales, a felt sense of “ahh”. These micro-experiences tell the nervous system, you’re okay right now.
This not about ignoring, bypassing, or staying positive. From a nervous system lens, working with our glimmers is about expanding our capacity, not denial. Our nervous system can only process pain, fear, grief, or trauma in doses it can metabolise. Glimmers resource us, they stabilise and widen our window of tolerance so the body can actually stay present with the hard stuff without becoming overwhelmed, dissociated, or shut down. Without glimmers and a way to a felt sense of create safety, diving into our pain can often just reinforce our survival patterns.
In somatics we call this pendulation, not avoidance. We touch into difficulty, then orient to safety. Gently moving back and forth between these states, allowing the body to feel supported enough to return, over time, this back-and-forth teaches the nervous system I can feel this and survive. This is about integration, not bypassing through positivity.
Glimmers don’t erase pain or complexity, they aid us in creating the conditions where pleasure and grief, desire and fear, can all coexist. This moments of pleasure and goodness becomes reparative precisely because it happens alongside truth, not instead of it.
When it comes to pleasure practices, glimmers are essential because pleasure cannot be accessed through force or performance. Pleasure emerges when our body feels safe enough to receive and experience the full range of feeling. For many people, especially those with trauma histories or chronic stress, jumping straight into “pleasure” can be overwhelming. Glimmers act as on-ramps, supporting our system in widening its window of tolerance so that sensation becomes tolerable, then enjoyable, then nourishing.
By intentionally tracking and cultivating glimmers, through touch, breath, movement, sound, fantasy, or environment. We train the nervous system to notice safety and goodness, not just threats. Over time, this rewires attention and expectation, making pleasure more accessible. In this way, glimmers are not trivial they are foundational practice that build the capacity for intimacy, desire, and embodied joy to arise organically.
