The ONE STEP Most Health Professionals Skip—And Why It’s Costing Results

The ONE STEP Most Therapists, Coaches, and Trainers Skip—And Why It’s Costing Results

Before You Treat, Train, or Activate… Do This First 

The #1 Neuro Principle That Changes Everything

Let’s get right to it:

You can have the best drills in the world—the perfect eye pattern, the sharpest vestibular reset, the ultimate proprioceptive challenge.

But if your client’s nervous system isn’t regulated?
None of it will work.

This is one of the foundational truths of applied neurology, and it’s why so many well-meaning practitioners hit a wall with their clients—despite using great tools.

 Here it is ......

"Regulate Before You Activate - Matt Bush"

 

At Next Level Neuro, we call this the golden rule of the Transformation Ladder Framework:

“Regulate before you activate.”

Because without regulation—without a sense of safety in the brain—your client’s nervous system will reject even the most precise intervention.

Real talk:

If the nervous system is in fight, flight, or freeze, it’s not going to accept new input.

Do you know what it is trying to do, for everyone? 

It's just trying to survive.

And that means your brilliant neuro drills?
They might as well be noise.

What Does Regulation Mean?

Regulation means the nervous system can move between states—up and down—without getting stuck.

A regulated system can:

• Tolerate new challenges
• Recover from stressors
• Integrate new inputs effectively

A dysregulated system might:

• Overreact to small challenges
• Fatigue quickly
• Shut down or flare up during simple drills
• Feel worse after the session instead of better

And no, this doesn’t mean your drill is bad.
It means your timing is off.

What Happens When You Skip Regulation?

Most traditional training models say:
Stretch. Mobilize. Strengthen.

Add stimulus.

Create adaptation.

That works—but only when the brain feels safe.

If you skip regulation:

• Inputs don’t land
• Clients plateau
• Progress reverses
• Frustration builds
• You start second-guessing your tools

And here's the truth most don’t want to admit:

When clients don’t respond, it’s almost always because the nervous system wasn’t ready—not because you picked the “wrong” drill.

What Regulation Looks Like in Practice

Here are a few tools that help regulate the system before you activate it:

• Alternate nostril breathing
• Long exhale breathwork
• Grounding smells (essential oils, coffee beans, etc.)
• Slow, rhythmic head or eye movement
• Gentle tactile input (especially face, hands, and feet)
• Humming, low tone auditory input (vagus nerve love)
• Light touch or vibration to areas of the body stuck in tension

These help shift the nervous system out of high-alert survival mode and into a state where it can accept change.

Why This Principle Changes Everything

When you start every session by checking for regulation, your outcomes improve immediately:

• Drills work faster
• Clients feel better during and after sessions
• Regression decreases
• Progress becomes sustainable
• Your confidence as a coach or therapist goes way up

Because you’re no longer just hoping something works.
You’re reading the nervous system and acting accordingly.

Here Is Your Process

1. Check baseline — Is your client showing signs of tension, fatigue, or overwhelm?
2. Apply a regulation drill — Pick one that calms or grounds the system.
3. Reassess — Did the body shift? Range of motion, breathing, facial tone, energy?
4. If yes → Move forward with activation.
5. If no → Stay in regulation until the body gives the green light.

The Nervous System Doesn’t Need to Be Convinced—It Needs to Feel Safe

You could spend hours perfecting the protocol.

But if the nervous system is saying, “I don’t feel safe,”
No amount of drills will override that.

So next time something doesn’t work…
Don’t jump to a new drill.
Don’t blame the client.
Regulate. Then activate.

Because the brain isn’t waiting to be fixed.
It’s waiting to feel safe enough to change.

Want to learn how to spot dysregulation, apply regulation drills, and know exactly when to activate?

Watch the free masterclass here.

Want to learn how we teach this in our Next Level Neuro Mentorship and how that integrates into your current business? 

Click here to learn about our Mentorship Program.