June Blog | The 12 Stage of Healing – Stage 6 | Dr. Codi Osborne, Innately Yours Chiropractic Studio

Stage Six is subtle, sacred, and powerful. It’s the calm before the breakthrough, the stillness before the storm of transformation.

After we’ve merged with our discomfort in Stage Five, something begins to stir beneath the surface. It’s not quite movement yet, it’s more like readiness. A deep, intuitive knowing that change is near. That something is about to resolve.

Dr. Donald Epstein calls this stage Preparation for Resolution and in many ways, it’s the first moment your system chooses healing for itself.

🔄 What This Stage Feels Like

You might feel:

• Restless or agitated, like you’re on the edge of something
• A strange stillness in the body, but not numbness, more like presence
• Emotionally charged, as if something is waiting to emerge

I often describe Stage Six as the feeling you get right before a big cry, a deep laugh, or a major “aha” moment. The body is holding the energy of transformation, waiting for the right moment to let it go.

💬 My Experience With Stage Six

Personally, I’ve felt Stage Six most vividly during seasons when something in my life needed to change, but I didn’t quite know how or when.

There was a time, right before I opened Innately Yours, when I could feel the tectonic plates shifting inside me. I wasn’t quite ready to take the leap, but I was also no longer comfortable staying the same. That internal tension? That pause before the pivot? That was Stage Six.

And once I said yes to the change… everything moved.

🧠 What Happens in the Nervous System

In this stage, the nervous system begins to mobilize energy. It prepares the spine and breath to release something significant, an emotion, a belief, or a long-held pattern.

In NetworkSpinal, we often observe:

• Deeper spinal waves forming
• Sudden stillness between contacts
• A moment where breath stops… then resumes with more clarity and ease

Your body is reorganizing. Something powerful is coming next.

🛠️ Practices for Stage Six

Stage Six is a great time to stay curious, grounded, and open. Try:

• Breath Awareness: Gently track your inhale and exhale without trying to control it. Notice the space between breaths.
• Journaling Prompt: “What am I on the verge of releasing or changing?”
• Movement: Slow walking, rocking, or swaying. Let your body guide you into the rhythm it needs.

Don’t force the shift. Trust that your body knows exactly when and how to release.

🤍 Let’s Connect

If you’ve been feeling “on the edge” of something but can’t quite name it, you may be in Stage Six. This stage is sacred—it means your nervous system is almost ready to let go of what no longer serves.

Ask us how this stage might relate to your care journey. Healing isn’t always loud or obvious. Sometimes it begins in the silence, the breath, the pause.

With anticipation and grace,
Dr. Codi