🌲 Rooted in Rhythm: How the Default Mode Network Shapes Healing and Occupation

By Lisa Haverly, MA OTR/L
Inspired by the teachings of Kim Barthel and grounded in nature-based neuro-occupational therapy

🧠 What Is the Default Mode Network?

The Default Mode Network (DMN) is a system of interconnected brain regions that becomes active during restful, internally focused states — such as:

• Self-reflection

• Emotional processing

• Mind-wandering or daydreaming

• Memory recall

• Internal narration and imagining

For years, behaviors like daydreaming were viewed as signs of distraction or inattention. But neuroscience now reveals that these quiet, contemplative moments are driven by healthy DMN activity — and are essential for identity formation, emotional integration, and cognitive processing.

When the DMN becomes overactive or dysregulated, however — as in trauma, anxiety, depression, or sensory overload — clients may experience mental fatigue, emotional overwhelm, or disconnection from the present moment, all of which can reduce occupational participation and quality of life.

🌱 Rooted in Rhythm & the DMN: A Neuro-Occupational Perspective

The Rooted in Rhythm Practice Framework helps occupational therapists reclaim the therapeutic power of rhythm, environment, and relationship. Within this framework, six “R”s guide therapeutic engagement:

1. Roots

2. Resonance

3. Rhythm

4. Restoration

5. Realization

6. Resilience

Together, these elements support safe access to the DMN — enabling clients to process, reflect, and ultimately re-engage in life with greater regulation and meaning.

Let’s explore each "R" in the context of DMN modulation.

🌳 1. The “R” of Roots

“Understanding the client’s occupational story and history.”

Roots represent our occupational profile — our life story, identity, and patterns of engagement. The DMN is deeply tied to autobiographical memory and narrative — and so understanding a client’s roots is not only about context, but about how their brain naturally reflects on experience.

When we honor a person’s roots:

• We acknowledge how trauma, culture, and life events shape self-perception.

• We hold space for how the DMN uses that history to make meaning.

• We avoid pathologizing the ways people retreat inward — and instead support safe processing.

In nature, clients often reconnect with their roots in a nonverbal, somatic way — through sensory cues, memories, or associations that arise organically.

💞 2. The “R” of Resonance

“Meaning-making through connection, co-regulation, and attunement.”

Resonance is the relational heartbeat of therapy. The DMN does not only process self-focused thoughts — it also activates during social cognition, such as imagining others’ perspectives and replaying past interactions.

Resonance is about:

• Co-regulation: A child, dysregulated indoors, softens after sharing a moment of quiet observation with a therapist in a natural space.

• Meaning-making: A client makes sense of past experiences by speaking them aloud to an attuned therapist, integrating emotion and insight.

• Relational safety: When the therapist holds steady, the client’s nervous system can shift — enabling the DMN to shift from rumination to reflection.

🌀 3. The “R” of Rhythm

“Using rhythm to regulate and access deeper reflection.”

Rhythm is the body's bridge to the DMN. It supports autonomic regulation and prepares the brain to enter a state of restful internal awareness.

Rhythm is essential for:

• Downregulating the sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight)

• Synchronizing cortical-subcortical activity

• Enabling smooth transitions from alert-task states to reflective-rest states

In OT:

• A client engages in rhythmic walking before a journaling session.

• A child rakes sand in repetitive motion, preparing for expressive play.

• Bilateral drumming helps regulate sensory input and prime cognitive flexibility.

🌿 Rhythm is how we access the DMN with safety — not get stuck in it.

🌬 4. The “R” of Restoration

“Building body awareness to support interoception and rest.”

Restoration is the recalibration of the body — essential for interoceptive awareness and full DMN engagement. Without embodied safety, DMN activity can become distorted by fear, shutdown, or dissociation.

Nature is uniquely restorative:

• Clients feel grounded by soft textures and earthy smells.

• Quiet spaces in nature promote parasympathetic tone.

• Gentle sensory input supports rest without disconnection.

In a moment of restoration:

A client sits quietly by the sea and begins to notice the strain in their shoulder. This simple awareness — arising amid rhythmic waves — signals both DMN activation and restorative interoception.

✨ 5. The “R” of Realization

“Increasing self-awareness through internal reflection.”

Realization is when the DMN becomes an ally in the client’s healing — allowing them to recognize patterns, needs, and bodily signals.

Examples of Realization in OT:

• A teen hears birdsong and notices their breath deepen.

• A trauma survivor, while gardening, senses a familiar emotional pattern arising — and chooses to name it.

• A child, after swinging rhythmically, begins to verbalize feelings for the first time that day.

These moments of realization aren’t forced — they’re earned through rhythm, safety, and restoration.

💪 6. The “R” of Resilience

“Supporting clients in moving between reflection and engagement.”

Resilience is the ability to enter and exit the DMN — to reflect without getting stuck, and to return to action with meaning.

Nature fosters this dynamic flexibility:

• A stroke survivor walks outdoors to re-regulate after cognitive fatigue.

• A child moves from rhythmic play to quiet contemplation.

• A client with depression gains capacity to shift from spiraling thoughts into purposeful activity — like planting or drawing.

In this sense, resilience is rhythmic, and the DMN becomes a neural pivot point between inner life and outward occupation.

🌍 Final Synthesis for OT Practice

When viewed through the Rooted in Rhythm lens, the Default Mode Network becomes not a barrier — but a bridge:

🌱 Roots ground identity.
💞 Resonance builds meaning through connection.
🌀 Rhythm prepares the brain.
🌬 Restoration opens the body to awareness.
✨ Realization brings insight.
💪 Resilience returns us to participation.

Nature, as a multisensory, relational, and rhythmic context, amplifies all six R’s — making it a profound therapeutic partner for occupational therapists seeking to support regulation, healing, and engagement.

📚 Final Thoughts

Nature-based OT is not just calming. It is neurologically organizing, emotionally reflective, and fundamentally occupational. When we use rhythm to access the DMN, and root our practice in awareness, restoration, and relationship, we help clients find meaningful transformation — not just function.

As occupational therapists, we don’t simply guide tasks.
We guide nervous systems through rhythm.
We guide insight through reflection.
We guide healing through occupation.

🙏 Acknowledgment

This reflection was inspired by the teachings of one of my mentors, Kim Barthel. I am deeply grateful to her for the generous way she shares her knowledge, and for her commitment to weaving science and compassion. You can learn more about Kim’s work at Relationship Matters.

The Rooted in Rhythm Practice Framework was developed by occupational therapist Lisa Haverly as a guiding model to help therapists intentionally harness the transformative power of nature within clinical practice. Lisa recognized that nature’s inherent rhythms and sensory richness offer a unique therapeutic environment that supports regulation, reflection, and reconnection. Her framework integrates neuroscience, occupational therapy principles, and experiential wisdom to create a clear, accessible pathway for practitioners to facilitate meaningful change grounded in clients’ lived experiences. Rooted in Rhythm invites therapists to honor the whole person — body, mind, and environment — in the journey toward healing and occupational engagement.

🌲🌲🌲You can learn more about Rooted in Rhythm here.