What is Bilateral Stimulation? (BLS)
Have you ever noticed how taking a walk clears your head, or how listening to rhythmic music makes you feel calmer? These aren’t just happy accidents—they’re examples of a powerful principle called bilateral stimulation.
Bilateral stimulation (often shortened to BLS) is at the heart of EMDR therapy, and it’s also the heartbeat of this blog. Understanding it is the first step toward using simple, everyday tools to bring calm, focus, and resilience into your daily life.
The Brain’s Natural Healing Process
Bilateral stimulation means alternating engagement of both sides of the brain and body. This can happen through movement (like walking), touch (like tapping your knees), sound (like alternating tones in your ears), or sight (like following a light back and forth).
In Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, BLS is used to help the brain reprocess difficult memories, reduce emotional distress, and restore balance (Shapiro, 2001).
Outside of therapy, gentle forms of BLS can serve as grounding tools—helping you feel calmer, more focused, and more connected to your body.
Why BLS Matters
Research suggests BLS works by:
Engaging both hemispheres of the brain → This integration supports balance between logic and emotion.
Tapping into working memory → When the brain is lightly occupied with a task like following movement, it has less room to fuel intrusive thoughts (van den Hout & Engelhard, 2012).
Activating the parasympathetic nervous system → Repetitive, rhythmic movement cues the body’s “rest and digest” mode, supporting calm.
Studies even show that certain repetitive, bilateral activities—like juggling—can lead to neuroplasticity, literally reshaping gray matter in the brain (Draganski et al., 2004).
In other words: BLS helps the brain shift, calm, and adapt.
Examples of BLS
BLS doesn’t have to involve special equipment. It often shows up in daily life:
Walking, running, or swimming.
Rocking in a chair.
Tapping alternating hands on your thighs.
Listening to alternating sounds in headphones.
Dancing to music with a steady rhythm.
These activities may feel naturally soothing because they engage the same principles that EMDR therapists harness in sessions.
How Outside Sessions Uses BLS
This blog, Outside Sessions, is about exploring easy, creative, and accessible ways to bring BLS into your daily routine. Each post will highlight a different tool, practice, or activity—from juggling, to pen tapping, to knitting, to using a tennis ball during your morning run.
Some posts will dive into the science behind why BLS works. Others will share step-by-step guides you can try immediately. Together, they’ll give you a library of practical tools you can use anytime, anywhere.
Therapist’s Note
While BLS is a core part of EMDR therapy, the examples in this blog are not a substitute for therapy. Think of them as companions—ways to support yourself outside of sessions.
If you’re currently in therapy, consider sharing your experience with these practices. If you’re not, and you’d like to explore how EMDR and BLS could help you process and heal, I’d love to connect. Contact me here.
