Have you ever been startled by a sudden noise or unexpected movement and felt your whole body jolt?
That automatic “shock” reaction resembles a primitive survival mechanism called the Moro Reflex — one of the first reflexes to appear in a baby’s nervous system.
Although it should naturally disappear by around four to six months of age, traces of this early reflex can remain active later in life if it doesn’t fully integrate, influencing balance, coordination, and emotional responses.
What Is the Moro Reflex?
The Moro Reflex is an automatic, primitive reflex that develops while a baby is still in the womb. It’s triggered by sudden changes in sound, light, or movement — especially shifts in head position detected by the vestibular system, which acts as the body’s early warning sensor.
When activated, it sets off the sympathetic nervous system’s fight-or-flight response. The baby instinctively throws their arms outward, takes a sharp breath in, and often cries. This is followed by a curling-in movement — bringing the arms and legs across the body in a protective, cross-pattern position.
This reflex serves as the baby’s first alarm system, alerting both the body and the caregiver that something unexpected has happened.
Why Do We Have It?
The Moro Reflex plays a vital role in early survival and connection. It ensures the baby can signal for help and attention if startled, keeping them safe and fostering strong caregiver bonding.
As the brain matures, higher brain centres gradually take over these automatic responses, allowing the child to handle stress and surprises with more control.
When Should It Integrate?
Typically, the Moro Reflex should integrate (fade away) between four to six months of age. As the nervous system develops, the primitive startle reaction becomes replaced with more refined responses controlled by higher more evolved brain areas.
Once integrated, this process supports smoother postural control, better balance, and calmer emotional regulation.
What Happens If It Doesn’t Integrate?
If the Moro Reflex remains active beyond infancy, it can continue to influence both the body and emotions. Because it’s linked to the vestibular and sympathetic systems, an unintegrated reflex can cause the body to remain on “high alert,” making it overreactive to change and stress.
Common signs may include:
- Heightened sensitivity to noise, light, or motion
- Motion sickness or avoidance of spinning and balancing activities
- Poor balance and coordination
- Difficulty relaxing after being startled
- Emotional reactivity or anxiety
- Trouble adapting to new situations or transitions
For adults, this may appear as a sense of tension or being “on edge” more often than others — the nervous system reacting as though danger is near even when it isn’t.
Exercises to Help Integrate the Moro Reflex
To help the body and brain rewire this primitive response, we can use movement-based exercises that follow a three-stage progression: replicate, modify, and override the reflex pattern.
This approach retrains the nervous system step-by-step, moving from automatic reflexive responses to calm, coordinated control.
Stage 1 – Replicate the Reflex (Recreate the Movement Pattern)
In the first stage, the goal is to mimic the Moro Reflex movement pattern in a safe and controlled way. This helps the brain reconnect with the reflex and start the process of reintegration.
Exercise: Swiss Ball Sit-Up
Sit on a Swiss ball and roll back until your head and shoulders are supported.
Let your head extend fully backward while your arms reach overhead, recreating the startle posture.
Then gently curl forward into a sit-up, bringing your arms back in towards your body, as if returning to safety.
This movement reintroduces the reflex pattern consciously, preparing the brain for change while also working on your core strength.
Stage 2 – Modify the Reflex (Bring It Under Cortical Control)
Next, we refine the movement and bring it under higher cortical control by adding slow, deliberate coordination.
Exercise: Starfish
Lie on your back with your arms and legs outstretched.
Slowly bring your limbs together in a cross-pattern — for example, left arm and left leg on top as they meet across the midline.
Pause briefly, then open back out and repeat with the right arm and right leg on top.
This exercise requires focus and coordination, helping the brain override the brain stems reflex’s automatic firing and replace it with controlled, balanced movement from the motor cortex.
Stage 3 – Override the Reflex (Oppose the Movement Pattern)
In this final stage, we completely reverse the Moro Reflex movement pattern, teaching the body to move calmly in opposition to the original reflex.
Exercise: All-Fours Superman
Start on all fours.
Bring your left knee and right elbow together as your head extends.
Then extend your arm and leg out straight as your head moves into flexion (chin tucked).
Repeat on the opposite side.
Here, the arm and leg positions move in opposition to what happens in the Moro Reflex — effectively retraining the nervous system to stay composed during unexpected movement.
How to Progress Through the Stages
You can think of this program as gradual neural retraining. The idea is to move through each stage as your control and coordination improve.
- Phase 1 (week 1-2): Spend about two-thirds of your training time on Stage 1 (replicate), and divide the remaining time equally between Stage 2 and Stage 3.
- Phase 2 (week 3-4): Once you feel more coordinated, move to one-third of your time on each stage.
- Phase 3 (week 5-6): When you’re ready, spend two-thirds of your training time on the override exercise, keeping small portions for the earlier stages to maintain integration.
This progression mirrors healthy neurological development — from primitive reflexes to full voluntary control — and helps your body regain calmness and precision through movement.
Bringing It All TogetherBy revisiting and retraining the Moro Reflex, you can help your nervous system respond to stress in a calmer, more balanced way.
These exercises don’t just support physical coordination — they promote better emotional regulation, improved balance, and a sense of grounded stability