Embrace Calm.

Our nervous system is designed to keep us safe, often through becoming activated when are under stress or threat of some kind. However, this very adaptive mechanism can get “stuck” in a place of chronic overdrive if we do not actively reset. Scroll for resources that can help in this process of regulating the nervous system, and easing back into a state of calm.

Our nervous systems are extremely complex and adaptive mechanisms intent on keeping us safe.

One way to visual this system is to imagine a wave. Our nervous systems start at a baseline regulation; we often hear the term “rest and digest” to describe this calm state of being. When something triggers our sympathetic nervous system, a cocktail of hormones and chemicals floods our system, putting us in a state of activation. In this state, we are in “protection” mode and this can often look like “fight-or-flight.” Once the threat is gone, our system has natural methods to come back into a state of regulation, or the parasympathetic aka rest-and-digest state.

However, our modern world has conditioned us to bypass the natural process of coming back into regulation.

What happens when our nervous system doesn’t complete the cycle of the wave? Our body stays in a state of hypervigilance, being “on guard” in a chronically stressed and anxious state. This is the danger zone! We now know that when our bodies are locked into the sympathetic nervous system, our body starts spiraling with stress hormones leading to inflammation, which leads to many issues with our mental health, and makes our bodies vulnerable to disease.

Here are some helpful go-tos:

Breathwork

So how can we come back down?

Since the activation begins in the body, regulation must happen in the body, too! This is why we can’t think our way out of feeling anxious or stressed. Instead, we have to work with the body’s natural systems to unlock a sense of ease and calm.

Meditation

Movement

Keep scrolling for examples of each, and tips on where to begin.

breathwork.

Using breath to calm our nervous systems can be quite simple. Here are a couple of examples to try:

Extended Exhale

Start by counting 2 breaths in, pause, exhale for 3 counts. Inhale for 3 counts, pause, exhale for 4 counts. Inhale for 4 counts, pause, exhale for 5 counts. Inhale for 5 counts, pause, exhale for 6 counts. Take a break there and come back to your natural breath. Do this as many times as you’d like.

4-7-8

There are several versions of this breathing pattern, but the concept is similar to the extended exhale above. Inhale for 4 counts, hold your breath for 7 counts, and then sloooowly exhale for 8 counts. Repeat as many times as you’d like.

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These two examples work by signaling our parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous system to relaaax! The longer exhale gives the body a message that we are no longer under threat, and our systems can go back to baseline. Often people yawn, or feel sleepy, and become immensely relaxed during these exercises.

To find many more breathwork exercises, including guided breathwork — download the Insight Timer app. This app has oodles of free content!

meditation.

In the simplest terms, meditation is nonjudgmental present-moment awareness.

We can cultivate this state of mindfulness in various different ways, but the simplest way to get started is by following a guided meditation. Once again, the Insight Timer app has a wide variety of meditations to choose from (for free!). If you’d rather do a more freeform meditation experience, using calming sounds can be really helpful. I recommend this app called Chakra Meditation Balancing. This free app features sounds tuned to the 7 chakras, and each sound plays indefinitely and is sooooo soothing!

Some tips for getting started:

  • Recognize that your mind may reject the idea of sitting still, and that thoughts will likely come flooding in. This is normal, and doesn’t mean that you are “bad” at meditating! It simply means that your cognitive mind, what I call “the command center,” is used to being in charge, and doesn’t want to let go of its post

  • Start small! Like, itsy bitsy small. 3 minutes. 5 minutes. 7 minutes. Let yourself ease into the experience.

  • Manage your expectations. It can take time and practice to feel “comfortable” letting our thoughts float on by, and to bring our awareness into our bodies. Give yourself grace!

At this point, there have been numerous research studies showing just how beneficial meditation is for the physical, emotional, spiritual, and energetic body. Meditation, with its emphasis on breath and awareness, also give the body a clear message to relax, release, and enter a state of calm.

movement.

Gentle movement is a form of active relaxation.

Walking, yoga or stretching, and practices such as qi gong give the body an opportunity to fully reset.