two Ways to calm the nervous system quickly
How familiar are you with the nervous system?
This is a part of the internal operating system of the body, it governs how you think, feel, and respond to the world around you. It’s your body’s “Command Centre”, beginning in the brain, moving through the spinal column and into every nerve ending in the body.
When the nervous system is in dis-regulation, then you will have all kinds of issues, ranging from chronic to acute. This could be anything from anxiety to depression, stress or over-thinking, mis-placed or excess fear, dis-ease, distraction, chronic exhaustion or pain, etc.
There are many ways in which to regulate the nervous system, in this blog post, I’ll share two options with you that make for fast acting results…
First, let’s get to know the nervous system a little bit better so you can know HOW TO identify when you’re entering or in dis-regulation, this will look different for everyone. As you slowly get to know yourself more, then you’ll be able to identify tale-tale signs that you’ve enter fight, flight, or freeze.
Your nervous system sends messages from the brain to various points within the body. In the time of our ancestors, the nervous system would signal to the body when there was something to be aware of, a danger up ahead, or something out of place. This benefited our ancestors who predominately lived outdoors and were probably nomadic, traveling to places with unknown stressors.
If one was sitting quietly collecting water at the stream, and was unaware that a lion has approached … the nervous system would sense this danger, to tell the individual to ‘be aware’ or ‘RUN’. The individual would have that heitened sense of awareness, and would be able to leap into action to save their lives, run from the lion, get to a safe place and then be able to calm down.
That’s not how it is for us today though…the “lion” is now in the form of a job that’s un-serving, or unhealthy relationships, it’s in looping thought patterns, or anxiety caused by trauma.
According to the energy of the body, the nervous system doesn’t know that your boss isn’t a lion, it only knows that you tense when they walk into the room, sending your system into a hyper state of awareness. You’re now prepared to fight or flight for your safety, energetically speaking.
Your boss may not be a bad person in this story, but the nervous system doesn’t know that because of the chronic stress that you’re living in.
Secondly, the nervous system also freezes, causing us to become stuck in patterns or in lifestyle habits that we don’t even enjoy. But because the system is froze, it’s almost like a computer that’s stuck in the buffer mode, you have to re-start the computer in order for it to work properly.
The same goes for your nervous system, it needs frequent re-starts due to the fast-paced, busy lifestyles that we live these days.
So let’s look at TWO WAYS in which you can regulate the nervous system when you’re sitting in traffic, about to walk into a meeting, feeling overwhelmed, etc.
METHOD ONE of self-regulation:
Your BREATH. This is the life force of your body, your breath is very powerful in healing you and regulating the system. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, do this…
Close or lower the gaze of the eyes
Place one hand on your stomach, and the other over your heart
Breathe slow, very slow, deep breaths
If you know Ujjay breathing, then this is a perfect time to use it, if not, you can find my video here.
Stay here breathing until you feel calm and confident.
This may release emotions or tears, I encourage you to let those come out so that you can feel better.
METHOD TWO of self-regulation:
The Butterfly Hug - this is a tapping method that helps to awake the brain, and release anxiety, stress, or overwhelm by giving your a fresh perspective.
Here’s how you do it:
Cross & Interlace your thumbs together
The remaining fingers will be splayed out on opposite directions
Place your hands on your chest - to where the finger tips touch near the space between the arm and arm-pitt
Close or lower the gaze of the eyes
Breathe deeply and slowly to settle in
Then begin to alternate tap the fingers - lift the fingers to tap the space where they land and alternate between this movement until you’re feeling calmer.
One thing to keep in mind is that this is a practice, regulating the nervous system takes time and dedication to the outcome. Take your time with these methods and use them interchangeably, some days may call for one or the other or both, follow the intuition.
You have the power to get yourself out of these debilitating nervous system responses and into ease and confidence.
~ Johnna
Wanting to know how you can regulate your nervous system to become more resilient? Join the Resilient Roundtable, where you can discuss your grief or struggles that you’re currecntly facing, while receiving positive feedback from myself or others in the group.
Each week we will cover a new way to regulate the nervous system. You can find that information here… see you there!