How to Regulate your Nervous System - 7 quick and easy ways to down regulate and feel better fast!
Hello Everyone,
I hope this post find you all well and able to take a little time to enjoy the autumn sunshine. Here in Western Canada the trees are bursting into their grande finale of breathtaking colour. The provincial park near my house is a sea of glorious yellows, golds, ochres and reds. Fall really is the seasonal jewel in the crown in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Watching nature in all of its magical splendour this week, led me to consider the abundance of healing properties it provides for us humans. As I observed the gentle sway of the golden leaves in the warm breeze, I contemplated the nervous system and how this delicate, complex part of our beings has so been challenged for an extended period of time: life has and continues to be a lot! In this post pandemic season many of us are finding that we feel stressed, uninspired and unmotivated. Add in a lack of focus and concentration, and it is becoming obvious that we are experiencing some level of fall out from the past three years. Burn out from a duration of running on empty with untold stressors, has taken a toll on our nervous systems. So with nature as inspiration today, I sat down with pen and paper in hand and began to draw on my years of experience as a health professional, mum, and spiritual and yoga teacher, to devise a list of quick and easy ways to regulate the nervous system fast.
So much information came out that today is part one of a nervous system series. In this post I will discuss small, simple ideas to down regulate right away. This means deliberately practising shifting your nervous system from a sympathetic (fight or flight mode) to a parasympathetic (rest and digest mode) state. In part two, I will delve a little deeper and share ways that we can all move through the rest of this year and into 2023 with the building blocks to nourish, rejuvenate and generate greater resilience into our lifestyles, to ultimately relieve our over active nervous systems in the long term. So let’s begin today with 7 quick and easy ways to regulate the nervous system fast in moments of stress.
1). Breathe - One of the quickest and most effective ways to regulate your nervous system in times of stress is to simply go to your breath. This powerful tool is available all the time, but we often forget that we have the ability to control it, and allow it to work so beautifully for us. Begin by taking just a few minutes to become aware of your breath. Slow it down a little and just be with your breath. You can repeat in your mind a short mantra such as “I am breathing in, I am breathing out” and this will automatically slow your pattern of breathing down. You can also place one hand on your stomach at your solar plexus and the other on your chest, at your heart centre. Placing your hands here gives a slight pressure to the body, which is also immediately calming and signals to your brain that you are safe. If you would like to take it one step further, you can then use the rise and fall of your hands on your body, to work with your breath. Taking a smooth, even breath in through your nose, you can count in your mind 1…2…3…4. Then exhale through your nose, for a steady even count of 1…2…3…4 and pause before starting again. In yoga this breath awareness is called pranayama. If this feels good, you can then try a slightly extended exhalation. When we extended the exhalation just two counts longer than the inhalation, the vagus nerve (running from the neck down through the diaphragm) sends a signal to the brain to move into the parasympathetic nervous system and away from the sympathetic nervous system. The breath is such a powerful ally for regulating the nervous system. Learning how to tap into its magic will serve you well. If you would like to spend a few minutes with me in a nurturing and nervous system soothing Savasana practice, then click here for an instant yoga nervous system regulation. https://youtu.be/Qvj8Y2sGlIo
The breath is a powerful ally for regulating the nervous system.
2). Give yourself a hug - As mentioned above, the placing of the hands onto the body immediate signals to the brain that safety is available. The weight of your hands and the pressure of the touch is hugely comforting to us and moves us into our parasympathetic (the rest and digest) nervous systems fast. All you have to do is place both hands on opposite shoulders and cross your arms in front of you. Now give yourself some gentle pressure to the shoulders, then move down your biceps slowly and finally come to your elbows. Repeat a few times. The nerve endings right under the surface of the skin cells on our upper body love this touch and pressure. It creates delta waves in the brain (the same brain waves during deep REM sleep) and gradually slows the beta wave pattern down. It’s the reason we humans love hugs so much! So if you feel unsettled in your body, or stressed and upset, giving yourself a hug immediately soothes and regulates the nervous system fast. Alternatively, hug someone else and the benefits are twofold!
Hug your pet and soothe your nervous system fast!
3). Acupressure - This ancient Chinese Medicine practice works with the energy channels (meridians) that run throughout our body. Along these meridians, there are many acupressure points and each one is linked to a specific organ and function in the body. So when we experience symptoms of nervous system dysregulation, such as headaches, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness etc... applying pressure to specific acupressure points can help to balance energy and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Some particularly useful acupressure points for regulating the nervous system fast are:
Yin Ting - the point right at the centre of the forehead between the
eyebrows. Also known as the third eye. Using one or two fingers,
gently press into this point, using tiny clockwise circles. Take some
deeper breathes while doing this and in a few minutes you will begin
to move into from the flight or fight of deregulation in your body to
the calm of rest and digest in the parasympathetic nervous system.
L14 - this a powerful point and should not be used if you are
pregnant. It is located between the thumb and forefinger and when
pressed it can feel quite tender. This point assists with the free flow
of energy in the body, and when massaged with a medium pressure
while taking some deeper, even breathes, the body and mind begins
to regulate and a sense of calm is infused.
LR3 - this is a great point for calming tension and bringing balance
to upset emotions. It is also very helpful for fighting fatigue and the
lack of energy that accompanies nervous system dysregulation. LR3
is situated on the top of the foot between the first and second toe.
You will feel a slight indent when you find it and again, it might feel
a little tender. Pressing this point with your thumb, while taking some
even, mindful breathes will bring a sense of balance and peace.
For detailed instruction on these and other acupressure points, click these links! https://youtu.be/lacxemKkHOg and https://youtu.be/fROhU6VsISg
4). Drop your jaw - this is one of the speediest ways to move into a more regulated state. It literally takes seconds and can be accompanied by some deeper, even breathes as mentioned in point number 1. When the nervous system is in flight or fight mode, we often brace and hold our jaws very tightly. It is amazing how much tension is held in this area of the body. The moment we drop the jaw, it signals to our brains that our nervous system can relax. In Savasana, the final pose in a yoga practice when the body relaxes and absorbs the benefits of the practice, we often give the cue to release the muscles of the face and jaw. This quickly moves yoga students beyond just resting on the mat, to a state of deeper relaxation and peace.
5). Add weight - applying weight to the body instantly brings a calm and steady influence to our beings. Think of being wrapped in a warm, heavy blanket and how comforting that feels, or the sensation of a warm wheat bag on cold feet. Even even just the weight of your own hands on your body as discussed in point number 2, brings a sense of peace. Weight calms the nerves and we feel the soothing effects of it fast. The official term for this is Proprioceptive Input, and it is used in physical and occupational therapy with much success for many health conditions which affect the nervous system. If adding weight is something that your body craves, then there are weighted blankets and pillows that can be used to add weight to specific areas of the body. Placed on the shoulders, back, chest, stomach, legs or feet, the pressure is wonderful for soothing your nervous system quick and effectively. Here are some links to weighted products: https://www.amazon.ca/Weighted-Blanket-Flannel-Blankets-Premium/dp/B085Q1K1CL/ref=sr_1_12?crid=82D8QCC4T6YC&keywords=weighted%2Bblanket&qid=1664563730&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI3LjMzIiwicXNhIjoiNy4yMyIsInFzcCI6IjYuODkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=w%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-12&th=1 and https://www.amazon.ca/Pure-Enrichment%C2%AE-WeightedWarmthTM-Non-Toxic-Micromink/dp/B084T34MXN/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1HE7LJLTCGT5P&keywords=weighted%2Bpad&qid=1664563920&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjkwIiwicXNhIjoiMy4zMCIsInFzcCI6IjIuNDIifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=weighted%2Bpad%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-10&th=1
6). Shake it off - Shaking is a natural response to trauma and we can probably all remember times in our lives when we have actually physical shaken. After a shock for example, or when we were extremely nervous. After the birth of my first child I shook so hard that I thought I would move the bed along the labour room floor. Shaking is the body’s way of releasing tension, as it tries to find a way back to its normal state of being. It is a deep and primal response and animals do it all the time. So when we feel overwhelmed or find ourselves in need of a way to regulate our nervous system, shaking is a really fast and effective way to move towards calm. Just find a few minutes to start shaking the hands, arms, feet, legs and move to a full body shake to quickly release tension and activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
7). Tap it out - Tapping or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a practice of tapping on acupressure points on the body. This short practice stimulates positive brainwave frequencies or delta waves, and quickly starts to release the positive chemicals serotonin and dopamine to the brain. The practice is very simple and easy to do. Start at the top of your head and tap gently right in the centre at the crown. Move to the temples, then between the eyebrows, then the forehead. Move to cheekbone, then above the lip, then on the chin. Follow with the chest, then under the armpit, top of the wrist and to finish right above the wrist on your little finger side. This technique can be transformational for some people and is definitely a quick and easy way to regulate the nervous system.
Nature in all its magical splendour!
So there you have it! 7 simple, but highly effective ways to regulate your nervous system when you feel overwhelmed with life. In times of stress, or just in periods when the world feels a bit too much, learning quick techniques to feel better fast can be life changing. Give one or all of them a try and I would love to know how it goes for you. Chat with me in the comments below, or send me a message on the Connect with Me page of this website. I am available to answer any questions about the practices, and I would just love to chat about health and wellness with you. You can also find me on Instagram and on YouTube. Come practice with me there, I would love to see you!
And as always if this inspired you today, please share it with a friend; it might inspire them too!
Until next time... Be Well!
