How to Secretly Rest Your Nervous System

 

 

  • In today's episode, I open up about my own journey with nervous system dysregulation—how it showed up as a constant, underlying sense of unsafety in my body, confusion, emotional overwhelm, and feeling utterly lost.

  •  I share how I thought that it was a symptom of grief and the associated PTSD and how shocked I was to learn that perimenopause, which I had initially dismissed as “just hormones”—is actually a powerful neurological experience and can cause nervous symptom dysregulation. 

    After a life-changing somatic training in Barcelona, I learned how our bodies hold on to unprocessed emotions, trauma, and memories, often locking them into our physical selves. But I also know that not all of us have the space or desire to drop everything and do a full-blown somatic practice when things feel hard—especially when we want to regulate ourselves quietly, without drawing attention.

    So in this episode, I share five beautifully simple and discreet tools that you can use anytime, anywhere, to help soothe your nervous system:

 

Hold your own hand. Whether you’re lying in bed or sitting in a meeting, simply cupping your own hands together with gentle pressure can create an instant sense of safety, comfort, and self-support.

 

4-8 Breathing. Breathe in for four counts, out for eight. Lengthening your exhale helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system and brings your body back to calm—no one even needs to notice you’re doing it.

 

Body Scan. Bring quiet awareness to different parts of your body, noticing and releasing tension from your head to your toes (or vice versa). This subtle check-in can make an immediate difference in how grounded and relaxed you feel.

 

Anchor Object. Whether it’s a stone, a piece of jewelry, or a small desk trinket, keep something meaningful nearby or in your pocket. Touching or even just looking at your anchor object can pull you out of overwhelm and return you to the present moment, quickly and privately.

 

Relax your vagina. Yes, really! Our jaw and pelvic floor are intimately connected. Next time you need to relax, try consciously relaxing your pelvic floor or your jaw (or both)—it can shift your energy and even help you find your voice again, especially if repression or overwhelm have kept you quiet for too long.

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    Throughout this conversation, I reflect on how these tender, tiny practices can not only carry us through rough patches but reconnect us to our bodies, our truth, and a new confidence in expressing ourselves—especially in times of transition.

    If this episode resonates, I’d love for you to share it and tag me on social. Please subscribe and leave a review to help other women find this space, and remember: you are not alone in this wild, wise, and ever-changing cycle of life.

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