5 Ways to Quickly Calm Your Nervous System

More and more people begin to understand that managing stress is one of the most important things we can do to find a sense of balance in our chaotic world. At the end of the day, knowing how to relax our nervous system and handle stressors might be what will make the difference between just going through life or blossoming into our Self.

Here are 5 simple ways, you can use almost everywhere and at anytime, to help make your nervous system happy:

1. Mini Noticing Break: Sit for 1-3 minutes simply looking at your environment. Listen to sounds, notice the things you enjoy seeing (it can be anything: the color of a wall, pictures you love, the sky, flowers, etc.) notice what distracts you or what makes you smile. You might even name what you notice silently, or out loud. Explore and see how you respond to those mini noticing breaks.

2. Short Meditation Break: Take a 1- to 3-minute meditation whenever you need throughout the day. Close your eyes and tell yourself, maybe with a smile on your face, “it feels good to let go” or “it feels good to do nothing”, breathe and repeat.

3. Body Shake: Shake your body for at least one minute, you can do that sitting or standing. My suggestion is to start with shaking your hands, then your arms, and shoulders, and progressively allow the rest of your body to join the movement. Shaking is actually the way animals expel shocks and traumas, and humans are not really different in that area. If you are facing a challenging test or conversation, doing it beforehand will bring you back into your body and help you be more centered.

4. Imagination Break: Close your eyes and imagine yourself near a small creek. Let your arms hang and imagine that one of your hands is in the water and you can feel the sensation of the water running through your fingers and around your hand. Notice how this imaginary sensation fills you. Then repeat with the other hand. This exercise can be done in 30 seconds or less and, if you like how it feels, you can do it for as long as you wish.

5. Cleaning Ritual: One of my daily favorites is to clean my face and neck with a hot facecloth. After wetting the cloth with hot water, wring it out. Close your eyes, and place it on your face, then press gently and move it around on your neck and face. Repeat as often as you wish and enjoy how good it feels to have your tension relax and your pores open. Personally, I believe it has anti-aging effects.

I hope you will enjoy some of those nurturing and calming exercises and, you may even add other tools to this list. If it feels right, feel free to share them below with all of us.

Wishing you a delightful rest of the day.