Simple Ways to Calm Your Nervous System and Reconnect with Safety
Your nervous system is the foundation of how you feel, how you respond, and how deeply you’re able to access your feminine energy, intuition, and sense of inner safety. When life becomes overwhelming or old emotional patterns are triggered, your system can shift into survival mode — making it harder to think clearly, feel grounded, or stay connected to yourself.
The good news is that your body is always trying to return to balance.
With the right cues, it can soften, regulate, and relearn what safety feels like — without needing to revisit past wounds or relive old stories.
Below are gentle, science-backed tools I use with clients to help them calm their nervous system, release emotional tension, and reconnect with a deeper sense of grounding and self-trust. Each practice is simple, accessible, and designed to support you in moments when your mind feels busy, your body feels tight, or your emotions feel overwhelming.
These techniques invite you back into your body.
Back into safety.
Back into yourself.
Interrupt the Old Pattern
To pause the automatic emotional loop before it spirals and gently redirect your nervous system toward regulation.
Your brain loves repetition. That’s why certain reactions (like anxiety, self-blame, or shutting down) can feel automatic.
Interrupting them gives your system a new choice.Try this:
Notice when an old emotional pattern is beginning.
Pause.
Make a small shift in your body: stand up, shake your hands, stretch your spine, or change rooms.
Say softly: “I choose a new response.”
Take 3 deep breaths.
Ask yourself: “What would I rather feel right now?”
This simple pause interrupts the survival loop and opens the door to regulation.
2. Soothing Through Bilateral Movement
Purpose:
To calm the nervous system and help the brain process emotional tension through gentle left-right stimulation.
Bilateral movement mirrors the brain’s emotional processing during sleep (REM) to file, process, and resolve experiences- and helps reduce overwhelm.
Try this:
Gently tap your knees left–right–left.
OR take a mindful walk while swinging your arms left &right .
OR listen to left–right audio such as bilateral music or soft binaural beats.
Keep going until your breath slows and your body softens. This signals safety.
3. The Butterfly Touch
Purpose:
To soften the body's stress response in moments of anxiety or activation, reconnecting you to your breath, your body, and the feeling of being safe, supported, and held from within.
This gentle technique is often used in trauma therapy to stabilise the nervous system.
It combines bilateral stimulation with nurturing touch — calming the emotional brain while soothing the body.
Try this:
Cross your arms over your chest, resting each hand under your collarbone.
Create “butterfly wings” with your fingers.
Gently tap one side, then the other: left–right–left.
Breathe slowly and repeat:
“I am safe. I am here. It’s okay to feel.”
As you tap, breathe deeply and repeat:
“I am safe in my body.”
“I am here now.”
“It’s safe to feel.”
After a minute or two, most people feel their breath deepen, their shoulders relax, or a sense of inner warmth return.
This practice gently communicates:
You’re safe. You’re supported. You can soften now.
Use this whenever you need comfort, grounding, or emotional containment.
4. Lengthened Exhale Breathing
Purpose: To reset the nervous system by activating the parasympathetic response — the part of your body responsible for relaxation, safety, digestion, and emotional balance.
A long, slow exhale is one of the fastest ways to calm your physiology. It signals to your brain that the threat has passed and your body can soften again.
Try this:
Inhale gently through your nose for 4 seconds.
Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6–8 seconds.
Repeat for 1–2 minutes.
You might feel your shoulders drop, your jaw unclench, or your heart rate slow. This is your body remembering safety.
5. Vagus Nerve Toning (Eye Movement Reset)
Purpose:
To release tension around the vagus nerve and shift the body out of fight-or-flight.
Try this:
Keep your head still.
Move your eyes to the far right for 30 seconds.
Return to centre.
Move your eyes to the far left for 30 seconds.
If you sigh, swallow, or yawn afterward — that’s your vagus nerve releasing.
6. Humming for Regulation
Purpose:
To calm the nervous system through vibration and sound, activating the vagus nerve.
Try this:
Inhale deeply.
Exhale with a long, gentle hum.
Feel the vibration in your chest and face.
Repeat 5–10 times.
Humming is one of the fastest ways to reset your body.
7. Scent Reset
Purpose:
To interrupt stress responses by using grounding scents and essential oils that speak directly to the emotional centres of the brain.
Scent travels to the limbic system — the part of the brain that controls memory, emotion, and safety — faster than any other sense.
This means it can calm the body long before the mind catches up.
Try this:
Keep a grounding essential oil nearby, such as:
Lavender for calming the nervous system
Rose for emotional soothing and heart opening
Frankincense for grounding and clarity
Vanilla for comfort and warmth
Bergamot for anxiety relief
Sandalwood for deep grounding and presence
Essential Oil Technique:
Place one drop of your chosen oil onto your palms.
Rub your hands together to activate the scent.
Bring your palms a few centimetres from your nose — not touching your skin.
Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4.
Hold for 1–2 seconds.
Exhale gently through your mouth for a count of 6.
Repeat 3–5 times.
As you breathe, imagine the scent travelling down your spine and expanding into your chest, sending a wave of calm through your body.
You can also pair the scent with a grounding affirmation such as:
“I am safe in this moment.”
“My body can soften now.”
“This scent brings me back to myself.”
IMPORTANT: Healing the emotional brain isn’t one big moment
— it’s a series of small, compassionate ones.
Every time you interrupt an old reaction, soothe your system, or anchor a positive state, you are literally rewiring your nervous system.
You don’t have to revisit the pain to heal it.
You only need to offer your body repeated experiences of safety, warmth, and choice.
This is how emotional patterns transform: gently, steadily, and without reliving painful situations.
