A 5-Minute Nervous System Reset
A short sequence that brings the body down from high alert and back to feeling calmer.
Let your eyes move slowly around the room. Rest your gaze on a few ordinary objects, one at a time.
Press your feet into the floor and notice the weight of your body where it meets the chair or the ground.
Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Feel them move for a few slow breaths.
Breathe in through your nose for a count of four. Let the breath out last a little longer, around six.
Stay with the slow breathing for about a minute. Let your shoulders drop each time you breathe out.
When you look around and see that nothing here is a threat, your body starts to believe it. A longer breath out slows your heart, and your body reads that slower rhythm as its cue to come down from high alert.
A racing mind or a tight chest that will not settle after something stressful.
A few more to try
All 30 practices in one place
The Somatic Handbook gathers thirty body-based practices, sorted by how you are feeling, so it is easier to know what to reach for.
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