Exercises To Calm Your Anxious Thoughts
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by anxiety or circulating thoughts, you are not alone. These emotional struggles aren’t just in our heads, they are affecting our entire body! Sometimes causing stomach issues, headaches, heart palpitations and random body pains. It can be incredibly challenging to navigate, leaving us in search of solutions.
Here are some suggestions based on Polyvagal Theory which is a framework conceptualized by Dr. Stephen Porges that explains the interplay of our Nervous System and our emotional/biological responses. It offers a pathway to emotional wellbeing through stimulation of a branch of nerves that encourage feelings of safety, calm and connection:
Grounding: Anchor into the present moment by noticing 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. My daughter uses this often when she has anxious feelings at school and it really helps her to move into her whole body vs. her heady thoughts.
Box Breath: This practice engages the Rest & Digest part of our NVS. Image a square drawn on your torso and trace/breathe the lines. Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4 hold for 4. Imagine tracing the box shape on your torso as you breathe and hold. Navy Seals use this technique in high-stress situations.
Humming: This is just what it sounds like. Keep your lips together and play with the tone. Feel the vibration in your face, neck and shoulders. Little kids do this often to self sooth, in fact, my dad coined the term “Peanut Butter Moan” for when I used to do this before nodding off to sleep.
Hands on Face: This is one I learned in Herbalism School. We would do it before class started to get centered…Its my favorite. Place the palms of your whole hands gently on your cheeks and eyes. Hold there for a moment and breathe. Gently pull your fingers and thumbs to meet at temples. Sweep fingers behind ear and comb through hair, moving down to your neck to the collarbones. When at the collarbones, flick fingers outward as though you are flicking away the tension. Do this entire exercise 3 more times.
Life is chaotic and stressful. These are just a few suggestions to help self sooth and regulate a frazzled nervous system.