Simple Tips to Relieve Anxiety, Stress, and Overwhelm
If you're suffering from anxiety, hyper-vigilance, overwhelm, fear, panic, depression, insomnia, a tendency to numb or disconnect, lack of intimacy, stress, inflammation, digestive disorders, or autoimmune disease, your body is most likely in a state of alert.
To find relief, you need to turn the alert off.
This is nervous system care.
I invite you to try the following simple practices to help regulate and tone your nervous system.
> Breathe into your belly rather than your chest
> Make your breath long and slow, with an emphasis on a very long, slow exhale.
This stimulates the vagus nerve creating parasympathetic dominance and arrests fight or flight response.
> Get close to the ground, specifically lay or sleep on the ground.
This tones your electromagnetic frequency to the Earth's 7.83 HZ, which happens to be the same frequency of alpha brain waves, the resting state for the brain.
> Take a cold shower. Or find a cold plunge pool.
If you can't make yourself go all in, submerge your face in ice-cold water.
This again stimulates the vagus nerve, which tells the body/mind to relax.
> Take a bath with Epsom salts.
Epsom contains magnesium, an essential nutrient for relaxation in the body. I would suggest that if you are experiencing anxiety you do not make the bath too hot. Even better -- after your bath, jump in a cold shower!
> Ask for a long hug — heart to heart.
Ask the person to hold you until you feel relaxed, and your breath naturally drops down into your belly.
This releases oxytocin, which counteracts fight or flight response.
> Be around calm people who breathe deeply and talk slowly.
Due to limbic resonance, our brains sync with those around us, particularly those closest to us, which can affect emotional state.
This also works in reverse. You can breathe deeply and talk slowly, calming your own nervous system, to help another.
Additional yogic tools to help you reduce anxiety and stress:
Kundalini Breath Practice for Balance
Kundalini Yoga Meditation for a Calm Heart
xx