Six Grounding Tools To Calm Your Nerves.

Luvs, I’m seeing a trend right now.

A lot of deeply intuitive and empathic people are feeling an inner sense of anxiety, frazzled nerves, and deep ecological grief for the symptoms of our Mother Earth’s struggle. More than ever in our human evolution has it become necessary to be the Light in the world, to bring our healing energy, actions, and our own transformation into the collective equation.

I’m working with many who have made the commitment to shift how they’re showing up in the world, realizing how important it is to be on the right side of this evolution, the side that cares about humanity’s responsibility and believes in the power of the human spirit to heal our past wounds. I’m working with many who also feel they’re needing to go deep underground in order to build the psychic energy required to create this internal to external shift. This looks and feels to some like isolation and solitude, embodying the sacred Hermit archetype. And, because sometimes we tend to push ourselves unkindly, too many are beating themselves up for feeling the need to disappear right now.

Please don’t, if this is you. Please take this time to be alone, quiet, and isolated, if that is what your spirit is asking of you. It’s a time of deep hibernation, this sleepy winter earth cycle, and on top of that we are evolving at an astronomical energetic rate. For the Highly Sensitive, it’s especially intense right now.

Today I’m here to share six ways we can quietly but powerfully activate our physical body as our grounding force for channeling strong energetic currents into healthy calming adaptations. All of these tools will comfort the nerves, soothe the spirit, and have been proven to create rapid, measurable healing shifts in our nervous system.

1.)  Darken a room.

Creating a den-like atmosphere for when you feel anxious or frazzled, can calm your nerves. Get room-darkening shades if you must, wear an eye mask if that’s not possible, and do not feel like there is anything wrong with you if you feel you need to go dark for fifteen minutes out of your busy day.

2.) Lower your head beneath your heart.

Sit on the floor and rest your head on your knees, or stand and gently drop your head toward your toes. This has an immediate restorative effect on your autonomic nervous system, and feels instantaneously comforting.

3.) Wrap your arms around yourself and speak reassuringly to yourself in the third person.

Hugging yourself creates an immediate physical equilibrium shift. Talking to yourself in the third person sounds like, “Kristy (Use your name), you are going to figure this out. You are going to continue doing the best you can. You are here to grow, and experience, and witness all cycles. You can do this.” In hundreds of psychological studies, speaking to oneself in the third person has been proven to improve decision making, bringing long-term benefits to thinking patterns and emotional regulation. (This is one of the key building-blocks of resilience.)

4.)  Yoga for your eyes.

Something my Ayurveda practitioner taught me is a practice called Eye Palming. I do this several times a day, it’s so comforting! Rub your palms together, to get them nice and warm. Place them gently on closed eyelids, cupping your eyes in darkness. There should be no pressure. Hold them there for thirty seconds to a minute or so. This practice restores the optic nerve, which is often hyperstimulated and exhausted due to computer screens and artificial lights.

5.) Roll a tennis ball beneath your feet.

Massaging the many pressure points in your feet has been found to immediately improve mood and decrease anxiety. I use a rainbow sparkly tennis ball, and just seeing it makes me happy! Two of the most taken for granted gifts are our feet and eyes. Developing an intentional practice of lovingly caring for them is a beautiful investment of time and energy.

6.) Use a weighted blanket.

Soft weighted pressure on the body can increase the release of serotonin in the brain, which creates a sense of calm and well being. It helps regulate our mood, decrease our anxiety, and it even helps regulate appetite, gut motility, and metabolism.

 

Our psychological objectives, as Highly Sensitive People, are to listen to our inner wisdom, allow ourselves the recovery we need, express ourselves truthfully, and to stay awake in this world, without numbing ourselves due to psychic overwhelm. Developing this physical restorative practice can be thought of as a sacred devotion to our objectives. I believe, with every cosmic thread I have, that Highly Sensitive People, Empaths, and the highly intuitive are anchoring our planetary transformation in love, Light, and compassionately powerful action. In other words, the world needs you.

Please, let’s vow to care for ourselves as lovingly as we do for others. If you care to add a quick physical tool you regularly use to stabilize and restore your nervous system, preferably something a person can do in the middle of a work day, please share in the comments! As always, I love to hear any of your thoughts there.

So Much Love,

Kristy