start where you are

If you’ve been feeling wired, exhausted, overwhelmed or strangely disconnected from yourself, I want to remind you of something……. Nothing is wrong with you.

Your nervous system isn’t failing. It’s responding. It’s trying to keep you safe in the only ways it knows how. When stress becomes constant, your body can get stuck in protection mode. For many of us its the shallow breathing, tight chest, racing thoughts, poor sleep, digestive issues and sometimes snapping at people you care about. I’ve even heard it described as feeling flat or foggy.

This isn’t weakness. It’s physiology..

I attended a workshop delivered by Gemma Douglas on Breathwork a few years ago, and something she said has stayed with me ever since. We have a remote control to our nervous system, something that can have an immediate (and lasting) affect, it’s our breath!

Your breath is one of the few things in your body that runs automatically but can also be guided intentionally (this is the remote control bit)! This is why it’s so powerful, you are in the drivers seat.

When your breathing is fast and shallow, your body reads that as danger. When your breathing slows and deepens, your body reads that as safety. This isn’t forcing our bodies to calm down. We are signalling safety, and thats a really important distinction.

You do not need to do intense breathwork. You do not need to override your system. Especially if you are already feeling anxious or overwhelmed. I’m sure a few of my clients are nodding along at this point. I am often heard saying….. don’t try and learn a new skill or technique when you are in the thick of a stress response. Your body will see it as something else it has to deal with (when it already has enough)!

Gentle and consistent is what creates change, making the time to learn and master a new technique when you are not already doing five other tasks!

These are three simple practices I often share with clients, these are not complicated. They are not dramatic. They are small resets you can use in real life.

The Physiological Sigh

This is something your body already does naturally when it needs to reset.

Inhale through your nose.
Take a second small inhale on top.
Then slowly exhale through your mouth with a sigh.

Do that two or three times.

It can be surprisingly effective when anxiety spikes or when you feel yourself getting worked up.

Humming on the Exhale

Sound and vibration help the nervous system settle.

Inhale softly through your nose.
Hum gently as you exhale for as long as feels comfortable.

Repeat a few times.

You may notice a subtle shift in your chest, throat or face. You might not. Both are fine. The aim isn’t to perform it correctly. It’s simply to create rhythm and lengthen the exhale.

Slow Nose Breathing

Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly.

Breathe in through your nose and allow your belly to rise.
Breathe out slowly through your nose and let it fall.

If it feels comfortable, try inhaling for a count of four or five and exhaling for a count of six or seven.

Try doing this for two minutes before bed or after a stressful conversation. It doesn’t have to be long to be supportive.

You do not need to force yourself to calm down, you just need to create the conditions where calm becomes possible. Your system has been doing its best with what it has. Breath is just one way we begin rebuilding a sense of internal safety and it begins with starting where you are.

Just one breath.

And then another.

That is enough.