A Gentle Approach to Calming the Nervous System
- Apr 21
- 2 min read
Calming your emotions often starts with calming your body.
Here are some simple, effective ways to support your nervous system:
🌿 1. Ground Through Your Senses
Bring your attention to the present moment:
Name 5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
👉 This helps signal to your body that you are safe right now
🌿 2. Slow Your Breathing
Try:
Inhale for 4 seconds
Exhale for 6 seconds
Longer exhales help activate the part of your nervous system responsible for calming.
🌿 3. Use Gentle Movement
Movement helps shift your state:
Stretch your body
Take a short walk
Shake out your hands
👉 Movement can help release built-up energy
🌿 4. Create Small Moments of Safety
Ask yourself:
What helps me feel even 5% more at ease?
This might be:
a warm drink
a quiet space
calming music
Small shifts can have a big impact.
🌿 5. Try a Simple Art-Based Grounding Exercise
“Color and Breathe”
Choose a color that feels calming
Slowly fill a page or shape with that color
Match your breathing to your movements
👉 This combines mindfulness and creativity to regulate your system
You Don’t Have to Fight Your Emotions
When you understand your nervous system, you can begin to shift from:
“What’s wrong with me?”
to
“What is my body trying to tell me?”
This creates space for compassion instead of criticism.
Healing Happens Through Safety, Not Force
You don’t need to control your emotions perfectly.You don’t need to “fix” yourself.
You can begin by:
noticing your state
responding with care
creating small moments of regulation
At Heart Work Therapies, we take a trauma-informed, root-focused approach—helping you understand your nervous system while building tools to support emotional balance in a way that feels safe and sustainable.
Where art meets the heart. Healing beyond words.- Kimberly Harden
Comments