How to Regulate Your Nervous System & Feel Safe in Your Body
- Anya I
- 4 hours ago
- 18 min read
Nervous System & Feel Safe in Your Body
For a long time, I lived almost entirely in my head. I could understand my anxiety, name my triggers, and talk about my nervous system—but my body stayed on high alert. Grocery stores felt overwhelming. Social interactions left me drained. Everything felt stressful, like I had to stay in control just to get through the day. Knowing wasn’t enough.
I knew I wasn’t doing okay, but I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Living in this state of chronic stress was all I had ever known. When people told me to “get out of my head,” I had no idea what that even meant—my body didn’t know how to relax.
What I was experiencing was a dysregulated nervous system stuck in survival mode—a nervous system shaped by prolonged stress that had learned the world wasn’t safe and was doing everything it could to protect me, even when there was no real danger.
If your body feels like a place you can’t quite settle into, know this: it is possible to regulate your nervous system and feel safe in your body again. This isn’t a quick fix. It’s a practice. It takes time. But it’s a journey that can meaningfully support your mental health and change how your nervous system responds to stressful situations.
At its core, nervous system dysregulation means living in constant “danger mode.” Your body stays braced for threat, your mind spins in loops, and everyday moments begin to feel overwhelming. You’re often feeling stressed even when nothing obvious is happening, stuck in your head instead of grounded in your body. The practices I’m sharing in this article are the same nervous system regulation techniques I return to again and again—especially during anxious seasons when old patterns resurface.
This guide is for anyone seeking grounded, embodied calm without bypassing real feelings—especially highly sensitive people, spiritual seekers, and those drawn to yoga or meditation. You don’t need to identify with any label. You just need a willingness to listen to your body and explore how to regulate your nervous system in a way that feels supportive, sustainable, and rooted in real life.
So go ahead, let's take a couple of deep breaths together, and let's heal.
Table of Contents
How the Nervous System Works (Fight or Flight vs Rest and Digest)
Quick Nervous System Regulation Techniques for Stress and Anxiety
Deep Breathing, Breathwork & Mantras for Nervous System Regulation
Slow Work: Triggers, Exposure, and Rebuilding Trust with Your Body
Embodied Yoga Practice: Teaching the Nervous System Safety Through the Body
Other Gentle Physical Activity That Supports Nervous System Regulation
Shadow Work & Emotional Honesty: Meeting What Your Body Remembers
Daily Rhythm & Lifestyle Support for Nervous System Regulation
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider with concerns about your nervous system or mental health.
How to Regulate Your Nervous System (Quick Summary)
I urge you to read this whole article, but if your nervous system feels stuck in fight or flight, and need a few tips here are some foundational practices help restore balance over time:
Practice deep breathing and extended exhales to activate the relaxation response and signal safety to your nervous system
Use grounding exercises to bring your body out of high alert and into the present moment
Engage in gentle movement like walking, yoga, or stretching to release excess stress hormones
Support your nervous system with a consistent sleep schedule to stabilize energy levels and cortisol rhythms
Practice good sleep hygiene and prioritize quality sleep by reducing screens at night, dimming lights, and creating calming bedtime rituals
Nourish your body with whole foods and healthy fats to support steady blood sugar and nervous system function
Work with body-based practices such as somatic therapy or trauma-informed yoga to rebuild safety through sensation
Build emotional regulation through slow exposure, aftercare, and self-compassion rather than pushing or forcing healing
Use cold exposure gently, such as splashing cold water on your face or wrists, to reset the stress response and interrupt anxiety loops
Regulating your nervous system isn’t about eliminating stress—it’s about teaching your body how to return to safety after stressful situations.
What It Really Means to Regulate Your Nervous System (How the Nervous System Works)
Let’s start with what the nervous system actually is—without the clinical jargon that makes your eyes glaze over.
Your nervous system is your body’s command center, a complex network that includes the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) and the nerves that branch throughout the body (the peripheral nervous system). Together, they constantly receive information, interpret what’s happening, and direct how your body responds. Every sensation, emotion, and stress response moves through this system. This is how the nervous system works—and why it plays such a central role in mental health, physical health, and overall well-being.
Within this complex network is the autonomic nervous system, which controls automatic functions like heart rate, breathing, digestion, and blood pressure. The autonomic nervous system has two main systems that shape how your nervous system responds to the world: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. You can think of them as two gears your body shifts between in response to stressful situations and moments of safety.
The sympathetic nervous system governs the fight or flight response. This is the body’s alarm system. When activated, your heart rate increases, muscles tense, cortisol levels and other stress hormones rise, and your body prepares for action. This is the body’s natural response to a stressful event or perceived threat. But when chronic stress keeps this system turned on, the nervous system stays in a heightened state of high alert. You may feel anxious, constantly on edge, or overwhelmed by everyday situations—even when there is no real danger. Over time, this can contribute to nervous system dysregulation, muscle tension, digestive issues, chronic pain, high blood pressure, and other physical ailments.
The parasympathetic nervous system is often called the rest-and-digest state. When this system is active, the body slows down. Breathing deepens, digestion improves, energy levels stabilize, and the body can shift into recovery. This is the state that supports emotional regulation, steady energy, brain health, and restful sleep. It’s also where healing and repair happen—where the nervous system remembers safety and the body can restore balance.
Understanding how to regulate your nervous system doesn’t mean eliminating stress or never feeling anxious again. Nervous system regulation is about helping your body move more fluidly between these two systems—recognizing when you’re in fight or flight and having nervous system regulation techniques to support a return to safety. Practices like deep breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, grounding exercises, gentle movement, progressive muscle relaxation, and other body-based practices activate the relaxation response and help the nervous system calm after stress.
And this part matters deeply: a dysregulated nervous system is not a broken one. Those panic responses, moments of feeling completely shut down, hypervigilance, or chronic tension are signs that your nervous system has been doing its job—trying to protect you during stressful or overwhelming experiences. Nervous system regulation isn’t about overriding these responses, but about teaching your body that safety is possible now. Research continues to evolve, but we know that consistent awareness, emotional support, and somatic approaches—like somatic therapy, breathing exercises, physical activity, and supportive lifestyle habits—can genuinely change how the nervous system responds over time.
When the nervous system stays stuck in fight or flight for too long, the effects show up in very real ways—emotionally, physically, and energetically. These are the common signs your nervous system may be asking for regulation and care.
Signs of a Dysregulated Nervous System (When Your Body Is Stuck in Survival Mode)
Recognizing when your nervous system is out of balance is often the first real step toward regulation. When the nervous system has learned—through chronic stress, trauma, or repeated stressful situations—that the world isn’t safe, it can get stuck in fight or flight, even when there’s no real danger present. Over time, elevated cortisol levels and a constantly activated stress response keep the body in a heightened state of alert.
This isn’t a personal failure. These patterns are rooted in survival. A dysregulated nervous system is responding based on past experiences and learned protection, not weakness. These are the root causes of why anxiety, hypervigilance, or shutdown can feel automatic rather than chosen. When the body stays in fight or flight for too long, it can become exhausting and confusing—especially when you don’t yet understand what’s happening or why your nervous system keeps reacting this way.
Here are some of the most common signs your nervous system may be dysregulated.
Emotional Signs
You might experience frequent anxiety, irritability, or emotional overwhelm. Small things feel disproportionately intense. You may snap at loved ones, feel constantly on edge, or swing between feeling overstimulated and emotionally numb. Difficulty with emotional regulation—being easily triggered or shutting down completely—is a hallmark of a nervous system stuck in survival mode.
Physical Symptoms
The body often holds what the mind can’t process. Chronic muscle tension (tight jaw, clenched belly, shoulders that never fully relax), shallow or rapid breathing, digestive issues without a clear cause, persistent fatigue, or unexplained aches and pains are common. Some people notice stress-related health concerns like high blood pressure, chronic pain, or feeling “wired but tired,” as if the body is running on adrenaline with no real rest.
Behavioral Patterns
Avoidance is another key signal. You might cancel plans at the last minute, avoid crowded or overstimulating environments, or feel restless and unable to settle. Errands like grocery shopping, the bank, or social gatherings may trigger a low hum of dread you can’t quite explain. You may also replay conversations or stressful events repeatedly, struggling to let them go.
Cognitive and Energetic Signs
A dysregulated nervous system often shows up as racing thoughts, mental fog, or difficulty concentrating. You may feel disconnected from your intuition or notice that practices that once brought calm—like meditation, yoga, or ritual—now feel agitating instead of soothing. Spiritually, you might feel ungrounded or disconnected from your body, as if you’re living mostly in your head rather than rooted in your bones.
If these signs show up regularly, it’s a strong indication that your nervous system could benefit from intentional regulation. These patterns don’t mean something is wrong with you—they mean your body has been doing its best to keep you safe. With awareness, consistency, and supportive practices, your nervous system can learn a new response—one rooted in safety, resilience, and trust.
Quick Nervous System Regulation Techniques for Stress and Anxiety
Consider this your first-aid kit for when anxiety spikes. These are the tools I reach for when I’m standing in that grocery store line with my heart pounding, or sitting in my car before a social event, or lying awake at night with my thoughts spiraling.
These won’t heal everything—let’s be clear about that. But they can interrupt the spiral. They send immediate safety signals to your body and help you step back from the edge. The key is to practice them even on neutral days, so they’re familiar when panic hits.
The first tool is a simple breath pattern. Breathing exercises are one of the fastest ways to shift your nervous system because breath is the one autonomic function you can consciously control. Try this: inhale slowly for a count of four, then exhale for a count of six. Repeat this ten times. The extended exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system, signaling to your body that it’s safe to relax. I use this one constantly—in the car, in waiting rooms, before difficult conversations. It’s subtle enough that no one around you even notices.
The second tool is a grounding sensory practice. When you’re feeling anxious, your attention scatters—you’re everywhere except the present moment. This practice brings you back. Look around and name five things you can see. Then four things you can physically feel (your feet on the floor, the texture of your sleeve). Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. One thing you can taste. This 5-4-3-2-1 technique anchors your awareness in your actual environment, reminding your nervous system that right here, right now, you are okay.
The third tool is a micro-movement reset. Sometimes your body needs to physically discharge the stress energy building up inside. If you can find a bathroom stall or a private corner, try shaking out your hands vigorously for thirty seconds. Stomp your feet. Take a lion’s breath—deep inhale through your nose, then exhale forcefully through your mouth with your tongue out, making a “ha” sound. It sounds silly, but it works. Gentle movement tells your body the threat has passed and it’s safe to come down from high alert.
Progressive muscle relaxation is a simple body-based practice where you gently tense and then release different muscle groups. This helps release chronic muscle tension and sends a clear signal to your nervous system that it’s safe to relax and let go.
The fourth tool is the mantra “I’m safe” paired with touch. Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly—or one hand on your thigh if that feels more grounding. Close your eyes if you can. Breathe slowly and repeat silently: “I’m safe. I’m safe. I’m safe.” Do this for sixty to ninety seconds. The combination of physical touch and reassuring words sends a powerful message to your nervous system. Sometimes, when the world around me feels like it’s narrowing in, I repeat this thirty times or more—whatever it takes until my breath deepens and my shoulders drop.
Choose one of these as your go-to SOS tool. Practice it when you’re calm so it becomes second nature when you need it most.
Deep Breathing, Breathwork & Mantras for Nervous System Regulation
Breath is the bridge between your body and mind. It’s one of the fastest ways to influence the autonomic nervous system because it directly impacts the body’s stress response. When you change your breath, you change your state—not through force, but through gentle guidance.
When stress or anxiety rises, breathing often becomes shallow and fast, keeping the nervous system stuck in fight or flight. Slowing the breath sends a clear signal of safety, helping the body shift toward the parasympathetic, rest-and-digest state.
One of the simplest techniques is extended exhale breathing. Inhale slowly for a count of four, then exhale for a count of six or eight. The longer exhale is key—it helps lower cortisol levels and activates the relaxation response. Just a few rounds can noticeably reduce feelings of high alert.
Diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing, is especially supportive when you have a few quiet minutes. Place one hand on your belly and let it rise gently on the inhale and fall on the exhale. This type of breathing helps regulate the nervous system, supports digestion, and promotes emotional regulation.
Mantras can deepen the effect. When the mind is racing, a simple phrase gives it somewhere to land. I often repeat, “I’m safe,” silently on the exhale. And honestly, there are plenty of moments where I’m having a full-blown conversation with someone while repeating it to myself over and over—twenty times, maybe more. The words don’t have to feel true at first. With repetition, the nervous system starts to learn a new pattern.
These practices don’t need to be saved for formal meditation. Use them in the car, in line at the store, before sleep, or during stressful moments throughout the day. Small, consistent moments of intentional breath help the nervous system remember safety and restore balance.
Slow Work: Triggers, Exposure, and Rebuilding Trust with Your Body
The quick tools are essential—but they’re not the whole picture. The deeper work is about understanding your triggers, slowly expanding what feels possible, and rebuilding trust with a body that learned it wasn’t safe.
This isn’t about forcing yourself through panic or pushing past your limits. That’s not healing—it’s retraumatizing. Real nervous system regulation happens when you stretch your edges gently, with enough safety for your body to learn something new.
Start by identifying your triggers. For me, it was bright lights, small talk, and feeling watched. Yours may be different. When anxiety spikes, notice where you are, what’s happening, and what you feel in your body. Over time, patterns become clearer—and that awareness alone can create more choice.
Gentle exposure might look like this: if grocery stores are a trigger, step one could be driving to the parking lot, sitting in your car, taking a few deep breaths, then leaving. That counts. Step two might be walking in with a friend, grabbing one item, repeating “I’m safe,” and going home. Step three could be a short solo trip during quieter hours. Each step teaches your nervous system that the situation is survivable.
Aftercare matters just as much as exposure. After stretching an edge, offer yourself softness—tea, rest, journaling, a quiet walk. These moments help your body settle instead of staying on high alert.
And please hear this: setbacks aren’t failures. Spirals happen. The work isn’t about never struggling again—it’s about trusting that you know how to come back to safety.
Ask yourself: What’s one small edge I could stretch this week while still honoring my limits?
Embodied Yoga Practice: Teaching the Nervous System Safety Through the Body
As I shared earlier, my nervous system learned to stay on high alert long before I understood what was happening. What finally shifted things wasn’t more insight—it was learning how to pause and be still through the practice of yoga.
Yoga became the practice that taught my body how to feel safe again. Not because it fixed me, but because it worked at the level my nervous system actually speaks: breath, sensation, and slow, intentional movement.
This wasn’t fast-paced or performance-driven yoga. It was embodied, somatic yoga—moving slowly, pausing often, and paying attention to internal sensation rather than how things looked on the outside. Each gentle transition and extended exhale sent a quiet signal of safety, teaching my nervous system that it didn’t need to brace anymore.
What surprised me most was that this somatic yoga didn’t stay on the mat. As I practiced noticing sensation and responding with softness in my body, I started doing the same thing in everyday life—pausing in the grocery store, softening my breath during conversations, noticing when my shoulders tightened and choosing to release instead of push through. The practice became a way of relating to my nervous system moment by moment, not just during formal practice.
A regulating yoga practice doesn’t need to be long or elaborate. Even ten minutes can make a difference. Begin in Child’s Pose, allowing the body to fold and soften. Move through a few rounds of Cat–Cow, pairing breath with slow spinal movement to restore rhythm. Gentle twists or a supported forward fold help release stored tension, while Savasana or Legs Up the Wall gives the body time to fully settle.
The cues matter more than the poses: longer exhales, a soft gaze or closed eyes, moving slower than you think you should, and stopping whenever your body asks. This isn’t about doing yoga “right.” It’s about staying present long enough for your nervous system to recognize safety.
Over time, this somatic approach to yoga became the foundation for everything else—breathwork, emotional regulation, and deeper inner work. Yoga taught me something nothing else could: safety isn’t something you think your way into. It’s something you practice through the body, again and again.
I share this more deeply in Embracing the Sacred Flow, because yoga didn’t just support my healing—it became the foundation of it. That book was born from this exact journey of learning how to feel safe in my body again through slow, intentional movement, breath, and nervous system awareness. It’s not about perfect poses or performance; it’s about using yoga as a spiritual and somatic practice to rebuild trust with your body, regulate your nervous system, and come home to yourself one breath at a time. If any part of this resonated, that book is where I go even deeper into the practices that helped me shift out of survival mode and into embodied safety.
Other Gentle Physical Activity That Supports Nervous System Regulation
In addition to yoga, other forms of gentle physical activity can support nervous system regulation by helping the body release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline while increasing endorphins, the body’s natural mood stabilizers. This is especially important for a dysregulated nervous system, where stress chemicals can build up and keep the body stuck in high alert.
These practices work best when they support steady energy rather than intensity or pushing past your limits. The goal isn’t fitness—it’s giving your body a safe way to discharge stress and remember ease.
Walking, especially outdoors or at a relaxed, unhurried pace
Stretching or intuitive movement that follows sensation instead of forcing shape
Dancing, shaking, or free movement to release stored stress and muscle tension
Low-impact strength or mobility work, done slowly with attention to breath
Short movement “snacks” throughout the day—standing, stretching, or stepping outside for fresh air
These small, consistent forms of movement help regulate the nervous system, support emotional regulation, and create a foundation of safety the body can return to throughout the day.
Journaling, Shadow Work & Emotional Honesty: Meeting What Your Body Remembers
Shadow work gets talked about a lot in spiritual circles, but at its core, it’s about meeting what your body learned to hide in order to stay safe.
Your shadow holds unprocessed emotions, beliefs, and survival patterns—parts of you that learned early on what was and wasn’t allowed. When emotions like anger, fear, or need didn’t feel safe to express, they didn’t disappear. They stayed in the body, quietly keeping the nervous system on high alert.
Beliefs like “I’m not safe,” “I’ll be judged,” or “Something is wrong with me” can run in the background long after the original threat has passed. Shadow work isn’t about fixing these parts—it’s about acknowledging them with honesty and care so the body no longer has to stay in chronic stress.
Journaling is one of the simplest ways to begin. You might explore questions like:
When did I first feel unsafe in my body?
What situations make me want to disappear, perform, or stay small?
What might my anxiety be protecting me from?
Move slowly, and pair this work with grounding—breathwork, movement, time outside, or support from someone you trust. If you have a history of trauma or find this destabilizing, working with a therapist or somatic practitioner can make this process safer and more contained.
For additional prompts and guidance, you can explore my shadow work prompts blog post, which goes deeper into this practice.
Daily Rhythm & Lifestyle Support for Nervous System Regulation
The nervous system responds best to rhythm—not rigid schedules, but gentle predictability. Small, repeated cues tell your body what to expect, which helps it relax out of constant high alert.
Regulation doesn’t happen only in breathwork or yoga. It’s shaped by how you move through your day—how you wake up, wind down, eat, rest, and create moments of pause.
Here are a few simple, grounding practices that support nervous system regulation without adding more to your plate.
Morning check-in (2–5 minutes). Before reaching for your phone, take a few slow breaths and scan your body. Where do you feel tension? Where do you feel ease? Ask yourself, “What would help my body feel safer today?” The answer is often simple—more rest, fewer commitments, a walk outside.
Protect the edges of your day. The first and last parts of the day matter most for regulation. Limiting screens for even 20–30 minutes in the morning or evening helps reduce nervous system overload and supports emotional regulation. Swap scrolling for tea, stretching, or simply sitting quietly.
Sleep consistency over perfection. A consistent sleep schedule is one of the strongest regulators of the nervous system. Going to bed and waking up around the same time helps regulate cortisol levels, support brain health, and improve emotional resilience. Good sleep hygiene—dimming lights, calming routines, fewer screens—matters more than doing everything “right.”
Nourishment that stabilizes energy. Eating regular meals with whole foods, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates helps prevent blood sugar crashes that can trigger anxiety and a stress response. Skipping meals or relying on stimulants can quietly keep the nervous system in a heightened state.
One intentional pause each day. This might be a short walk, gentle movement, journaling, or simply sitting with your breath. Even five minutes of intentional rest helps the nervous system reset and remember safety.
Regulation isn’t about optimizing your life or following a perfect routine. It’s about creating enough consistency and care that your nervous system doesn’t have to work so hard to protect you.
When to Ask for More Support
Everything I’ve shared here supported my healing—and there came a point when I needed more than I could do alone.
There are moments when professional support isn’t just helpful, it’s necessary. You may need additional support if:
Panic attacks disrupt your daily life
Depression makes it hard to function or feel present
Trauma keeps resurfacing despite your best efforts
You feel unsafe in your body most of the time, not just occasionally
These aren’t failures. They’re signals—and you deserve support.
I want to share something personal. For a long time, I wondered if medication was the answer. I tried, with genuine hope. Eventually, my psychiatrist said something that shifted everything for me:
“I don’t think meds are for you. I think you need to go out there and do the work.”
That moment was freeing. It gave me my agency back and opened the door to a deeper question: Why am I like this?
That question led me into yoga, breathwork, shadow work, and somatic awareness—a self-awareness journey I’m still on today.
I’m a huge proponent of therapy, especially when paired with embodied action. Talking alone rarely rewires the nervous system. The body needs practices that meet sensation, safety, and lived experience.
Modalities that often pair beautifully with this work include:
Somatic therapy — working directly with the body
Trauma-informed yoga — rebuilding safety through movement
EMDR — processing specific memories
Polyvagal-informed therapy — supporting nervous system regulation
Spiritual counseling — integrating healing with your path
Seeking help is a strong and wise choice. It’s your nervous system learning that it doesn’t have to carry everything alone. Trust your inner knowing about when you need community, therapy, or guided support.Your body will tell you. Listen.
Closing: Returning to Safety, Again and Again
Nervous system regulation isn’t a one-time fix. It’s a relationship you build with your body through repeated moments of safety. It’s showing up again and again—using the tools, trusting the practices—until your nervous system learns a new way of being.
I still go to the grocery store. Some days it’s easy. Other days the old patterns rise—the lights too bright, the noise too loud, my heart picking up speed. The difference now is that I know what to do. I can feel the activation and still be okay. That’s regulation: not the absence of stress, but the ability to move through it and return to center.
Your body isn’t broken. It’s been trying to protect you. Now you’re learning to show it that safety can take a different form—one rooted in presence, breath, and trust.
Start small. Choose one simple practice today—maybe a few slow breaths with your hand on your heart. Then choose one deeper practice to explore over time. You’re not late. You’re not alone.
Return to safety, again and again. That’s the practice.
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