Over the last year and a half I have made a lot of changes to my life! These habits are so nourishing and really help keep me mellowed out as I continue to regulate my nervous system and retrain my brain.
1️⃣ Journaling- whether it’s gratitude, working through things that bother me, praying, or journaling my future visualizations, I journal Every. Single. Day. This is huge in helping to rewire the brain to accept circumstances other than where you are currently sitting.
2️⃣ Focus on healthy breathing and posture- when we are stressed and living in fight/flight/freeze, our breathing is impaired. If you pay attention to your breathing, you’ll likely notice that you’re doing things like shallow chest breathing, holding your breath, breathing too quickly… on top of that, we get a rounded, hunched posture which makes it harder to breathe correctly. I love either just taking time to breathe calmly and fully on my own, or I do breathwork classes from @breathe_with_kimberly_rose and block therapy classes with @blocktherapy
3️⃣ Spend time outdoors - nature is so grounding for our nervous system, and there’s so many beneficial aspects of it. The sunlight is wonderful for regulating our circadian rhythm, walking barefoot helps with grounding and inflammation, and the fresh air is so good for us. Being in nature just feels so calming, which is a great help for chilling the nervous system.
4️⃣ Move my body - calm exercise is a great way to lower stress hormones and relax the body. Walking, dancing, hiking, swimming are all great ways to move without stressing your body more. I avoid intense exercises like running, HIIT, etc, because my body doesn’t need more things revving up the stress.
5️⃣ Observe my thoughts with compassion and without judgment - it’s important to realize that anxiety comes from our subconscious trying to keep us safe. Its only objective is to keep us alive, it doesn’t care if we are happy or miserable. So when we start getting anxious, feeling anger at a part of ourselves that is just trying to protect us is not useful. The subconscious responds to calm redirection and compassion, not anger and threats. (Caption for more 👇🏼)
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