Slow Your Roll
practical tips for calming your nervous system during busy seasons
Happy mid-September! (how?) Just like that, we packed up our beach bags and dove headfirst into the busiest month of the year. Back to school—whether you’re a student, parent, or not—really does dominate the energy of September. Between re-settling post-summer travel, slipping into new routines, work intensity ramping up, etc., etc. – it feels like we’re all back to the grind in some way. With said grind, many of us (me) are feeling an uptick in stress and tensity. So, today, we’re talking about a few easy ways to regulate our nervous system during these inevitable busy stretches.
Before we get there, a brief refresher on stress.
I’ve written about it before, and I’ll emphasize it again: stress impacts our overall well-being almost more than anything. Too much stress accelerates aging, fuels inflammation, disrupts digestion, hurts our sleep, wreaks havoc on our skin, and... the list goes on! Some stress is unavoidable (and, in fact, beneficial), but sometimes we’re tense in ways we don’t need to be. Clenching our jaw or grinding our teeth, for instance, doesn’t help us accomplish the task at hand any more efficiently.
That all too familiar feeling of shoulder-tightness when life gets stress-y is a reminder to me that I’m subconsciously holding tension in my body. Turns out I’m not alone! Stress in America has only gotten more severe since the pandemic began. Some common places we hold tension include:
Clenching our jaw or grinding our teeth
Holding our breath or shallow breathing
Hunching our shoulders up towards our ears
Furrowing our brow or squinting our eyes
Clenching our fists or curling our toes
I’ve been feeling this stressful September energy to my core. I skipped the newsletter last week (did you notice?) then stressed about it. Work events have been back-to-back. Elsie is loving solids (fun! but a lot more work...). So, have I been clenching my jaw? Grinding my teeth? Shoulders up to my ears? 100%. As they say, though, awareness is key. The act of pausing to take inventory alone can be a powerful tool towards helping regulate the nervous system. If you’re feeling it, give yourself that moment to recognize “I’m so overwhelmed” or stressed or _______ insert word here.
Once we’ve recognized “Wow, OK, I’m stressed,” what’s the next step? The smallest things can make a difference. Below are seven easy yet effective ways to bring a bit of calm during times of stress.
Here’s what I’m focused on trying lately:
1. Slowing Down. Contrary to popular belief, moving at warp speed isn’t necessarily helping us.
2. Moving. Two types of intentional movement have my attention right now: shaking and inversions. Both are proven to promote relaxation and relieve tension.
Shaking: Described as ‘shaking therapy,’ shaking your body has been shown to calm and balance the nervous system, which helps release muscular tension.
It’s as simple as it sounds, but if you need some inspiration for ways to incorporate it, check out the below!
The Class by Taryn Toomey. When I was living in New York, I fell in love with ‘The Class.’ It incorporates breathwork, jumping, dancing, and moving your body in unconventional ways. The playlists are fire and the combination of music, movement, and breath leads to a truly transformational workout, both physically and mentally. When the pandemic hit, I took online classes (Tim has some truly insane looking footage of me doing this), so if you’re not in New York or LA, where The Class has studios, I’d stream one and see what you think. Sneak peek of the vibe here.
Inversions: When our body is inverted we’re able to turn off the “fight or flight” stress response, promoting, instead, a relaxation response in our bodies. Inverting doesn’t have to be what you think (some advanced yogi headstand or handstand). Inverting, in simple terms, requires getting the head below the heart. Whether subtle or extreme, inversions promote blood flow towards our heart and brain, turning on our parasympathetic “rest and digest” response.
3. Breathing. Taking three minutes for intentional breathing is one of the simplest, yet most powerful, techniques available to us. Lately, at my Oura ring’s encouragement, I’ve been working on box breathing (also known as four- quadrant or square breathing): inhaling for four seconds and holding for four seconds, then exhaling for four seconds and holding for four seconds. Repeat this four times, or however many times you need. Techniques like box breathing help us clear our mind, relax our body, and improve our focus. They’re free and easy; it’s just a matter of carving out the time! Apps like Headspace and Insight Timer also offer endless breathing exercises if you prefer the guided route.
4. Humming. Have you ever wondered why chanting "Om" in yoga brings such a sense of peace? It turns out, a study found that a regular humming routine can help enhance the parasympathetic nervous system and slow down sympathetic activation, acting as an an effective stress-buster. MMMMMMMhmmmm.
5. Getting Outside. Spending time in nature (even a walk around a tree-lined street) promotes relaxation and gives us a break from our mental and physical demands. If you can walk by a body of water, even better. I love how small my problems and stressors start to feel when I’m walking by the ocean in all of its vast, expansive glory. When you’re stressed, try to take it outside - even for just a few minutes.
6. Learning to say ‘No.’ Ahh, the art of saying ‘no.' Overcommitting can lead to overwhelm (obviously), but it can be hard to break that cycle. Try taking a look at your commitments and asking: “Is there something I can take off my plate? Do I need to say yes to everything?” I would guess: probably not.
7. Using a Weighted Blanket. I sleep with this cotton napper from Bearaby (Tim hates it and is constantly asking me to get it off the bed, but it’s my favorite thing). I find it incredibly calming. Per Bearaby: “Weighted blankets have been medically proven to aid naturally deeper sleep cycles. The weight on your body stimulates the production of serotonin (the happy hormone), reduces cortisol (the stress hormone), and increases melatonin, which helps you fall (and stay) asleep.” So, if stress is keeping you from getting good sleep, this is one to try!
So there they are. Seven simple enough tools to help us mitigate the unavoidable stress we all feel at times. Worth adding: I’ve written this in large part as a reminder and incentivizer for myself, but thought you might connect with it too. Let’s try these out and keep each other accountable, okay?!
I’ve been listening all week to Noisli, which is basically Spotify for sounds that improve your productivity and focus. I’ve never been one to (successfully) listen to music and work at the same time, so this is changing the game for me, especially with a baby in the house! You can choose from a list of categories like noise blocker, productivity, relax, motivation, creative thinking, writing, sleep... you name it.
Speaking of productivity, this ‘back to school’ season has me craving a refresh of my work zone. This laptop case has my attention (although the 13- inch sold out while I “thought about it”). Heaven Mayhem is a new-to-me brand known for their vintage-inspired jewelry, but they just launched laptop cases and... oooh, they are nice!
A random life hack I’ve been appreciating lately: having an industrial pair of scissors at the ready. I’m on month three of staying at my dad’s and you better believe these scissors are out every single day. My dad’s favorite joke: “You call this a pair of scissors? THIS is a pair of scissors.” But seriously, I’m ordering these for LA because they’re that useful.
Now that it’s just about officially fall, the barn jacket conversations are getting to me! This and this (from J.Crew of all places) are calling my name, but I’m hesitating because I’m not sure they’re right for LA?? I guess I’ll always be an east coast girl at heart.
Iris & Romeo just dropped a product that is my new daily driver: Best Skin Days Skincare + Dewy Coverage Broad Spectrum SPF 30. It goes on like tinted moisturizer, adds the perfect amount of tint and evens out my skin tone.
Last but not least is To Be Magnetic. I can’t wait to try this and report back. It’s described as a cutting-edge, neuroscience-backed manifestation method proven to drive real, lasting results. If you’re looking to make a life change, or manifest earning money, navigating a career change, buying a home, finding love, etc… it might be worth a try! Building confidence and self-worth is something I’m never not working on and it claims to deliver a “universal sense of high self-worth and emotional freedom.” Sign me up.
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needed this!!