7 Nervous System Healing Practices That Help You Move From Stress to Safety

Have you ever felt like your body was stuck in survival mode — even when nothing dangerous was happening?

When we experience stress, overwhelm, or emotional intensity, our nervous system often reacts the same way it would in a real threat: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Healing isn’t just mindset work — it’s body-based work.

Here are 7 nervous system tools I personally use to come back home to myself after stress or emotional overload. Each one is simple, gentle, and rooted in science-backed somatic practices.

1. Walking Outdoors

What it does:
Walking, especially in nature, stimulates the vestibular system, calms the amygdala (the brain's fear center), and helps regulate the vagus nerve, a key player in rest and digestion. The rhythmic movement of your feet against the ground offers grounding, regulation, and presence.

Why it helps:
Walking reconnects you to your environment. It shifts your energy out of looping thoughts and into your body. Nature adds another layer of healing by lowering cortisol levels and boosting mood with fresh air and natural light.

2. Legs Up the Wall

What it does:
This gentle inversion activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping to reduce heart rate, support lymphatic drainage, and lower stress hormones.

Why it helps:
When you're anxious or dysregulated, blood often pools in your limbs as part of a stress response. Elevating your legs signals to your body: it's safe to rest. It also eases tension in the lower back and promotes a sense of surrender.

3. Butterfly Taps (Bilateral Stimulation)

What it does:
Alternating gentle taps on each arm or shoulder stimulates both hemispheres of the brain, often used in EMDR to help process and soothe overwhelming emotions.

Why it helps:
It brings a sense of balance to the brain, calms racing thoughts, and helps the body feel safe in the present. It’s especially helpful when feeling stuck in trauma responses or looping thoughts.

4. Self-Holding Method (Peter Levine's Technique)

What it does:
Created by trauma expert Peter Levine, this method mimics the soothing containment we might receive from a hug or caregiver. It’s a somatic technique that signals safety and containment to the nervous system.

Why it helps:
Holding yourself this way slows your heart rate, supports emotional regulation, and reminds your body that it's no longer alone. It’s especially nurturing when you're feeling overwhelmed or emotionally raw.

5. EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique)

What it does:
EFT uses gentle tapping on meridian points while speaking affirmations or processing emotions. It’s been shown to reduce cortisol, improve mood, and calm anxiety.

Why it helps:
It blends somatic work and subconscious reprogramming. You’re releasing emotional blockages through the body, while simultaneously affirming new beliefs. Tapping reminds your system: I'm safe. I'm here. I'm allowed to feel.

6. Child’s Pose

What it does:
Child’s Pose is a restorative yoga posture that supports deep vagal tone (which helps your body shift into rest and repair). It helps calm the mind and lower physical tension.

Why it helps:
It’s a posture of surrender, humility, and protection. It allows your body to rest while being held by the earth — especially helpful before activating movement like shaking. For me, it's the pause before I reclaim my energy.

7. Somatic Shaking

What it does:
Shaking helps discharge stored stress and trauma. Animals do this instinctively after a threat — and so can we. It activates the body’s natural release mechanism.

Why it helps:
When we don’t complete the stress cycle, it stays stuck in the body. Shaking helps release that energy and bring us back to a regulated state — often with more clarity, aliveness, and groundedness.

Healing isn’t about fixing — it’s about remembering.
These practices don’t erase the stress. They remind your body it’s safe to soften, to exhale, and to be here now.

Want to learn how to integrate these tools into your own healing journey?

🧡 My Healing Girl Summer Bundle was created to gently guide you back to yourself with somatic tools, self-paced resources, and holistic support.

DM “HEALING GIRL” to claim your bundle before it ends.

🎙️ P.S. My podcast is live!
If you’re craving more healing tools, nervous system support, or gentle encouragement — come listen to The Grateful Living Podcast. Listen here 💫

With love & gratitude,

Talesha