Nervous System Soothing

This practice brings your loving presence to your heart, and soothes the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system response with a slow, repetitive spinal twist. The sympathetic nervous system runs down the spine.

With your right hand on your belly, breathe deeply while you rub and/or gently tap on your thymus gland (heart center), with your left hand for a minute or two.

Now give yourself a heart hug by tucking your right hand into your left arm pit, which covers important points on your heart meridian.

Place your left hand on your arm. It may feel nice to give yourself some reassuring squeezes, which helps anchor in the present moment.

Very slowly, while breathing deeply, turn from side to side. As the spine allows, turn your head to look over your shoulder. As your neck allows, use your eyes to look even further over that shoulder. The optic nerve is connected to the vagus nerve.