Heal with Grace

39. Nervous System Regulation Tools for daily routine

• Grace Secker • Episode 39

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In this episode of the 'Heal With Grace' podcast, host Grace dives into the importance of nervous system regulation and shares practical tools and techniques to help listeners manage chronic anxiety, fatigue, pain, and more. Grace emphasises the need for a balanced routine and discusses the benefits of grounding, morning movement, sensory breaks, and setting boundaries. She also introduces her self-paced course, the Mind Body Healing Method, designed to make these principles more accessible. The episode is packed with actionable advice, encouraging listeners to create small, intentional habits to promote healing and well-being.

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Hello. Hello. Welcome back to another episode of the heal with grace podcast. I'm grace, your guide on this journey to healing balance and finding that sweet spot between the mind, body, and spirit. If you've, if you've been tuning in for a while, you know, I'm all about the nervous system and how we can work with it rather than against it.

To truly feel our best. So today we're diving into nervous system regulation tools. This is one of the biggest questions that I get asked. So I figured let's do an episode on it. Let's talk about it. people ask all the time, what do you do for your daily routine? How do you, what's your perfect nervous system regulation routine?

And if you know me, you know, I'm probably going to say there's no perfect routine, but let's get into some of the basics that you can do every day to help you. Now, before I dive in, I wanted to remind you of the program that I created that pretty much puts all of this and to a way that you can follow.

It's called the mind body healing method and you'll have probably heard about it. but I'm offering it now in a way that's much more accessible. I've heard you. And what I've recognized is that some people rarely like to just go at it. on their own time. And so I'm offering it as a self paced course, and you can also add in additional coaching sessions to make it more personalized to you.

So find the links below to the mind body healing method. DM me if you have any questions and let's get started.

Okay. So let's start with why nervous system regulation is important, especially for those of you who deal with things like chronic anxiety. fatigue, pain, just mentally or emotionally drained, or maybe you're going through a really big transition in life or a loss. And you've noticed you're just having a hard time being in life, right?

Like just even connecting, you might find yourself, distracting a lot, dissociating, going into what we call free states. And when you notice this, this might Feel like or might look like you watching a lot more TV or scrolling on your phone while you're eating or having a really hard time staying present in the car.

Even if you have a podcast or music on all of a sudden you realize you've driven however many miles and you're totally lost in your head or maybe you can't sleep at night. You're tossing and turning. You get out of the shower and you recognize you've been in your towel for like 10 or 20 minutes just sitting on the bed scrolling because it's a bit of a distraction and a way for your brain for your consciousness not to be in the present place of your life because there might be a lot going on and it's hard to do so.

So these are just a few examples of what it might look like for you to be in a dysregulated state. Our nervous system is designed to keep you safe. It's like your built in alarm system. But in today's world, we're often in a state of hyper vigilance, where you're constantly switched on, dealing with stress, technology, deadlines, relationships, and just the general pace of life.

That on button gets stuck, and we forget how to settle into the off mode, which is crucial for healing and recovery. I've seen this play out so many times in my own life and in the life of my clients. And we are so tuned in to everyone else's needs, meaning not only people around you, but your work's needs, your kids needs, your dog's needs, your partner's needs.

And we forget to tune into ourselves. And that's where the magic of the nervous system regulation comes in. It's about giving yourself permission to pause and finding moments of connection with your body, gaining a better relationship with yourself. You know, I've realized as I've been doing this podcast that so much of what I talk about, yes, is nervous system tools and chronic, mind and body disorders.

But really at the end of the day, what I'm talking about is how to be closer to yourself, how to gain a better relationship with yourself, how to slow down, give yourself compassion and love and truly lean into the way that you were supposed to be living in your life. So, I want you to keep that in mind as we go throughout these tools and techniques in this episode because yes, I'm going to give you some practical skills and remember, that's kind of the goal that we're going at it with today.

I want you to use these skills, use these tools to help you figure out what feels good for you. Okay? Okay. So let's dive into the juicy part, the tools you can start using every day. I've shared many of these on my Instagram, at the heal with grace, and I can't stress enough how these little practices can create major shifts over time.

Remember that healing isn't about grand gestures. It's about those small, consistent moments of care. The more you fill your cup, the more you can fill others. And if your cup is empty and everyone else's is overflowing, it's not going to last long. I know it's cliche, but it's true. All right. So tool number one might actually kind of come out of surprise because it's not some, you know, certain physical, like tapping practice or something like that, but it really helps.

It's. Essentially looking at your schedule for the week, most Sundays, I do this Sunday or Monday, and I look at my week ahead and I look at a few different areas and I plan it out. So first and foremost, I really try not to overbook my days and overbook my weeks. Now this has come with some time. I've really learned Now, what is overbooking for me and what's not.

And it also totally depends on the season of life that I'm in. Like last year, two years ago, I truly had the capacity to handle more. And it wasn't a, you know, pushing myself to do more. It truly just was. But right now, and this year, I'm in the season of I don't have capacity for long days or even truly like that much during the day.

And that's just right now. It won't be forever. And to be honest, I'm almost kind of feeling that shift to where I'm starting to handle more, but basically just keep that over, keep that overview. Right. So a few areas that I look at work, obviously, right. As much as possible, like how are you scheduling when you have control over it?

How are you managing your work schedule? Two, my personal time. I always, I love my mornings and we'll talk about that a little bit more, but how are you setting yourself up for the day? And then also like, where can you find moments of joy and love or connection, laughter? So literally in my calendar, I have different colors and pink is for myself.

It's love. I categorize it. Love. so that could be anywhere from reminding myself to give myself a loving meditation or taking a bath one night, or maybe I end up scheduling a massage once a month or something like that. Right? So those moments are moments that I can find connection and kind of like juiciness with myself.

And then another area is movement. And we're going to talk about that too. I try to get in some kind of movement every single day. And that's. a different color on my calendar as well. Another area is connection, like connection with friends, partner, your family. Where can you find those moments of authentic connection?

And oftentimes that needs to be scheduled, right? Maybe that means you reach out to a friend each week, one friend each week and have a friend date. Maybe that means you schedule time with your partner on the counter to make sure that you both have uninterrupted quality time. Or maybe it's quality time with your kids.

Whatever it is, whoever it is in your life, make sure you're scheduling that connection time. Because we know that true, authentic, secure connection is so helpful for the nervous system. We need that. So block it out. And also this depends on the person, right? Some people love to be scheduled from 6am to 10pm.

Some people really don't like a schedule and it's hard to stick to. I'm a little bit in the middle. Find your groove. Make sure you have some things planned, because it's like a structure, it's like scaffolding. We need that scaffolding, the structure in our schedule sometimes, to help us feel a little bit more safe and secure as we move throughout our week.

So, try it out. Pick out the categories that are important to you, and see if you can schedule one thing for each category, at least. So that, you know, you're getting what you need also, I have to note with this is with scheduling and saying yes or saying no to things is setting boundaries to protect your energy.

So I know I've talked about boundaries in previous episodes, but let's revisit them because they're so essential to your nervous system regulation. If you're constantly saying yes to things that drain your energy, Your nervous system is going to stay stuck in that fight or flight. So remember it's okay to say no.

Boundaries are your way of communicating what is and isn't okay for your wellbeing. Boundaries are an act of self compassion. You're protecting your nervous system. And that's a form of deep healing. I highly recommend. You have at least some type of blockout time, whether that's a morning, evening, lunchtime, whatever, where you block out some time for you only.

If it can happen more than once a week, fantastic, but you need time for you to check in and actually do some of the things we're going to talk about. So it might kind of sound like a lot like, Oh, how do I? Make sure I do all of this for myself. It's not about how many things you can do. It's about balancing out the things that feel good for you, as well as making sure that you are setting yourself up for a week that feels balanced and nurturing and helpful for your nervous system.

Now on some weeks, like Obviously, we live in the reality of life and it's not always perfect. For the weeks that I know that I'm going to be extra busy, that's the time that I actually have to double down on the time for myself. It doesn't necessarily mean extra time, like instead of one hour, I spend two.

It doesn't mean that. It just means I'm really, really boundaried with me time when I'm really busy with work. Right? Like I know that that cup is going to be drained as I'm really in front of people a lot or teaching or seeing a lot of clients. And I know that that means I really have to protect my energy that week.

I need to be super boundaried with how much time I spend for myself, how much time I just give myself to be outside or nature, really be intentional with the time that I have. And, you know, Yes. I want to still be in connection with others, but that maybe it looks a little bit different this week. So just, it kind of depends, right?

Go from week to week. but this is your reminder to start to learn how it feels good to be in your energy. Okay, so that's like the setup the remember this is the scaffolding your boundaries around your schedule How you want to spend your time how you don't want to spend your time what you can and what you can't do again We have obligations.

We have work. We have families. We have all the things that doesn't mean that you can't Sometimes choose your, you and your family's priorities in life. If you're working on regulating your nervous system, I guarantee you, your family needs to work on that too, and you can do it together.

Number two is one of the first things I highly recommend to everyone every single day, grounding, specifically grounding with the earth, if it is possible, if weather permits. So let's start with this. It's the most natural way to regulate the nervous system. You might have heard this referred to as earthing, and it's exactly what it sounds like, literally connecting your body to the earth's surface, getting that sun, that vitamin D on your skin first thing in the morning, feeling your feet in the ground.

It's the practice of physically touching the earth, whether it's standing barefoot on grass, sand, dirt, or even rock. The earth is full of negative ions. And when we connect with it, these ions help neutralize the positive ions that build up in our bodies. Like things like stress, inflammation, anxiety, and studies have shown that grounding can reduce cortisol levels, which are those stress hormones that keep us stuck in that fight or flight mode.

And I know some people are like, ah, it doesn't really do much, but there's real science behind it. When we connect with the earth, it helps soothe and calm and ground our nervous system, calm in the overactive stress response and promote healing. It's kind of like hitting the reset button on our body's energies.

So what I usually recommend doing is. Again, unless it's, I don't know, snowing on the ground and actually even, even then, I'd probably recommend taking your shoes off even for a minute. Also get a little cold exposure therapy there. Take your shoes off and stand barefoot on the ground. It could be in your backyard, at a park, or even on a patch of grass in the city, wherever you can do this.

If you're near water, standing by the ocean or a lake is amazing for grounding and spend at least five to 10 minutes feeling the earth beneath you, focusing on your breath and just allowing yourself to be. You can also sit or lie down on the ground if standing doesn't feel comfortable. And as you stand there, imagine the earth's energy rising up through your feet.

Calming your body from the inside out. You might even feel a sense of peace wash over you. This is your nervous system settling, finding that balance again. Grounding is one of the most accessible, intuitive tools that we have, and it doesn't cost a thing. Whether you're feeling anxious, strained, or just need a moment to reconnect, grounding is such a simple yet powerful way to bring yourself back to the present and help your body regulate.

Plus, it's a great reminder that healing doesn't always have to be complicated. Sometimes it's as simple as coming back to nature. I will do this in the morning and sometimes I'll be walking my dog. Just kind of be really mindful. I won't have any air pods or anything in my ears. just noticing as I'm walking and yeah, I might have shoes on, but, I'm, I'm looking around at the trees or just outside the sun being mindful of being outside getting fresh air.

Yeah. So that's a big one. I think that's easy and accessible. Right. And if you can just start breathing, habits stack your. Your tools. And what I mean by that is stack one habit on top of another. So it's easy for your brain to get in the habit of it. So I love doing my breath practice while I'm grounding.

And you can do this while you're walking the dog too. Just be mindful and intentional. Don't be looking at your phone. If you're walking, don't listen to music, start breathing and just breathe for 10. Notice your feet on the ground, look out around you, and then you can go back to whatever you normally do.

All right, tool number three is morning movement. Another tool that's been a game changer for me, and honestly, I kind of feel weird if I don't do it. I just don't feel, I feel off is intentional movement in the morning. Now I'm not talking about hardcore workouts. Don't need to get up. That 5am and do an hour long HIIT workout, actually I would recommend not doing that to be honest, that's going to stress your nervous system out more, you don't need that. Unless you know that's helpful for your body. If it's your thing, go for it. But for those of you dealing with things like, Chronic fatigue or chronic pain. I understand this is going to be a little bit more complicated or it might be, it might, you might struggle with knowing what to do, but it doesn't have to be complicated.

Even a few gentle stretches, or a short yoga flow can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system responsible for rest, digestion, and healing. So, Even if you do a few spinal stretches, maybe just laying down and gently twisting side to side to release tension, it helps to wake up the body without overwhelming it.

Plus moving your body with intention. First thing in the morning sets a tone of self care for the rest of the day. Again, doesn't have to be crazy workouts. It can, it cannot literally is anything when you're moving in a mindful way or in a fun way, right? You're dancing, you're putting on music while you're lifting weights, whatever it is, you're connecting with yourself and your body.

And that's the whole point. Connect with your body. Move it, start to become in tune with your body and movement. We know, I mean, it has so many benefits for the brain, for the heart, for the body. it's pretty vital for the health of you in a general sense, just your health. All right. Tool number four. It is taking sensory breaks throughout the day, not overbooking your schedule.

This next one is so underrated. We live in a world where we're bombarded with stimuli all the time. Whether it's our phones, work, kids, just the noise of life, you rarely give yourself, your nervous system a chance to decompress. So here's what I recommend throughout your day, take short breaks to tune into your senses.

Maybe it's stepping outside and feeling the breeze on your skin or closing your eyes and listening to your favorite calming music or meditation for a couple of minutes. Just be literally just be. B and that sensory experience for a moment and notice how your body responds. These moments may seem small, but they create a huge impact on your overall wellbeing.

These are so important because when we can pause and take a few minutes, it says it tells our nervous system, Oh, Hey, we're paying attention to you. And the more that you do this over time. The more that you learn about yourself and you can become intuitive with what you need and what you don't need, you can know yourself better. You can know what kind of workout your body needs today versus tomorrow. You can know what your boundaries are. You know when to say yes and when you know, you know, when to say no.

So think of these little sensory breaks as one, yes, like detachment from the screen, detachment from the stress of life. I'm really coming into the present moment, but also it's a way to continue that relationship with yourself, right? Just like you need a relationship with someone else. And the way to do that takes time and energy and intention.

Same with us. It takes time, energy, intention, and intention to be able to build that relationship with yourself. And I mentioned meditation in here, and so that's going to be the next tool. Meditation is kind of the ultimate tool to learn to know yourself a little bit more. Because you're taking the time to pause, to slow down, you can listen to something guided.

It doesn't have to be the basics of like just sitting there in silence. It doesn't, it was really, in my opinion, and this is truly my opinion, right? Everyone has their own. I don't think there's one perfect or right way of meditation. The whole point is just to slow down and become present with yourself.

So a meditation could be to listening to music while truly being intentional and vibing with it. You know, like really being into that song. Meditation can be. It can be listening to a meditation app and guiding you through one. It can be using something sensory with your hands. A lot of artists can become meditative with their work, just slowing down, becoming present with what you're doing and with yourself.

Okay. So how do we make these practical? I know some of you may be thinking, Grace, I don't have time to fit all this into my day and trust me, I get it. But here's the thing, these tools don't have to be time consuming and they have to take priority. I know that that might be hard sometimes, but do you want to keep feeling like you're feeling?

And that's not a shame based thing. That's not like, Oh, you should do this or else it's, Hey, you're listening to this for a reason, right? So you're starting to learn. And In order to help shift and change that, we have to practice. We have to be in the experience of these tools in order to actually build literally like new neurons in our brain.

And that's what you're doing when you're regulating your nervous system. So maybe you set aside five minutes in the morning for breath work or stretch while you wait for your coffee to brew. Or perhaps you sneak in a sensory break while walking from one room to another. These moments of care can fit seamlessly into your life.

If you approach them with intention, maybe you start to become aware of your breath. While you stop at every stoplight, you take a deep inhale and exhale. Instead of reaching for your phone, these small little habits are huge and they build up over time to help you learn about yourself and to truly help your nervous system soothe.

All of this needs to go with saying, please approach them with kindness and compassion. Be flexible with yourself. The last thing we need is for you to be critical that you forgot to do it one morning, or you're not perfect at it. You're not going to like, you just won't. , you are not a perfect human being.

I'm not a perfect human being. Nobody is. So it's not going to be perfect every day, but if you don't do it one day, you just pick it up the next and keep going. Okay. So let's do a quick recap of these tools. First and foremost, setting up your structure, setting up your scaffolding of your week, knowing that your boundaries are a powerful way to protect your energy and regulate your nervous system. Number two is grounding and breathing. Breath is the number one way to help soothe your nervous system.

And bring you back into balance and grounding is a powerful tool to bring negative ions into your nervous system, into your body and feel the sun on your skin. Morning movement can gently wake you up and ground your body and do not underestimate this. Remember it can be something as laying on the ground and stretching and intuitively moving your body or following a video or something along those lines.

Sensory breaks, give your nervous system time to decompress during the day and really helping yourself learn more about you, connect with you, put the intention into building the relationship with you like you do everyone else in your life and all of this with kindness, compassion and flexibility. Thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope these tools empower you to start regulating your nervous system with ease. And remember, it's all about those small intentional steps. It is not one overnight quick fix. You have to continuously show up for yourself. And I promise when you do, it pays off. And I, I don't, I do not take promises lightly.

I had a hard time saying that out loud, but it's very, very, very, very true. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to check out my Instagram at heal with grace for more tips and tools and DM me. If you have any questions about the mind body healing method, I would not sleep on this. This program is seriously like my baby and I put everything into this that I didn't really receive as I've been healing and I continue to update it as well until next time.

Take care of yourself and don't forget to listen to your body. It's always speaking to you.