I write a lot about this because it’s so crucial to health. When we live in a state or chronic dysregulation, ongoing stress, and consistent unease, all of our bodily systems are compromised. Learning to embody calm and a sense of safety is essential to reclaim optimal health.

I also talk a lot about Reiki, partly because I find it the most useful tool for regulating my nervous system. It does other wonderful things too, but for the sake of writing an article and not an encyclopedia, I’ll try to stay on topic.

We start with knowing that it’s important to do, necessary even, if we’d like to optimize health, happiness, and creativity. For me, that means making it a priority.

So I’ve made a commitment to do the work. Yes, it is work. Not hard work, but it takes consistent time and attention. I can assure you that it is a worthy investment.

Next, I want to acknowledge that this is DOABLE. It’s simple, accessible, and practical. You might not know how, might never have even known it was possible, but you can learn.

I’ll add here that learning new things can be activating for the nervous system because it likes to keep us in the familiar zone. It confuses unsafe with unfamiliar, so you’ll probably need to use these tools while you’re in the process of learning to use these tools.

Welcome to the complex and spiral nature of healing!

I’ll assume that if you continue to read, you recognize that you want to do this, can do this, and are rolling up your metaphorical sleeves at this moment.

In short, you are ready, willing, and able. Right?

The first step is recognizing a sense of unease in the body. If this is your home base, not to worry, this is a pattern that can be reprogrammed. It will help to add a 5-10 minute awareness practice to your day (morning is especially effective) to sort through the feelings, sensations, and thoughts to reestablish a new baseline.

But today I’m talking about how to interrupt an acute experience of distress.

My goal for today is focused on self-care. It’s a day off and I have planned to have a restful afternoon with a few enjoyable activities scattered throughout. In reality, I had too many to-do items for the day to be relaxing and I started to feel anxious.

Enter Reiki. For me, it helps to prevent a snowball effect and gives me enough space and clarity to recognize what’s really going on.

OK, too many activities means I need to let go of one of them or decide that it’s more important than the ease and rest I am really craving. There’s dissonance between my schedule and my desire and it’s a no brainer to skip the webinar on myofascial release. Maybe I’ll catch the replay. Maybe not.

Great, so now I’m back in harmony on one level, but I’m still feeling anxious. That’s the thing- you can’t reason your way into a regulated state. This is a physiological condition and needs a physiological repair.

Fine. So what is it exactly that I’m feeling? I call it anxiety, but what are the sensations? There’s a buzzing in my upper abdomen. I call it hornets in my gut. Most unpleasant! And my quads are contracted as if I’m prepared to flee.

What does my body need? To know that I am safe. It’s a maladaptive response to confuse a full schedule with danger, but them’s the breaks. That’s how we are wired and better to know this and learn to work with it than to ignore it.

I can use my senses to log data in my environment and send a signal to my brain that there is literally noting to be afraid of at this time. I look around the room, notice there is no fire, no tiger, no mean girls, and my shoulders drop away from my ears.

What else?

An outlet for this energy. I know from previous experience that focusing on my breath, particularly extending exhales and adding an audible sigh can work miracles.

Now my mind jumps in suggesting that this is too simple, too easy to work against such a major activation. That everyone is always talking about the breath as a form of embodiment practice, but really what do those experts of ancient healing systems really know? Yeah, sometimes my mind is an arrogant jerk.

I override this little ego trip and spend a mere three minutes sighing heavily over a cup of herbal tea. I wonder what the neighbors think, then remember that one of them played Dancing Queen loudly, twice this morning before 7:00 and decide I don’t care.

Three minutes and the hornets are subdued. Like 90%. They might actually be butterflies now. It’s that transformational.

The energy is still alive in my legs and I know from previous experimentation that I need to move. I love the rebounder (it’s a mini trampoline that fits easily in my apartment) for shaking out angst, but many forms of movement are also effective.

Now that I feel like I’m no longer going to crawl out of my own skin, I can sit and give myself a Reiki treatment to reach complete resolution. I can also have a look at my calendar from my now-calm state of being and make sure my daily activities are aligned with my priority of maintaining this regulation.

I can also acknowledge that living fully means ups and downs and that there is very likely to be upset in my future. Knowing this, I can refine my plan for meeting whatever comes my way. Generally, I want to be compassionate and aware, tuned in to my body, and well resourced so that I can respond accordingly.

Healing does not mean ubiquitous calm. How dull would that be?! It does, however, mean that I want to address energy leaks and unnecessary upset, bounce back from minor upsets with ease, and be in touch with my needs and how to meet them.

If you already have Reiki, you can apply it towards your intention to regulate and repair your nervous system.

If you’d like to learn how to do this, know that anyone, even the most stressed of us, can learn how to do Reiki for ourselves and share it with our loved ones. I have a beginners level training coming up soon if you’re in the Philly area.

Booking a session can also provide a wonderful reset, giving you a sense of calm and access to your inner wisdom and intuition.

I spent much of my life with the hornets in my gut, never really at ease, slightly on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop even when there was zero reason to be unsettled. Learning how to calm my nerves has been utterly invaluable to my wellbeing and creativity. I have faith that if you’re in that same boat, there is hope for you too.