A Gentle 5-Minute Practice to Help Your Body Settle
- michelleslaterlpc
- Jan 5
- 3 min read
A Gentle 5-Minute Practice to Help Your Body Settle
If your body often feels tense, wired, shut down, or overwhelmed, this short practice is designed to be supportive without being complicated.
You do not need to understand the nervous system for this to be helpful. You only need a few minutes and a willingness to move slowly.
Why Your Body Feels Tense and How to Help It
Your body has a built-in calming system that helps it settle after stress. One important part of that system is the vagus nerve. You can think of it as a communication pathway that helps your body recognize when it is safe to rest, digest, and recover.
When this calming system is supported, the body can:
Settle more easily after stress
Feel steadier emotionally
Support digestion and sleep
Reduce feelings of overwhelm or shutdown
When it is under strain, the body may stay tense, numb, or on high alert even when nothing urgent is happening.
The practice below gently supports this calming system using breath, sound, movement, and steady sensory input. There is no right way to do it.
A 5-Minute Body-Calming Practice
You can do this seated, standing, or lying down. If any step feels uncomfortable or activating, you can skip it, shorten it, or return to slow breathing.
Minute 1: Slow Belly Breathing
Place one hand on your belly.
Breathe in through your nose for a slow count of four. Breathe out for a slow count of six. Let your belly soften as you exhale.
Why this helps: breathing out more slowly than you breathe in tells the body that it does not need to stay on high alert.
Minute 2: Humming or Gentle Sound
Take a breath in and hum softly as you breathe out. The sound can be quiet and brief. Repeat a few times.
Why this helps: gentle sound creates vibration in the throat and chest, which can support calming signals in the body.
Minute 3: Neck and Shoulder Movement
Slowly roll your shoulders or gently tilt your head side to side. Keep the movement small and comfortable.
Why this helps: stress is commonly held in the neck and shoulders. Gentle movement here helps reduce holding patterns.
Minute 4: Hand on Chest
Place one hand over your chest. Notice the warmth or pressure of your hand. You can continue slow breathing.
Why this helps: steady, comforting touch helps the body register safety and presence.
Minute 5: Gentle Sway or Rock
Slowly sway side to side or rock slightly forward and back. Let the movement be rhythmic and unforced.
Why this helps: slow, repetitive movement can help the body settle when it feels tense, frozen, or restless.
Tips To Make This Work for You
This practice is not about forcing relaxation.
One or two minutes can still be helpful.
Consistency matters more than doing it perfectly.
If your body feels more activated, return to slow breathing or stop.
Over time, gentle repetition helps the body learn that it is safe to settle.
Want to Learn More?
If you are curious about the science behind this practice, you can explore more about vagal tone and nervous system regulation. Learning how the body responds to stress can be empowering, but it is always optional.
You do not need to understand the nervous system for this practice to work; the body already knows how to respond to gentle, consistent signals of safety.
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