Internal Resilience

These controlled breathing exercises help you manage your autonomic nervous system and move into a more calm and relaxed state.

a) Extended Exhale Breathing

Inhale through your nose to a count of 4 seconds. Then let your exhale be slower and longer out than in, through your mouth, exhale 6-8 seconds. Like blowing out birthday candles. You could count silently or use finger taps for added grounding. Again, inhale through your nose 4 seconds, hold for 7, and exhale forcefully out through your mouth with a “whoosh” or a sigh for 8. As many times as you want .(2-3 times)

(The exhale tells the body: “This is stress. Not immediate death.” The longer exhale activates the parasympathetic response)

b) Nasal Breathing with Humming

Slow nasal inhale and hum on exhale

(Humming vibrates the vagus nerve)

Use this exercise to tune into your physical presence, calm your nervous system, and focus on the present moment.

Notice where your feet are. Say to yourself, “Where are my feet?” Focus your attention on the sensations of your feet on the floor. Press your feet firmly into the floor to remind yourself that you are physically safe and present. (Physical Anchoring)

Breath, using the Breath-Based Regulation strategies in Teqhnique 1.

Look around. What do you see? Find 5 neutral or pleasant things you can see and name them.

Name 4 things you can touch and touch them. Touch something real. Feel its solidness. Feel the pressure of your own hand. Rub or massage your earlobes.

Stop for another moment, and just listen. What do you hear? Do you hear any music? Do you hear anyone talking? Birds chirping? Listen to the texture and shape of the sounds around you. Listen to the silences in between the sounds.

Two things you can smell? Food cooking, cut grass, a candle burning, flowers blooming?

One thing you can name that you are grateful for. Perhaps it is as simple as this moment to orient yourself to your environment.

Use your voice as regulation. Speak aloud softly and slowly to yourself in the tone of voice you would use with someone you love. Say to yourself, “We are handling this moment. We do not need to solve the entire global supply chain right now. Today we may have discomfort or feel fearful. And I am still okay right now. I am safe right now.” (Your nervous system listens specifically to your voice.)

Ask yourself, “Where do I feel calmer now? What shifted, even 5%?”

Start walking.

Count steps in sets of 4 or 6.

Left. Right. Left. Right.Left. Right. Left. Right.Left. Right. Left. Right.

(Movement helps discharge nervous system activation, and walking helps the brain process options without freezing.)

A butterfly hug is a self-soothing method to manage anxiety and practice compassion.

Cross your arms over your chest to form a butterfly shape, with fingers resting below shoulders.

Now tap slowly, rhythmically, alternating left and right hands.

Right hand taps shoulder, left hand taps shoulder, right hand taps shoulder, left hand taps shoulder, like a butterfly gently flapping its wings. Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Speak aloud to yourself, softly, with love, while tapping Say to yourself, “I am handling this moment. This is an upsetting time but I am still capable. I do not need to save the world right now. I am ok right now. I am safe right now. ”

Naming reality reduces panic.

Ask yourself, “What is happening right now? Not the entire future. Just right now.”

For example, let’s pretend you are in the grocery store. Many shelves are empty. Prices are very high. You have come to buy coffee, but there is no coffee in the store. You begin to feel panicked. It isn’t just the empty shelf that causes your heart rate to rise, your mouth to dry out…your thoughts begin to spiral as you experience feelings of grief and fear.

To practice this technique you would say the below to yourself:

Coffee is unavailable today.

Supply chains have been unstable for months.

This is upsetting because routine matters.

I feel alarm because this symbolizes something bigger.

I do not yet know the full story.

Today we have a coffee issue. And I am still okay right now.

Community Decision Making is a skill that can be beneficial for the individual as well as the group, and allows for grounding under stress. Humans regulate through relationship, connection, and shared reality.

Reach out to a friend, someone in your community. Ask for guidance, support, a chat over a cup of tea.

Get outside. Somewhere in your yard or a local outdoor space or park.

Focus your attention on your feet touching the ground. Press your feet firmly into the ground to remind yourself that you are physically safe and present. Consider the kindness of the ground holding your up, providing a path for you to get to other things, not letting you fall away from everything else.

Do you have a favorite tree in your yard or local space? Or any tree will do. Go and hug the tree. Think of how you and the tree are connected. Life is in you and in the tree and both of you are warmed by the sun, held by the air, and supported by the earth. Try and experience the tree loving you by providing something to lean on or by shading you.

Practice Nasal Breathing with Humming

How: Slow nasal inhale + hum on exhale

Why: Humming vibrates the vagus nerve

Place one hand on your chest over your heart and the other on your belly. Feel the physical rise and fall of your breath. Rock or sway.

Imagine a Safe Other. Visualize a calm, regulating presence. Notice the felt sense of the presence.

Notice your jaw. Gently rest the tip of your tongue on the roof of your month, just behind your upper front teeth. Let your jaw hang limp, allowing your teeth to separate. Actively drop your lower jaw away from your upper teeth. Gently move your lower jaw from side to side to release stiffness. Using your fingertips, apply gentle pressure in small circles on the sides of your jaw (to break up tension).

Notice your shoulders. Actively tense your shoulder muscles for 5 seconds and then gradually release them, focusing on the sensation of the tension melting away.

Inhale deeply while drawing your shoulders up as high as possible toward your ears. Hold for a second, then exhale forcefully through your mouth while quickly dropping your shoulders back to their natural position. Repeat 3 times.

Roll your shoulders up, back, and down in a circular motion 10-15 times (to loosen tight muscles and improve blood flow).

Pull your shoulder blades backward and together as if trying to hold a pencil between them. Hold for 15 seconds, then relax.

Slowly tilt your head to one side, bringing your ear toward your shoulder without lifting the shoulder. Hold for 20 seconds to release tension at the top of the shoulder.

Cold Water Reset:

Splash cold water on your face or hold an ice cube. This can trigger the mammalian dive reflex, which rapidly slows the heart rate.

Mental Categories:

Challenge your brain to list as many items as possible in a neutral category, like“dog breeds” or “cities” to shift away from fearful thoughts.