5 Ways to Soothe Physical Anxiety
I sometimes hate that this is the truth, but I struggle with anxiety; and I have since long before I even knew that’s what I was going through.
For me, when it gets bad enough, I can feel this anxiety physically in my body. Usually, it feels like an upset stomach or relentless butterflies, headaches, chest tightness, and sometimes quivering limbs. Add this to the catastrophizing and incessant thoughts, and you have a recipe for what can only be described as distress.
I began doing holistic healing practices a few years ago to combat these feelings, and while I still feel anxiety every now and again, the tools that I’ve learned for dealing with these triggers help IMMENSELY.
I’m primarily a breathwork teacher, so I’ll start there.
Breathwork
While breathing is not something we have to think about, it is something we can consciously manipulate in order to send signals to our body letting it know how to respond. Certain styles of breathwork can calm the nervous system down and remind it that we are indeed safe in our bodies, and not being chased by a tiger which is how we sometimes feel when a trigger is bad enough.
For intense anxiety that is persistent and has to do with an experience or trauma, I turn to a longer session of breathwork that helps my body release any energy that is being stored in my body leading to repeated symptoms.
This can include holotropic breathwork, which is the style that Wim Hof and Somatic Release Breathwork (what I’m certified to facilitate) use to clear out held trauma. These sessions are VERY powerful and usually can help release years of stored emotions, pain, and stagnant energy that the body is holding on to. If you’re a beginner, you likely have a lot of questions about this style as it can be daunting to jump right into breathing for an hour straight- but trust me, this modality is the truth. That’s why I’ve based my entire identity around it.
For general anxiety that just lingers around and may not be based on anything in particular, I recommend doing a daily practice of shorter breathwork sessions that help regulate the nervous system and give your mind something else to focus on for a while. My favorite styles are:
Psychological Sigh - This is a very simple method popularized by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman on his podcast, Huberman Lab. This method is said to hijack the body’s stress response by expanding the diaphragm and slowing down the rate of blood flowing to the heart. It works best if you extend your exhale longer than the inhale.
To practice, simply take in two short inhales through the nose, and exhale through the mouth. Repeat this as many times as necessary, but you may even feel some instant relief from the first one.
Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing) - Use two fingers to cover one nostril at a time, and breathe in through the right nostril, release through the left, then inhale through the left and exhale through the right, repeat until you feel some relief. This is a beautiful way to relax, regain focus, and balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Box Breath - This is called box breath because each section of breath is even. I like to start with 4 counts each. Begin by inhaling through the nose for 4 seconds, holding full for 4 seconds, exhaling for 4 seconds, then holding empty for 4 seconds. This is an awesome way to focus the mind, regulate your breathing, and calm the chatter caused by your anxiety.
4-7-8 breath - This breath style is an inhale through the nose for 4 seconds, a hold for 7 seconds, and an exhale for 8 seconds. You can manipulate how long you breathe, hold, and exhale, as long as your exhale is longer than your inhale. This sends signals to your body that you are in a rest state and can activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
Exercise or Mindful Movement
This may seem annoying to suggest, because I know that before I became an instructor sometimes the last thing I’d want to do when I was suffering from physical anxiety was roll out my mat or go to a class- but seriously - it’s almost impossible to leave a workout class feeling worse than you did when you showed up.
Not only are you moving the energy in your body that is lingering and causing the anxiety, but you are also regulating your hormone levels and releasing happy endorphins that contribute to a better mood. When you show up for yourself and exercise, it also proves to your body that you’re taking good care of yourself and gives you something to be proud of. The community element usually helps me as well and often reminds me that I’m not alone in whatever I’m dealing with.
Dancing
This goes along with exercise but I feel like it deserves it’s own category. Sometimes what you need most is to put on your favorite dancable jams and to just GET DOWN with yourself or a friend. This is also an amazing way to move that stuck energy and change your state instantly so you’re not harboring those icky feelings.
Shaking
Sometimes your body just needs a release. While breathwork is an amazing way to do this, sometimes your body just wants to shake it out. Allow your body to have a primal response and just allow it to shake any way that it wants to move in order to release emotions that might be keeping you feeling frozen or stuck.
Yoga or Stretching
I talk about this a lot, but we store energy in our bodies, and sometimes we just need a good stretch to release whatever the body is holding on to. Yoga is a practice intended to calm the mind and goes way beyond the physical postures. If you’re open to meditation, maybe look into starting with a guided meditation for anxiety on the free Insight Timer app. There are also tons of free meditations and yoga sequences to follow on YouTube, but if you’re not able to do a full practice, it may help to just stretch the body. The hips are often where we store a lot of emotion, so getting into a pigeon pose or a goddess squat is often enough to release some held emotion.
EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique)
This has become one of my favorite healing modalities over the years. It’s so simple and can be done anywhere, and it seriously helps your body change the way it responds to triggers.
This is a practice that involves tapping on certain points on the body that send signals to the body that you are safe and in control. This modality is based on acupuncture points, so it’s effective and can be done on yourself without the use of needles!
There are many guided EFT tapping videos on YouTube, but I shared an example on Instagram for reference here - I recommend looking up Brad Yates. He’s also known as the Tap Daddy because he’s one of the first to bring this practice to the internet and has hundreds of videos on any topic you can think of beginning around 15 years ago.
For EFT you’ll typically begin by tapping on the side of the hand and you’ll go through a script of what the trigger is, how it currently makes you feel, why you don’t want to feel that way anymore, and then you’ll go through a few rounds repeating positive messages and new ways to respond to the trigger. This teaches your body that you don’t have to have the fight or flight response to the trigger in question and allows you to rewire the brain so it doesn’t produce such an effect. The most consistent you are with this practice, the more effective it is. I definitely recommend it for anxiety that is consistent around a particular topic.
Sound Healing
This ancient form of healing has been used since the beginning of human history. The vibrations produced from instruments can help the body release tightly held emotions and produce a cathartic release. They can also send signals to the nervous system that you are safe to relax and enter that parasympathetic nervous system for resting and digesting like we mentioned earlier.
Sound baths are becoming more and more common in a lot of communities, but if you don’t have access to one in person, you can also attend one online or look on YouTube for healing frequencies that will help.
I recommend listening to angel tones, solfeggio frequencies, and or sound bowl sound baths with Tibetan or crystal singing bowls. There are also a ton of instruments that mimic natural tones that can help like rain sticks and chimes. Meditative ragas are also awesome to play in the background and provide therapeutic benefits for calming the mind.
It’s also suggested that listening to bird song recordings can help relax the nervous system because it signals that there is no danger present when they’re singing.
Chanting or Singing
Using your voice to sing or chant mantras can also help with anxiety. Not only are the mantras you’re singing powerful words for bringing about whatever your intention is, but the vibrations from using your voice will help activate your throat chakra and return it to balance by expressing yourself. Depending on what you’re chanting or singing, you can also help align the other energy centers in the body and will notice a strong calming effect after repeating these for a while.
I recommend looking on Spotify or YouTube for chants or mantras to repeat at home by yourself or with a friend. One of my favorite chanting albums is available here. You can also find a song or chanting circle in your community to surround yourself with the energy of others who are there to support each other and combine energy for more powerful healing. Using instruments is also a fun way to get your body moving and gets you more involved in the practice as well.
Calling in assistance
There are so many other modalities to use for managing anxiety, but these are some of my favorites that can be done by yourself at home and don’t require you to see a specialist or spend a ton of money seeking healing.
If you are interested and have the means, I also recommend seeing a professional to assist you with anxiety if it’s a reoccurring issue that is impeding on your quality of life. In addition to seeing a therapist, coach, or mentor, I’d also recommend an acupuncturist or Reiki practitioner that you trust. My favorite acupuncturist is Heather - She’s an angel and you can find her here.
Let me know if you use any of these methods already or give these a try! I know how hard it is to deal with chronic anxiety, especially when it causes you to feel physically sick and drained.
Extending my heart to yours while you work through these less than desirable feelings. You got this!
All my love,
Lena