Top 12 'Nervous-System-Soothing' Exercises to practice for Shifting Out of Survival Mode in Minutes - Goh Ling Yong
Ever feel like you're running on a hamster wheel, fueled by coffee and cortisol? You're exhausted but can't switch off. Your thoughts race, your shoulders are tight, and every little thing feels like a major threat. This state of being perpetually "on," ready to fight, flee, or freeze, is often called 'survival mode.' It’s your sympathetic nervous system working overtime, a biological alarm system that was designed for short-term threats but is now constantly triggered by modern life's deadlines, notifications, and pressures.
When you're stuck in this state, your body is flooded with stress hormones. It prioritizes immediate survival over long-term health, impacting everything from your digestion and sleep to your immune system and emotional well-being. The good news? You don't have to be a passenger on this runaway train. You can learn to consciously and gently apply the brakes, signaling to your body that you are safe and that it's okay to stand down from high alert. This is the art of nervous system regulation.
Here, we’ll explore 12 powerful, body-based exercises that can help you shift out of that hyper-aroused survival state and into a place of calm, safety, and connection—the 'rest-and-digest' mode governed by your parasympathetic nervous system. These aren't complex routines; they are simple, profound tools you can use anytime, anywhere, to soothe your system in minutes.
1. The Physiological Sigh: Your Built-In Reset Button
You already do this instinctively. It's that double-inhale sigh you take after a good cry or when you're deeply relieved. Neuroscientists, particularly Dr. Andrew Huberman, have identified this specific breathing pattern as the fastest known way to voluntarily calm the nervous system. It works by off-loading an excess of carbon dioxide from the bloodstream and re-inflating tiny collapsed air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs, which sends a powerful relaxation signal directly to your brainstem.
Unlike simple deep breathing, the double inhale is key. The second, shorter inhale allows you to pack in just a little more air, maximizing the surface area of your lungs for gas exchange. The long, slow exhale then activates the vagus nerve—the superhighway of your parasympathetic nervous system—slowing your heart rate and shifting you out of high alert.
How to Practice:
Take a deep breath in through your nose. Right at the top, before you exhale, sneak in another short, sharp inhale through your nose. Then, let out a long, slow, complete exhale through your mouth, making it longer than the inhales combined. Repeat this 1-3 times. It’s a perfect tool to use right before a stressful meeting, when you feel a wave of anxiety, or when you’re struggling to wind down for sleep.
2. Orienting: Reconnecting to Your Safe Surroundings
When you’re in survival mode, your focus narrows, a phenomenon known as tunnel vision. You're scanning for threats, real or perceived. The practice of orienting is a foundational somatic exercise that intentionally breaks this pattern. It involves slowly and mindfully using your senses—primarily your sight and hearing—to notice your present environment, sending the message to your brain that there is no immediate danger here and now.
This simple act communicates safety to the most primitive parts of your brain. By turning your head and letting your eyes land on neutral objects around you, you are non-verbally telling your body, "I am safe enough to look away from the 'threat' and take in my surroundings." It gently pulls you out of anxious thought loops and into the physical reality of the present moment.
How to Practice:
Sit comfortably and let your eyes slowly scan the room. Don’t just glance; really look. Let your eyes land on an object—a lamp, a plant, a picture frame. Notice its color, shape, and texture without judgment. Continue this, letting your gaze move from one object to the next. Then, allow your head and neck to slowly turn as you look around the room, even behind you. Notice what you hear—the hum of the fridge, a bird outside. The key is to be slow, curious, and gentle.
3. Shaking and Tremoring: Discharging Stored Energy
Have you ever seen a dog shake its whole body after a tense encounter or a loud noise? Animals do this instinctively to discharge the immense surge of adrenaline and cortisol that floods their system during a stress response. As humans, we have this same innate mechanism, but we’re often socialized to suppress it—to "keep it together." Shaking allows the body to release this stored "stuck" energy and complete the stress cycle.
This practice, known as therapeutic tremoring, can feel a bit strange at first, but it is an incredibly effective way to let go of physical tension held deep within the muscles and fascia. It's a direct, non-verbal way of letting your body process and release the physiological residue of stress and trauma.
How to Practice:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Start by gently bouncing from your knees, letting your arms and shoulders be loose and floppy. You can also play a song with a strong beat and allow your body to shake and move in whatever way feels natural. Let your jaw be slack and your hands be soft. Do this for just a few minutes, then pause, stand still, and notice the sensations in your body. You might feel a tingling, warmth, or a sense of deep calm.
4. Voo Sounding: Toning Your Vagus Nerve with Vibration
Your vagus nerve is a critical component of your parasympathetic nervous system, and it's highly responsive to vibration. Making a low-frequency "Voo" sound—like the sound of a foghorn—creates a gentle vibration in your chest and throat, directly stimulating the vagal fibers that run through this area. This provides a direct, tangible signal of calm to your nervous system.
Unlike thinking calming thoughts, which can be difficult when you're highly anxious, creating a physical vibration is a bottom-up approach. It bypasses the analytical mind and speaks directly to your body in a language it understands. The sound itself is less important than the physical sensation of the vibration in your torso.
How to Practice:
Take a comfortable breath in. As you exhale slowly, make a low-pitched "Vooooo" sound, aiming to feel the vibration resonate deep in your belly and chest. You can place a hand on your chest or stomach to feel the vibration more clearly. Continue for the full duration of your exhale. Repeat this 5-10 times, noticing the calming effect it has on your body.
5. The Self-Hug or Butterfly Hug: Providing Containment and Safety
When we feel overwhelmed or unsafe, gentle, containing touch can be incredibly soothing. The self-hug provides deep pressure stimulation, which has been shown to calm the nervous system, similar to how a weighted blanket works. The Butterfly Hug is a specific technique used in therapies like EMDR that adds bilateral stimulation (alternating left-right tapping), which helps the brain process difficult emotions and sensations.
Both techniques provide a powerful sense of self-containment and co-regulation, even when you are alone. You are physically reminding your body of its own boundaries and providing the comforting pressure that signals safety and care. As my colleague Goh Ling Yong often emphasizes, these simple somatic tools empower us to become our own source of comfort.
How to Practice:
For a self-hug, simply wrap your arms around yourself, giving yourself a firm but gentle squeeze. Hold for 30 seconds, breathing deeply into your back and sides. For the Butterfly Hug, cross your arms over your chest with your hands on your collarbones or upper arms. Then, gently and slowly, alternate tapping your left and right hands, like the slow flapping of a butterfly's wings. Continue for a minute or two while breathing steadily.
6. Cold Water Exposure: Hacking the Dive Reflex
This is a quick and powerful physiological hack to slam the brakes on an acute stress response. Exposing your face to cold water triggers the "mammalian dive reflex," an ancient survival mechanism that is activated when mammals are submerged in cold water. This reflex instantly slows your heart rate, constricts blood vessels in your extremities, and redirects blood flow to your vital organs, all of which has a potent and immediate calming effect on the nervous system.
You don't need a full-body ice plunge to get the benefits. Just stimulating the nerves on your face, especially around the cheeks and nose, is enough to kickstart this powerful parasympathetic response.
How to Practice:
Fill a bowl with cold water (adding a few ice cubes makes it more effective). Hold your breath, and submerge your face in the water for 15-30 seconds. Alternatively, you can hold a cold pack or a bag of frozen peas over your face and the bridge of your nose. You will notice your heart rate begin to slow down almost immediately.
7. Gentle Neck Stretches: Releasing Vagal Tension
The vagus nerve travels down both sides of your neck from your brainstem. When your neck and shoulder muscles are chronically tight—a very common physical manifestation of stress—it can put pressure on this crucial nerve, interfering with its ability to send calming signals. Gently and mindfully stretching the muscles of the neck can help release this physical tension and improve your "vagal tone."
This isn't about aggressive stretching. The goal is to move slowly and with awareness, noticing the sensations of release. This tells your nervous system that you are safe enough to let go of the physical armor you've been carrying.
How to Practice:
Sit or stand tall. Slowly and gently, tilt your right ear towards your right shoulder, feeling a gentle stretch along the left side of your neck. Hold for 20-30 seconds while breathing deeply. Do not force it. To deepen the stretch, you can gently place your right hand on your head. Repeat on the other side. You can also do slow, gentle neck rolls, dropping your chin to your chest and rolling one ear to its shoulder, then back to center, and over to the other side.
8. Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing: The Foundation of Calm
While it may sound basic, most of us in a state of chronic stress are shallow "chest breathers." This type of breathing is associated with the fight-or-flight response. Diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, is the natural way we breathe when we are relaxed. It involves fully engaging the diaphragm, a large muscle at the base of the lungs, which massages the vagus nerve and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.
Focusing on the physical sensation of your belly rising and falling also serves as a mindfulness anchor, pulling your attention away from anxious thoughts and grounding you in your body. It is perhaps the most fundamental practice for nervous system regulation.
How to Practice:
Lie on your back or sit comfortably. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, focusing on expanding your belly so that the hand on your stomach rises. The hand on your chest should remain relatively still. Exhale slowly through your mouth or nose, allowing your belly to fall. Aim for your exhale to be slightly longer than your inhale. Practice for 3-5 minutes.
9. Grounding Through Your Feet: Connecting to the Earth
When you’re stuck in your head, overwhelmed by racing thoughts, one of the quickest ways to come back to your body is to connect with the ground beneath you. The simple act of feeling your feet on the floor provides your brain with powerful proprioceptive and sensory feedback, reminding it where you are in space and time. This can be incredibly anchoring and stabilizing when you feel floaty or dissociated from anxiety.
This practice draws your energy and awareness downwards, out of the "thinking mind" and into the "sensing body." It's a literal way of "coming back down to earth" and finding your footing, both physically and emotionally.
How to Practice:
Whether you are standing or sitting, bring your full attention to the soles of your feet. If possible, take off your shoes. Notice the sensation of the floor beneath you. Is it cool? Hard? Soft? Press your feet firmly into the ground. Wiggle your toes. Rock your weight back and forth from your heels to the balls of your feet. Imagine roots growing from your feet down into the earth, anchoring you and holding you steady.
10. Humming, Chanting, or Singing: More Vagal Vibration
Similar to the "Voo" sound, any form of vocalization that creates vibration in the chest and throat is a fantastic way to tone your vagus nerve. Humming is particularly accessible because you can do it quietly to yourself almost anywhere—in the car, while walking, or even at your desk. The sustained vibration is like a gentle, internal massage for your nervous system.
Singing, especially with others in a choir or group, has been shown to have profound regulatory effects. It not only provides vagal stimulation but also synchronizes heart rates and breathing among the singers, fostering a deep sense of connection and co-regulation, which is a powerful antidote to the isolation of survival mode.
How to Practice:
Pick a simple tune or just a single note and hum it for the duration of a full exhale. Place a hand on your chest to feel the vibration. Try humming at different pitches to see what feels most resonant and calming for you. Or, put on your favorite song and sing along loudly in the car. Notice the shift in your body after just a few minutes.
11. Mindful Body Scan: Inhabiting Your Physical Self
A body scan is a mindfulness practice that involves bringing gentle, non-judgmental awareness to physical sensations throughout your body. When we are stressed, we often disconnect or numb out from our bodies. A body scan is a way of saying "hello" to each part of yourself, reclaiming your physical presence, and noticing areas of tension without needing to immediately fix them.
This practice cultivates interoception—the ability to feel your internal state. A well-developed sense of interoception is crucial for emotional regulation because it allows you to notice the subtle physical cues of stress or anxiety early on, before they become overwhelming.
How to Practice:
Lie down comfortably. Close your eyes and bring your awareness to the toes of your left foot. Simply notice any sensations—warmth, coolness, tingling, pressure—without judgment. Slowly, move your awareness up your left leg, to your right leg, through your torso, down your arms, and up to your head. Spend a few moments on each body part. If you notice tension, simply acknowledge it and breathe into that area, without trying to force it to relax.
12. Gargling: An Unconventional Vagus Nerve Activator
This one might sound odd, but it’s surprisingly effective. The vagus nerve innervates the muscles in the back of your throat that you use for gargling. Actively contracting these muscles stimulates the nerve, sending a calming signal to the rest of your body. It's a quick, easy, and potent way to give your parasympathetic system a little boost.
Think of it as a targeted workout for your vagal tone. While it might not be as meditative as other practices, it's a powerful physiological intervention you can easily add to your morning or evening routine when you brush your teeth.
How to Practice:
Take a sip of water, tilt your head back, and gargle vigorously for 20-30 seconds—long enough to make your eyes tear up slightly is a good sign you're doing it effectively. You're not just swishing; you're actively engaging the muscles at the back of your palate.
Finding Your Way Back to Safety
Shifting out of survival mode isn't about eliminating stress from your life; it's about building your capacity to navigate it without getting stuck. These 12 exercises are not just coping mechanisms; they are practices in building a more resilient and regulated nervous system. They are ways of reclaiming a sense of safety and agency in your own body, a core belief we hold here in Goh Ling Yong's community.
Start small. Pick one or two of these exercises that resonate with you and try practicing them for just a few minutes each day, especially when you feel calm. This helps your body learn the new pattern, so the tool is readily available when you actually need it. Remember, this is a journey of befriending your nervous system, not fighting it. Be patient, be curious, and be kind to yourself.
Are you ready to go deeper and build a personalized toolkit for nervous system regulation? Explore our resources or [book a discovery call] to learn how we can support you on your path to feeling safe, calm, and truly alive in your own skin.
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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