Nervous System 101: How to Calm Your Body in 3 Minutes

Your nervous system is always listening. To your thoughts. To your environment. To your breath. When it's dysregulated, everything feels harder. Anxiety rises. Sleep suffers. Energy disappears. When it's calm, everything flows. Decisions become clear. Relationships feel easier. Life feels manageable. The good news? You can calm your nervous system in 3 minutes. Here's how. ## Why 3 minutes matters Your nervous system has a memory. It remembers stress. It remembers trauma. It remembers patterns. But it also has plasticity. It can learn new patterns. It can create new memories. 3 minutes of intentional calming creates a new pathway. A pathway back to safety. Practice this enough, and it becomes your default state. ## The 3-minute protocol ### Minute 1: Grounding breath Find your seat. Feel your feet on the ground. Notice the support beneath you. Inhale for 4 counts. Hold for 4 counts. Exhale for 6 counts. Repeat 4 times. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system. It tells your body: "You're safe." ### Minute 2: Body scan Starting at your toes, notice any tension. Breathe into it. Release it. Move up through your feet, legs, hips, belly, chest, arms, neck, head. Where do you hold stress? Where do you hold emotion? Simply notice. Simply breathe. Simply release. ### Minute 3: Loving touch Place one hand on your heart. One hand on your belly. Say to yourself: "I am safe. I am held. I am enough." Feel the warmth of your hands. Feel the steadiness of your breath. Stay here as long as you need. ## When to use it Use this protocol: • When anxiety spikes • Before important conversations • After stressful situations • When you wake up at night • Before meals • When you feel overwhelmed Make it your go-to tool. Keep it simple. Keep it accessible. ## The science behind it This protocol works because: 1. **Slow breathing** stimulates the vagus nerve, your body's calming pathway 2. **Body awareness** brings you out of your head and into your body 3. **Self-touch** provides the safety your nervous system craves It's not woo-woo. It's neurobiology. ## Making it stick The key isn't perfection. The key is consistency. • Set a daily reminder • Practice when calm (so it's available when stressed) • Track how you feel before/after • Be patient with yourself Your nervous system has been protecting you for years. It takes time to convince it you're safe. But every 3 minutes you practice, you're rewiring. You're healing. You're coming home. This is nervous system regulation. This is self-care. This is Shiré.