If you’re looking for some quick strategies, check out the links below. I often tell my clients we can’t think our way into feeling different. If we want to feel different, we have to move in a different way.  If we coach ourselves the way we would train a dog, parent a child or train an athlete, we could really feel different. So I dare you to carve out a minute here and there throughout your day and try these techniques. 

These may seem weird or goofy, but they are actually based in science and physiology. If you want to take a deep dive into the science behind this, I recommend reading Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, by Peter A. Levine. In this groundbreaking book he explains how animals in the wild respond to stress and trauma. Most of us are familiar with the term “fight or flight”. But there is another way of coping with stress or potential threat, and that is to freeze. 

In our modern daily lives when we feel stressed or threatened, physically fighting or fleeing the situation is rarely a viable option. What our bodies do instead is freeze. In the wild this is usually a temporary response, not a chronic situation. And after the perceived threat has passed many animals automatically shake, release the stress, and return to a state of calm. 

We can mimic this recovery response by intentionally shaking and releasing pent up tension. If you haven’t done this in a long time, (if ever!) you may be surprised at how challenging it is. But like anything else, the more we practice something the easier it is.

Another similar strategy is blowing raspberries. Again, you may find it is not as easy as it looks. I encourage you to try it with a friend, allow yourself to be playful and goofy, to do something just for fun to see what happens. It would be doubly effective to try both techniques at the same time 😉. 

Give yourself the gift of being present, being curious, being goofy. You will be amazed at how much better you feel! You also get the nice side benefits of lower blood pressure, lower cortisol levels, higher serotonin levels. We are sophisticated animals, but animals nonetheless. So let’s be at least as smart as horses, dogs, giraffes, and elephants and give our nervous systems a reset.