We often talk about the idea of the “calm before the storm”, but what if we changed the narrative to finding calm within the storm?
In this context, the storm isn’t one single event. It’s the constant state of overstimulation many of us live in every day. It’s a nervous system that’s dysregulated, a body sending warning signs through symptoms and a growing sense of dis-ease while simply trying to get through daily life.
The storm is made up of our modern stressors: sitting in traffic, long hours at a desk, too much coffee and not enough water, disrupted sleep, and the ongoing mental load of a fast-paced society.
Over time, this constant input keeps the body stuck in fight-or-flight, the physiological response designed for short-term danger, not day-to-day living. This is why many people feel permanently “on edge”, even when nothing specific is going wrong.
Looking for Calm in the Wrong Places
When we look for calm, we’re often taught to find it through escape: a holiday, scrolling on our phones, or withdrawing from social situations because it feels easier. But true regulation isn’t about leaving the storm, it’s about learning how to remain steady while we’re in it.
What if I told you there were better ways to gain the calm we are seeking without self-sabotage?
Supporting Calm Through the Nervous System
Supporting calm in the body often involves a combination of awareness, daily habits, and supportive care.
For some, Chiropractic care becomes one of the ways they intentionally pause and pay attention to their bodies in a busy world, as each adjustment impacts the nervous system and allows it to regulate from a state of fight-or-flight mode into our rest-and-digest mode.
Rest-and-digest is the state your body enters when there is no immediate threat and it can conserve energy, repair and recover.
Chiropractic care is often experienced by people as a supportive space to slow down, reconnect with their bodies, and become more aware of tension patterns.
Our nervous system responds constantly to posture, movement, breath, and environment. For some people, Chiropractic care forms part of this broader approach, alongside practices like mindful breathing, movement, and time outdoors.
Other Ways to Support Calm
What else can we do to help find our calm?
Meditation is a great tool as well, and it is well linked to the benefits of Chiropractic.
Meditation can be practised in many ways, but a simple starting point is focusing on your breath and gently returning your attention when the mind wanders.
With regular practice, many people notice they feel calmer in the body while staying mentally present.
This can make it easier to respond to stress with more steadiness, rather than reacting automatically.
Over time, this may support lower perceived stress and improved emotional regulation.
Home Skills to Support Calm
Home skills that can be worked on to gain calm include:
Mindful or Diaphragmatic Breathing
- This can be done at any time of the day.
- Place one hand on your belly and inhale deeply for 4 counts through your nose. Focus on your belly expanding, not your chest.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6 to 8 counts.
- If your mind wanders, gently return to the sensation of your breathing.
- Practice this for 5 to 10 minutes daily. Over time, this style of breathing can help signal safety to the nervous system.
Mindful Daily Tasks
- Choose a task from your day that you’d like to be more present for. It can be something like making a beverage in the morning or evening, or having a shower, something that we have habituated.
- During this task, slow down your steps and focus on each step as you are doing it, with the intention of doing it without harshness.
- Be present in this moment and don’t allow easy distractions such as phones, thoughts, or “next item on the to-do list “ to take us away.
- This helps slow down the nervous system and rewire it into being more adaptable to many environments.
Over time, these changes can influence areas of the brain involved in attention and emotional processing.This increased awareness can support a greater sense of calm and adaptability in daily life.
