Coming Home to Yourself: 5 simple Tools to Support a Relaxation Practice

Soothing Practices to Help You Slow Down, Breathe Deeply, and Reconnect

In a culture that often mistakes rest for laziness, learning to truly relax can feel surprisingly difficult. For many—especially those living with anxiety, high sensitivity, or perfectionism—traditional self-care isn’t quite enough. What’s really needed is a nervous system–friendly relaxation practice: something slower, more attuned, and grounded in genuine safety.

Whether you’re looking for relaxation techniques to ease anxiety, grounding tools to manage stress, or simple ways to support nervous system regulation throughout your day, the five practices below offer an easy place to start.

1. Orient to Safety Through Your Senses

When anxiety or overwhelm narrows your focus, it’s easy to lose connection with the present moment. Orientation is a simple practice that helps your nervous system recognize what’s true and safe right now.

Take a slow look around the room and name 3 to 5 things you see. Let your gaze rest on something neutral or comforting. Feel the ground beneath your feet or the texture of your clothing. Tune into the sounds around you.

This kind of sensory awareness is a core technique in many mind-body therapies. It sends a quiet message to your nervous system: I’m safe. I’m here. Try saying to yourself: “I see sunlight on the floor. I hear the hum of the fridge. I feel the chair holding me.

2. Soothing Touch to Signal Calm

Your body naturally responds to comforting, intentional touch. Placing a hand over your heart, on your belly, or the back of your neck can activate your parasympathetic nervous system, helping you feel grounded and calm. This practice is especially helpful for highly sensitive people, whose nervous systems often pick up on subtle sensations and shifts in tone more deeply.

Try combining soothing touch with a gentle phrase like, “You’re doing the best you can,” or “This moment is allowed.”

3. Conscious Breathing for Regulation

Conscious breathing is one of the most accessible tools for calming anxiety. A simple practice like the 4–6–8 breathing—inhale for 4 counts, hold for 6, exhale for 8—can help slow your heart rate, release tension, and settle your mind. The extended exhale is key, signaling safety to your nervous system and gently shifting you out of stress mode.

Try: Three rounds of this breathing before bed, after a tough interaction, or anytime you feel overwhelmed. Over time, these small pauses can begin to shift your baseline toward calm.

4. Visualization for Inner Ease

Imagery can evoke a sense of safety, even when the outside world feels uncertain. Visualization taps into the body’s ability to respond to imagined calm as if it were real—something especially helpful for sensitive or overwhelmed nervous systems.

Try: Picture a place where you feel held—by nature, by warmth, by beauty. A forest clearing, the ocean at dusk, a blanket fort from childhood. Engage your senses: What do you see, hear, smell, or feel? Let your body soften into the experience.

5. Supportive Inner Dialogue

Sometimes rest is interrupted not by circumstance, but by negative inner commentary: You should be doing more. You’re wasting time. What’s wrong with you? These narratives can keep the nervous system on high alert. Learning to recognize and soften them is essential for lasting ease.

Try: Offer yourself simple, grounding phrases like “It’s safe to rest” or “Nothing is urgent right now.” With repetition, this supportive self-talk becomes part of your nervous system regulation toolkit—especially if you’re working through inner criticism or perfectionism.

Reclaiming Rest as a Birthright

You don’t have to earn your rest. These five tools can help you create moments of safety and connection in the midst of daily life—not as an escape, but as a way to move through the world with more steadiness, clarity, and ease.

If you long for a deeper sense of calm but find it hard to get there on your own, individual psychotherapy can help. Sarita Redalia, LMFT offers in-depth therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma, self-worth, and inner critic work. Learn more about my therapy services at Sarita Redalia, LMFT.