How Do I Calm My Nervous System After Awakening?

A Grounded Guide for Sensitive Souls

Many people who go through a spiritual or energetic awakening notice shifts not only in consciousness, but also in their nervous system — like overwhelm, emotional sensitivity, agitation, or even a sense of being “off center.” Awakening can feel expansive and clarifying, but when the nervous system is overstimulated, it can also feel confusing, tense, or destabilizing.

Thankfully, there are practical ways to calm the nervous system from the inside out, not by forcing change, but by supporting regulation, embodiment, and present‑moment safety.

1. Gain Insight into What’s Happening

After awakening, your nervous system may be more sensitive to energy, emotions, and environmental stimuli. This is a biological response, not a personal failure or weakness. Shifts in awareness are real, but your body still needs safety and regulation to integrate them.

The parasympathetic nervous system, your “rest and digest” state, is what promotes calm, digestion, emotional stability, and resilience. Practices that engage this system help bring you back into presence rather than survival mode.

2. Breathwork That Gently Calms

Breathing slowly and deeply sends a powerful signal of safety to the nervous system. Instead of quick, shallow breathing, practice:

4‑7‑8 Breath Exercise:
• Inhale for 4 seconds
• Hold for 7 seconds
• Exhale for 8 seconds

Repeat this cycle 4–8 times. This method promotes a shift into calm by stimulating your vagus nerve, a core pathway for nervous system regulation.

3. Grounding and Sensory Awareness

Grounding brings your attention back into your body and the present moment. It interrupts your brain’s stress responses by anchoring you in the physical world.

Try this simple sensory method:

5‑4‑3‑2‑1 Grounding Technique:
• Notice 5 things you can see
• Notice 4 things you can feel
• Notice 3 things you can hear
• Notice 2 things you can smell
• Notice 1 thing you can taste

This shifts the nervous system out of fear mode and into presence.

Feet‑on‑floor grounding: Sit or stand with your feet firmly on the ground. Imagine roots extending into the earth. This communicates safety to your body and mind.

 4. Gentle Somatic Movement

Your body carries stress, not just your mind. Moving gently can help release tension and settle your system. Some helpful practices include:

Gentle somatic shaking: Stand with feet hip‑width apart and gently shake limbs,  intuitively and slowly — to release tension.

Somatic stretching: Slow, mindful stretches increase body awareness and support nervous system regulation.

Walking or swaying: Calm, rhythmic movement encourages regulation and helps your nervous system reset.

5. Self‑Soothing Touch

Physical touch can send a strong message of safety to your brain and body. Practice:

• Placing a hand on your heart or belly

• Gently rubbing your arms or shoulders

• Humming, chanting, or soft vocalization

These techniques help activate the vagus nerve, encouraging relaxation and a sense of calm.

6. Simple Environmental Shifts

Sometimes calming your nervous system doesn’t require deep rituals, just small, intentional changes:

• Step outside for fresh air or sunlight

• Sit in a quiet, dim space

• Splash cold water on your face or hold a cool object. Cold stimuli (like splashing cool water) can interrupt stress responses and help your body move toward a calmer state.

• Listen to calming music

• Warm salt bath. The heat of the water encourages relaxation in muscles and signals safety to your body, while the mineral-rich salts, such as Epsom or Himalayan salt, support magnesium absorption and detoxification, which can reduce tension and nervous system hyperarousal.

7. Rest, Sleep & Nourishment

Rest is not lazy — it’s essential. Sleep helps your body reset and your nervous system integrate new experiences. Staying hydrated and eating nourishing foods supports your overall regulation and emotional balance.

8. Take Small, Intentional Steps

If your nervous system feels sensitive or overwhelmed, it’s important to meet your body where it is. Techniques like titration, gently approaching regulation in small increments, help expand your “window of tolerance” without flooding your system.

Instead of trying intense practices all at once, start with 2–5 minutes of rhythm and presence. Notice what your body feels, not what your mind thinks you “should” do.

Integration: Not Suppression

These practices are not about suppressing energy or avoiding discomfort — they are about helping your nervous system learn safety and coherence over time. With consistent, compassionate regulation work, your system settles into steadiness, presence, and resilience.

A Gentle Reminder

Spiritual awakening can be deeply transformative, but true integration happens through the body — not just the mind or imagination. When the nervous system feels regulated, your clarity deepens, your intuition feels safe, and you can engage your life with more calm, grounded presence.

If you’re ready to move beyond temporary relief and truly regulate, integrate, and embody your nervous system, I invite you to explore working with me. Through my Soul Renewal: Embodied Truth group container and private mentorship programs, you’ll receive guided support, energetic regulation, and tools to navigate awakening and life transitions with clarity, stability, and ease. This is a space where your sensitivity becomes strength, your intuition becomes grounded, and your body becomes a sanctuary — not just a witness to overwhelm. If you feel called, I’d be honored to hold the container for your growth and integration.

With Love & Light,
Heidi Nordlund

Interview with VoyageDenver

Hi Heidi, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

Absolutely, thank you! Back in 1997, I was backpacking in Australia and I joined a yoga class in Byron Bay on the east coast. My Mom had tried to get me into yoga since I was 13 to help heal my back that was diagnosed with severe scoliosis, but I never felt the spark until that day in Byron Bay.

I was born and raised in Denmark and I was always thinking about my next travel plans. In 1998, I had the opportunity to go to Nepal for a Yoga Teacher Training intensive in Pokhara and this special time in Nepal changed my life!!! I integrated Indian cooking, discovered Ayurvedic medicine and healed myself in amazing ways.

In 1999, I was initiated into the lineage of Kriya Yoga meditation by Paramahamsa Hariharananda and Paramahamsa Prajnanananda. This profound meditative practice opened my heart, taught me the power of prayer, and invoked within me the triple Divine Qualities of Sound, Light and Vibration.

In 2002, I followed my heart to Boulder, Colorado, and in 2005, I graduated from Naropa University with a Bachelor’s degree in Contemplative Psychology with focus on Health and Healing.

My love for Ayurveda which had been seeded in Nepal was reawakened when an Ayurvedic Doctor (AD) Sarita Shrestha from Nepal came to visit one of my classes at Naropa University. I remembered my strong desire to become an Ayurvedic Doctor (AD). A new and amazing journey had begun and led to a number of certifications and degrees:

• 2006 Yoga Therapist from the Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga & Ayurveda, Boulder, CO 

• 2007 Pancha Karma Technician from the Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga & Ayurveda, Boulder, CO 

• 2007-2009 Certifications from the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque with Vasant Lad in herbal medicine (Dravyaguna Vijnan), clinical practicum, pulse reading (Nadi Vijnan), and healing of vital energy points (Marma Chikitsa). 

• 2008 Ayurvedic Postpartum Specialist from the Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga & Ayurveda, Boulder, CO 

• 2008 Tibetan Cranial Practitioner from the Tibetan Cranial Association, Longmont, CO 

• 2010 Ayurvedic Practitioner (Vaidhya) from Alandi Ashram, Boulder, CO 

• 2012 Ayurvedic Practitioner (Vaidhya) from the Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga & Ayurveda, Boulder, CO 

• 2012 Ayurvedic Doctor (AD) from Alandi Ashram, Boulder, CO 

I served for 5 years on the Colorado branch of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (COLORAMA), and am a Professional Member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) where I took part in the development of the AD Exam. 

As a long term meditator with a deep passion for healing, I have great love for spiritual healing. I have traveled in Israel and India on pilgrimage and have attended many silent meditation retreats. I have experienced the depth of Divine love and what it means to be an instrument of the Divine. In 2013, it was revealed to me that I am a Healer, and I went on to deepen my unique healing gifts and abilities.

Through intense spiritual healing work to clear my karma, I learned how to raise my vibration and frequency, and it was revealed to me how the Tibetans used to practice their healing remotely and long distance. I call this healing art Tibetan Astral Healing.

I founded my business Namaskar Healing LLC in 2007, and have worked with 1000s of people, helping them heal through Ayurveda, herbal medicine, Yoga therapy, meditation, breathwork, Tibetan Cranial, Tibetan Astral Healing, postpartum care, spiritual healing, and karma clearings to heal from all sorts of health issues and ailments. 

I now work as a medical intuitive and spiritual healer. I have developed a Spiritual Healing certification training where I combine the most effective healing practices that I have learned and experienced. In this training, I train my apprentices to become certified Soul Renewal Practitioners.  I witness the most miraculous healing and spiritual development in those who dedicate themselves to this work. 

I’m beyond excited about the Soul Renewal Practitioner training program, and I’m proud to announce my first two graduates Lucia Fellers and Kimberley Shingara. They are now offering the Lightning Soul Renewal Processes which are powerful and effective karma clearings and healing processes that help you heal from deep-seated chronic conditions, long lasting illnesses and unhealthy habits and negative patterns. The Soul Renewal Practitioner training is open to spiritually connected people who are ready to learn a new healing practice, awaken intuition and psychic abilities, and expand their healing business.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

I would say that I have been very blessed and guided most of the way. However, I have worked very hard at my own healing. 

As a teenager, I worked for years with a physical therapist to resolve the scoliosis, I practiced hours of specialized back exercises daily to avoid having to wear a brace for 23 hours a day to correct my spine. I suffered from low self-esteem and depression which fortunately cleared up during my travels. 

I had a good childhood, growing up on the countryside in Denmark, with horses, goats, cats and a dog. My whole family lives in Denmark so it was a big decision for me to move to the States. My siblings all have children and while I have special bonds with them and we connect via social media, it’s a challenge being so far away. I especially miss them and my parents around the holidays. It’s now been almost three years since I have seen them in person.

I have had my share of health issues including severe headaches, back pain, skin issues, sinusitis, reflux, dysmenorrhea, ovarian cyst rupture, whiplash, concussions, neck and hip pain from falling off horses as a child, hitting my head, and car accidents. However, Yoga, Ayurveda, Tibetan Cranial and Spiritual Healing have healed everything in remarkable ways, and I’m now in better shape than I have been most of my life. I enjoy teaching Yoga, and I currently attend Aerial Yoga classes almost every day of the week.

In 2015, when the Tibetan Astral Healing was revealed to me, I was terrified to share and practice it with other people. I couldn’t believe that I was chosen to bring back this amazing work, I didn’t feel worthy of it, and I didn’t get much support to bring it forth in my healing practice. However, I felt immensely blessed, and with time, I have been able to incorporate it into my practice and training programs. Read the whole interview here>

Do you want to Heal & Free Yourself Quicker?

Important Questions to ask before you do Past Life Regression

It's becoming more and more popular to do past life regression, which is AWESOME!!! Here are few things to ask when you are deciding who to work with and which program to choose (there are a lot of different practices!!!)

A lot of past life regression work activates and opens you up to negative past lives, but not clearing you from the negativity or trauma 100%, and when only activated, the past trauma gets more powerful. Therefore make sure to ask how the past lives are processed and cleared, and how the facilitator can be sure that you have freed yourself from the past negativity 100%

• It's important that you release all the negativity 100%!!!!

• That you forgive yourself and everyone involved 100%!!!!

• That you raise vibration and fill yourself with love and light 100%!!!!

Then you will remove the repeating patterns stemming from the trauma, if not you only activate it to have more power in your current lifetime, and continue to carry it into your next lifetimes, as you are doing now.

Simply talking about and discussing the past trauma is not going to help you, that is like putting a bandaid over a bullet wound - you still have to get rid of the bullet, which involves raising your vibration 100%, opening up to the past lives 100%, letting go 100%, forgiving 100%, and charging back up 100%

If you want to make sure you safely and effectively clear your past trauma and repeating patterns, check out the Lightning Soul Renewal Processes They work every single time so you will heal chronic pain, release deep seated blockages, strengthen your digestion and organ function, speed up your evolution, change your DNA and much much more.

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