Rebalancing the nervous system during times of anxiety

My yoga teacher recently told me, “Autumn is a windy season.” Depending on where you live, you may experience cold winds or cut off fresh air. This seasonal change gives us energy and lifts our spirits. anxiety.

But my yoga teacher wasn’t just talking about the weather forecast outside. She also talked about changes in the weather. internal Each of us. That is, the anxiety, frenzy, and overwhelming feelings that predictably increase every fall. Not coincidentally, these newly aroused emotions may have something to do with the weather around us. After all, we are intimately connected to what philosopher David Abrams calls “the world beyond the human.”

A favorite group icebreaker I used to do with teenage girls was, “What’s the weather forecast at work?” “Thunderstorms,” “cloudy skies,” and “bright and sunny” were all common responses. This question is a great place to check your emotional state.

Fall coincides with many seasonal changes, including going back to school, going back to work, swapping swimsuits for sweaters in the closet, and rotating crops in the garden. For many people, the pace of life picks up each September, October, and November, bringing with it more events, activities, work, and social engagements, and the challenge of juggling and multitasking to meet so many demands.

On top of that are piled the existential burdens that are pressing today, whether on a personal level (i.e. health issues) or on a global level (political instability).

In fact, strong currents of anxiety and worry are pervasive, seeping into our internal organs and, for many, haunting us. stress Accumulation. We can intellectualize this throughout the day and call it “chronic stress” or “collective stress.” traumaNevertheless, prescriptions from a mental health perspective often come back to the body, breathing, and tolerance. unconscious Thoughts and emotions that come forward.

When we, as a society or as individuals, feel troubled or unbalanced, the best way to move forward is to rebalance ourselves. In autumn, the wind is strong, but there is also an autumnal equinox. The autumnal equinox is the day when day and night are approximately the same length due to the position of the sun and the earth (this year it was September 22, 2025). For several weeks now, we’ve been sitting in a space with dimming light every day. As winter deepens, we spend more of our days in darkness than in sunlight. Like other mammals, we sense this change in our bodies with a felt sense and naturally seek more quiet and peace, a desire to slow down, sleep more, and surrender to our natural rhythms.

The vernal equinox is a signal of balance. When our lives feel noisy, unpredictable, or windy, we can ask ourselves where our lives are out of balance. And how do we return to internal equilibrium? One simple answer is a “micro-reset.” This is an honest and compassionate attempt to rebalance us. nervous system. This rebalancing is most effective when done through the physical body, not just the brain.

Here are three simple balance exercises you can try this fall (or anytime) to feel calmer, more grounded, and more connected.

1. Bookend your day

Daily rituals are comforting. No matter what the weather is like indoors or outdoors, your rituals anchor you in the here and now and connect you to yourself. Daily rituals can be completed in as little as 5 minutes. Even better, take this to the next level and “bookend” your day by having rituals at both the beginning and end of your day. Twice-daily rituals provide a sense of containment and serve as social touchstones. Mindfulnessand repetition supports rewiring neural networks. The ritual can be the same at both times of the day, or it can be two different rituals that accomplish the same goal.

example:

• sit meditationWalking Meditation, Mindful Eating

• Listen to calming music, play an instrument, sing, etc.

• Journaling

2. Be simple

Humans have evolved over centuries in natural environments such as forests, rivers, coasts, deserts, and jungles. At our deepest core level, experiencing an intimate connection with the more-than-human world calms and realigns us. Our ego trips us over and over again with our inner stories and vivid narrations. As you soak in the vast landscape and the wind and rain, the chatter in your mind disappears. What a relief!

The late Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh called our essential connection to the web of living things “interexistence.” In my new book Raise anti-Dwemer, I explore ’embeddedness’ as a central aspect of our mental health. resilience. When we feel disconnected or far away from the more-than-human world, it can be a slippery slope to pitfalls. loneliness, sorrowand despair.

Examples of being naive:

• Barefoot on the dirt

• Gardening with bare hands

• Observe animals, birds, insects, and terrestrial creatures with all five senses.

• When you spot a tree that catches your eye, imagine your feet as sturdy as the trunk as it roots into the soil. Slowly push your feet down and feel this metaphor. Imagine your heart and arms growing from that solid foundation. If you can do this outdoors next to or near a tree, even better.

3. Balance your breathing and posture

How we breathe, or the quality of our breath, determines our mood. (And vice versa!) Think of a time when you felt nervous or scared. How’s your breathing? Perhaps your breathing became shallower and faster, your heart rate increased, and your eyes probably widened.

Posture is also part of the equation. When you feel sad or anxious, you may feel depressed. When you’re angry, your spine may stiffen, your jaw may tense, and your fists may curl. Your posture can give you clues about how you’re feeling.

You can make small adjustments to both your breathing and posture to regain balance. When you breathe, you can lengthen your exhale to a length that exceeds or matches your inhale to promote parasympathetic nervous system activation (i.e., rest and digest). Once you notice where your body is tense when it comes to posture, you can intentionally soften those areas through movement or gentle self-massage. Breathing and posture work together, so you’ll likely need to adjust both.

example:

• five finger breathing

• Box breathing (Sama Vritti Pranayama)

• Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga

Over the next few weeks, during this windy time of year, try these balance exercises and see how they work for you. Make adjustments as necessary. Be playful and curious, and don’t beat yourself up for forgetting. If I drop out of practice, can I come back to practice the next day?

Cultivating a calmer mind and body during anxious times takes practice and effort. Every time you do it, you will be helping not only yourself but others as well. Limbic resonance means that when you are calm, that resonance radiates to those around you. Slowing down is half the battle.