My Top Five Nervous System Regulating Tools

We so often hear about the nervous system these days, especially within the grief & trauma space. And this is great, in so many ways. As someone who has been working in the mental health world for my entire adult life, I'm glad that the nervous system is finally getting the attention it deserves. 

The Important Role of the Nervous System 

The nervous system governs so much of how we feel, behave, and respond after profound, traumatic loss. 

When we go through something traumatic - i.e. our young partner getting cancer & dying within seven weeks (or replace that with your story) - it is "too much, too fast, too soon" for our nervous system to process. 

This means we don't fully feel it in the moment & instead, we go into a protective state of survival. 

Our nervous system does exactly what it was designed to do. 

But over time, we can become stuck in a pattern of survival and it can become difficult to move out of this cycle. We may find ourselves easily triggered or activated by things that bring our sensory system back to the experience of our trauma. This may feel entirely out of our control and beyond what our conscious mind can understand or move through, which can feel so frustrating. 

We may find ourselves "stuck" in patterns of activation and eventually may feel chronically dysregulated. 

This is exactly what happened to me. 

The Oh-So Elusive "Balance" 

I am nowhere near done my journey through nervous system healing - perhaps it will be a lifelong experience of moving through the ups and down. And there are some who believe that an obsession with nervous system healing can go too far. That continually fixating on regulating, can actually prevent us from feeling. 

As with so many things in life, I feel like there's a balance. Not a perfect balance of course, but rather a continual conversation between activation and regulation, feeling and healing, acceptance and integration. 

If we push ourselves into "processing" our trauma & feeling it all too intensely, without taking breaks to regulate - we can mimic the trauma itself, again, by experiencing "too much, too fast, too soon", which may plunge us into further dysregulation. 

What I can say, is that I am a fan of nervous system tools. 

I am also a fan of feeling my feelings and allowing myself to explore the depths of my grief experience. 

My Favourite Five Nervous System Tools

I have five nervous system tools I use regularly & love - and I want to share them with all of you! These are tools that I absolutely adore. Tools that help me maintain a sense of regulation in my life, but don't take away my capacity to go to the depths of my loss. 

The following are affiliate links (which means that I make a small commission if you purchase any of the items using my links below), but I only ever recommend products that I am legitimately obsessed with and already using regularly. Please note that this is not medical advice & I'm simply sharing the tools that have helped me personally on my grief journey. 

1) The Pranamat 

The Pranamat is an acupressure mat that I absolutely adore. It has hands down changed my life for the better and I am grateful for it every single day.

Essentially, it's a mat with "spiky" points all over it. To use it, you simply lie on top of it (I take my shirt off but you can start with a shirt on until you get more used to it). For the first 3-5 minutes, it's uncomfortable and you have to breathe through it. But it's so, so worth it. For me, as soon as those first few minutes pass, a floaty and yet grounded feeling of calm washes over me and there is no more discomfort at all. I feel myself breathing deeper, sinking into relaxation, and my mood begins to lift.

I try to lie on it for about 20 minutes at night before bed (often with my red light panel on behind my head - please see #2 below) and it helps me fall & stay asleep unlike anything else.

The main benefits I have noticed with regular use of the Pranamat are: Lower stress, decrease in muscle tension & pain, better sleep, less anxiety, and overall benefits to my mood.

It's a bit more expensive than some of the other tools below, but it is so worth it. There is also a 30-day money back guarantee & a 5-year warranty. Pranamat is a wonderful company & I would not recommended purchasing an acupressure mat from any of the many knock-off brands that exist, as they simply do not work half as well.

My favourite thing about the Pranamat is that it requires nothing from me. All I have to do, is lie down on it and let it do it's thing. 

For the Pranamat, click HERE. 

2) The Red Light Therapy Panel

This red light panel is probably the easiest & most gentle of all my nervous system tools. My panel combines the healing wavelengths of red light & infrared light. I use it primarily to support my circadian rhythm and help with sleep & natural melatonin production, as well as for overall nervous system regulation & improvement in mood. The panel can also be used for injury recovery, pain, & inflammation. I am still learning about these benefits, but can definitely attest to the fact that it helps my neck & shoulder pain when I sit in front of it. 

One of my favourite ways to use my red light panel, is as background light before bed and in the morning. The wavelengths mimic the rising & setting of the sun and tell our nervous systems & bodies through our eyes, when it is time to sleep or time to wake. I place the red light panel in the corner of my living room for about 15 minutes before bed and 15 minutes in the morning and use it as my primary source of light. When I do this, I find that I sleep deeply and fall asleep easily. 

For even better sleeps, I love using my red light panel and Pranamat together before bed. I get entirely ready for sleep and then lie down on my Pranamat with all the lights in the room off, except for my red light therapy panel, which I place on the ground right behind my head. The waves of light the panel emit, combined with the effect of lying on the Pranamat, puts me into a deep state of relaxation. 

Otherwise, I love sitting in front of my red light panel while working, having a therapy session, or folding laundry. I tend to sit in front of it for about 20 minutes and love the feeling of warmth, calm, and regulation that comes over my entire body. I notice when I use it regularly, my mood improves and I have more energy too. 

The red light therapy panel isn't too intense to use and provides a mild warmth. It's been a wonderful addition to my nervous system toolkit. 

For the Red Light Therapy Panel, click HERE. 

3) The "Shaky Machine" (& here's the Canadian link) 

The "Shaky Machine" (as I call it!) is a vibration plate that activates your vagus nerve when you stand on it. It is used for all sorts of things from lymphatic drainage, weight loss, balance, and muscle strengthening - but I use it primarily for its impact on my nervous system. 

I like to stand on it right in the middle of my work day, when I've been sitting for a long amount of time and my body is feeling stiff & sore. I also find it helpful when I'm feeling "stuck" or procrastinating getting started on something, like exercising. 

There are multiple settings & programs - some more intense and some less intense - but essentially you just find the program that is right for you, stand on the machine and let your body be loose and "flowy". The machine shakes you and activates your vagus nerve, which regulates your nervous system. 

I love the feeling of the vibration as it flows through my body and when I step off, after about 12-15 minutes, I feel grounded and calm, as well as energized for whatever it is I want to do next. 

The "Shaky Machine" is definitely a bit more intense, compared to the other two nervous system tools I shared above. But I love that there are so many different settings, so I can start off gentle if I want (although truth be told, I love the really intense shaking feeling). 

For the "Shaky Machine", click HERE if you're in the US and HERE if you're in Canada. 

4) The Pop-Up Steam Sauna (& here's the Canadian link) 

The benefits of saunas are fairly well understood - but I first really experienced the nervous system regulating effects of the sauna combined with cold plunging, at Brian's family cabin in the North. His mother was born in Finland and the hot steam sauna combined with a dip in the freezing cold lake, is a big part of the Finn culture. I will never forget the first time I tried it and I knew i was hooked for life. 

I've been dreaming of buying a super good quality sauna for a long time, but right now it's not the season for that for me. I held off for a long time, just waiting until it made sense for me to invest in the sauna of my dreams - but finally I realized that until that day comes, something quick & dirty & easy might be worth a try. 

This pop up steam sauna is from Amazon and I know the quality isn't great, but honestly, it does the trick. I bring it with me wherever I go and set it up in two minutes flat. Throw some filtered water in the steamer, pop the sauna open, plug it in, put a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil in the diffuser, turn it on - and Voila! It's steaming hot in 15 minutes flat. it comes with a little pop up chair and folds up into the tiniest little bundle. I've set it up on front porches, back yards, beside lakes (with an extension cord), and even in my kitchen. Inside, outside, it works so well and the impact on my body is profound. 

I have been using this pop up steam sauna almost daily for a while now, combined with the cold plunge pool below and I am officially obsessed. It gets very steamy & I love it! 

For the Pop-Up Steam Sauna, click HERE if you're in the US and HERE if you're in Canada. 

5) The Portable Cold Plunge (& here's the Canadian link) 

A sauna on it's own is great, but a sauna combined with a cold plunge is next level. Truth be told, it's only when I incorporate the cold plunge that I feel the nervous system regulating impacts. This cold plunge pool is similar quality to the pop-up steam sauna, and similarly, it is easy & quick to set up and carry with you wherever you go. 

All you need is a hose to fill it with cold water or, you can fill it in your bath tub! And then just open the drain when you're done. 

I typically fill it while my sauna is heating up and then jump into it when I'm super hot. You can work up to whatever level of cold plunge you are comfortable with - up to your waist, your neck, or even bop your head under. I don't worry too much about how much time I spend in the cold plunge or how fully I submerge - I follow my body's lead and find that the feeling of cold plunging after a really hot sauna, is unparalleled. 

For me, this is the most intense, effective, and instantaneous nervous system regulating tool. There is nothing like it. I tend to say, it feels like I've been reborn - and this is truly what it is like for me. After an hour of sauna & cold plunging - I am a different person. In such a positive way. The improvements to my mood, overall stress levels, focus, and sleep when I am regularly cold plunging are profound. 

For the Portable Cold Plunge, click HERE if you're in the US and HERE if you're in Canada. 

Last Thoughts 

With all of these nervous system tools, but especially the cold plunging - it's important you follow your own body and the messages it is telling you. There have been periods of time in the past when I was in a more chronic and deeper state of dysregulation and the intensity of the cold plunge was too much. If this is you, the more gentle tools (Pranamat, Red Light Therapy Panel) are probably better. The great thing about this list though, is that each tool feeds into another. When I turn my red light therapy lamp on, I feel more inclined to lie down on my Pranamat, which in turn means the next day I'm probably more likely to take a work break on my "shaky machine". This leads to an overall more regulated nervous system, which motivates me to do the extra work to set up my sauna and cold plunge. 

I hope this list serves you well, my fellow griever. 

Sending you the biggest hug today & every day. 

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about any of this. 

xoxo

Mira