Stillness: A Daily Calming Tool
How often are you completely still? It's such an important daily practice for our highly sensitive nervous system motors! Our brains often have a hard time slowing down and it is easy to get wrapped up in societal pressures to be constantly busy and yet if we are it is like flooring the gas pedal of a car all day long. What will happen to your car if you do that? What will happen to your system if you do that?
When you practice stillness daily you will be shocked at how much better you feel in all ways! It might take a bit of time to settle but once you keep practicing you will begin to feel the benefits. Stillness will slow your motor and make it easier to feel calm, patience, connection, and overall wellness! Your health will improve if you are still and it is easier to read what your body is telling you it needs. We can pause, reflect and respond when we have been still. When we have not been still we tend to be reactive and activate the fight/flight response too often, releasing adrenaline and stress chemicals into the body which causes lots of problems! So stillness is an easy practice that will transform everything for you and make life a lot easier as a sensitive person!
There are many ways to become still. Here are some of the ones I enjoy...
Observe the details in nature. Get quiet and still and be alone. Notice all your senses. Look at the intricacies of a leaf and the sound of the leaves of the trees in the wind or the birds flying above. Be one with nature every day, even if it is with plants you have at home. It is part of who we are and we are meant to connect to it.
Meditation is like medicine for HSPs. There are many different kinds of meditations to explore. Some people like guided ones that walk them through the process. I've created a whole set of HSP meditations you may like to explore here.
Mindfulness practices are moments you consciously become still to be fully present in the moment you are in. Sometimes I do this with my pets, just connecting to them deeply or while looking at the beautiful leaves on my plants or just taking in moments of joy longer and fully present.
Grounding is a beautiful practice that creates stillness. You might enjoy putting your bare feet into the earth or taking a bath and being in the water as part of a grounding practice.
Being under my weighted blanket activates calming centers and makes me feel so good every day. It's like an immediate stillness happens.
One of the benefits of a daily practice of stillness is that you are training your brain to be able to get still as needed and reach stillness easier and faster. That means no more spinning, anxious internal motors, or a mind that can't turn off. If you only practice stillness once in a while or just as needed it won't be as effective as doing it every day and will be harder for you to access in times you really need it. Your brain needs practice with stillness in our busy, stimulating world!
Some people experience anxiety when they get still if they haven't been practicing it before and if they tend to be someone who is constantly busy. Being constantly busy is NOT a good thing for HSPs. We need to slow down intentionally, process all we take in, and give our systems a chance to rest from overstimulation in a world not set up for us. Sometimes there are a lot of buckets of stuff we have stuffed down and not dealt with over a lifetime and it starts to come up when we get still. It's an opportunity for healing and growth work with a licensed therapist and hopefully, you know about the HSP Practitioners Directory to find an HSP therapist! It's such a life-changing gift to yourself and everyone around you to do this kind of important internal work!
What stillness practices do you enjoy? Here are some responses from HSPs in my Sensitive Empowerment Community to inspire you! ❤️
I try to practice stillness on a daily basis, even if it's just taking a moment to sit outside in the morning sunshine with a warm comforting drink. If I do this before getting ready to go somewhere, it makes leaving on time so much easier and a lot calmer. This is one area I've identified for me as a stressor on the system and creating some stillness beforehand promotes a slower approach towards leaving on time and I always feel so much better when we go.
I practice stillness at my constantly overstimulating job. I instinctively went within (the brain training coursework is helping me a lot) I focused on myself. It’s like an invisible fortress went up around me. My insides were rattling around, my brain was on the verge of spinning. But, I caught myself. I looked outside my window to the terra-cotta brick wall. I focused on just one orange brick. The afternoon sunlight hit it just right. I felt its warmth. I stared at it as long as I could. It feels like getting off a merry-go-round, finding your feet beneath you. Stillness is key to a busy environment, even if it’s just staring at a brick :) thank you for listening :)
Yesterday I used “hand to heart” to access some stillness at the doctor’s office. I tried to keep focus in my center because my thoughts were starting to race. I also practice stillness throughout the day, it helps keep the reactive levels baseline low. So if a webpage at work is loading slowly, I fold my hands in my lap, close my eyes and follow my breath for 3 cycles. Anything that’s delayed at work, 2 minutes before a meeting, slow files, any little space I can find, I’m folding my hands and breathing. Reset, reset, reset. I also love to take regular 10-minute breaks, where I go over to my recliner, put on my AirPods (for noise-canceling) and meditate/follow the breath and focus on one of my favorite mantras ”float” and I induce the sensation of feeling like I’m floating in water with imagery. This is a powerful relaxation for me, I’ve trained my brain to respond to this so it’s quite effective.
Love using those little moments like when a webpage is slow. I’ve been doing breathing exercises every time an ad pops up, like when I’m playing a game on my phone. Instead of letting it agitate I use it as a reminder to connect with my breath. That in turns helps me relax and fall asleep sooner, so double bonus 😄
I've been practicing a stillness meditation break each afternoon at the height of my workday when I need it most. I come back refreshed and grounded and am able to finish what's on my plate after taking 20 minutes of me-time.
Meditation every morning, before I start my day is an absolute must! I'm also chiseling out time for stillness when I'm at work by going outside at lunchtime. I meditate and practice gentle yoga for 15 minutes. I've also started to eat my lunch on my own in a quiet space. I find the barrage of information and everyone else's emotions very tiring. By writing notes in shorthand while we're in session, I minimize emotional triggers, which also carves out space to articulate my contributions to the discussion much more effectively.
I’m loving reading these ways everyone takes time for moments of stillness throughout the day! I loved what you said about taking time to breathe when something is loading slowly! I have an old computer and it freezes or things are slow a lot. I used to get very frustrated but I too have been using it as an opportunity to look away from the screen, ground myself in my body, and focus on my breath. I also started to do this during Zoom meetings. The good thing is no one has to know I’m doing it, even if my camera is on. ☺️ I find I need these breaks during the day so I can refresh and remain productive and motivated. I also have been practicing sitting in silent meditation, focusing on my breath every morning before starting the day which has been very helpful.
Time in nature is the biggest one for me- just walking and focusing on the vivid colors/textures. I enjoy being still through this. Also taking little moments to do a breathing sequence at work. It helps me reset and be able to think clearly. Baths are very grounding for me too, I enjoy having one every day after work as a beautiful cleansing transition to being home.
In what ways are you consciously practicing stillness and the self-care that helps you live your best life?
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Julie Bjelland is a Psychotherapist specializing in high sensitivity, host of The HSP Podcast, and Founder of the Sensitive Empowerment Community, whose mission is to create a paradigm shift where sensitivity is embraced, valued, and honored. Julie offers multiple essential resources for educating, inspiring, and empowering HSPs.
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