(#96) Guided Breathwork for Nervous System Regulation: A Somatic Healing Practice for Grounding, Safety and Presence

In this calming and supportive episode of Somatic Healing for Wellness-Focused Women, Rae guides you through a gentle, trauma-informed breathwork practice designed to help you regulate your nervous system, find inner safety, and return to a state of grounding and presence.

This episode builds on the concept of the window of tolerance and is ideal for anyone experiencing anxiety, stress, or emotional overwhelm. Through a soothing blend of orienting, mindful breath cues, and somatic awareness, Rae helps you reconnect with your body and shift back into a sense of peace, wholeness, and self-trust.

Whether you're new to breathwork or a seasoned practitioner, this is a beautiful nervous system reset you can return to anytime you need it.

🌿 In this episode, you’ll experience:

• A guided somatic breathwork practice (4-1-6 breath)
• Orientation and body-based grounding techniques
• Support for regulating stress, anxiety, and overwhelm
• Gentle reminders that your emotions are valid and you are safe
• Breath cues for self-soothing and releasing tension
• A felt experience of connecting mind and body

⚠️ Please do not listen to this practice while driving. Find a quiet, comfortable space where you can be fully present.

💌 Sign up for the Somatic Healing Newsletter to access Rae’s free resource library with 20+ breathwork + meditation recordings and somatic tools.

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Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast is intended to inspire, educate, and support you on your personal journey. It does not substitute for professional mental health advice. I am not a psychologist or medical professional. If you are experiencing distress, mental health challenges, or medical conditions, please seek help from a qualified professional.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Somatic Healing
• 2:00 Orienting to Your Space
• 3:00 Beginning the Breathwork Practice
• 5:30 Adding the Deep Sigh Release
• 8:30 Closing the Practice

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome back to the podcast. If you are new here, I'm Rae, I'm a somatic coach and breathwork facilitator, and if you aren't new here, welcome back. I'm so glad that you are tuning in for today's episode. So, for today's episode, I really wanted to provide a guided practice that will build on this idea of the window of tolerance and being able to regulate our nervous systems. So being able to self-soothe, being able to self-regulate and being able to use, you know, all of the tools that we have in our resource library, one of those being our breath. So we all have our breath. It's something that we always have right in our back pocket, something that we can always return back to, doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing, and so I would love to provide you with this practice, something that you can return back to at any time. And so today, our practice will be really around supporting you in regulating your nervous system, finding a place of safety, finding a place of grounding, connecting the mind and the body, and this is super helpful for relieving anxiety, relieving stress, finding a sense of inner peace, a sense of wholeness. So, of course, you cannot do breath work while you're driving, so if you are driving or doing something else that you know might not be a moment where you want to close your eyes and drop in. You can pause this audio. You can come back to it later. This practice will also be edited out and added to the resource library, which is a free resource, and you can gain access to that by signing up for the somatic healing newsletter in the show notes. So, yeah, I hope that you enjoy today's practice and let's dive in.

Speaker 1: 2:00

So, as you start to get settled into your space, I want to invite you to take a look around your space, and this is called orienting. So what you can do is look at the walls that are surrounding you, so look in front of you, look to both sides, make sure that you also look over both of your shoulders and look above you and also look below, so notice, as you're looking around and just observing your space, that you are safe and just observing your space, that you are safe and there is a surrounding here for you that is here to help you feel grounded and present. And then gently, when you feel ready, beginning to close your eyes and starting with three deep breaths. So taking a deep inhale through your nose and exhaling through the mouth, taking a deep inhale through the nose and exhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth and taking one more deep breath, just like that, at your pace and as you begin to land in this moment, allowing, however, your mind has been showing up today or this past week, allowing that to be present, knowing that nothing needs to change or be different, and checking in with the body as well, and noticing how the body may have been showing up today or this week, and noticing and knowing that nothing needs to change or be different. You can place your right hand on your heart, if that feels good for you, and your left hand on your belly and before we begin to breathe, noticing, right at the bottom of your seat, right at the base of your spine, there is a structure underneath you supporting you and holding you in this moment, so you are safe, you are grounded, and noticing what that feels like for your system, for your body to be held. And then, when you feel ready, I'm going to invite you to start with a four-second inhale through your nose. We're going to pause at the top for one and we're going to take a deep exhale through the mouth for six.

Speaker 1: 5:24

So, starting with that first inhale through the nose 4, 3, 2, 1, pause. Exhaling through the mouth 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. One, two, three, four, pause. Exhaling six, five, four, three, two, one. Inhaling through the nose One, two, three, four, pause. Exhaling through the mouth Six, five, four, three, two, one. And continuing that cycle of breath at your pace. And with each inhale you are bringing in a sense of peace and with each exhale there is a grounding, there is a letting go and this breath, quite literally, is helping you to ground and self-regulate your system. And continuing with that breath you're doing great.

Speaker 1: 7:30

And on these next few exhales, introducing a sigh, so you're going to have that inhale for four seconds pause and the deepest exhale that you've taken, sighing, really allows the body to release.

Speaker 1: 8:20

It allows the body to exhale and to regulate. So, taking that deep sigh and then gently, on this next breath, beginning to release that active breath pattern and bringing your natural breath pattern back online. Maybe the body wants to move, maybe you want to roll out the shoulders or the neck or shake out the arms, and beginning to notice what has shifted for you, noticing what it feels like to be in your own energy, your own body, your own space, really allowing your mind and your body to know I am safe. I am safe to be here in my body, my mind is safe to be here with me, I am connected and I am whole. And then, when you feel ready, coming back into your space, being gentle with yourself today, being kind with yourself today and bringing this feeling with you into the rest of your day, I hope you have an incredible rest of your day, I hope you have an incredible rest of your week and I will talk to you soon.