Understanding the Nervous System: How to Calm Your Body and Mind

You can’t rush through life and then expect to relax on demand. The nervous system doesn’t work that way. It needs time, cues, and specific signals to feel that it’s safe enough to switch off the fight-or-flight response.

Every day, we’re bombarded with far more information than our brains can process. To keep from becoming overwhelmed and missing out on important details, we have something called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). Think of it as the brain’s filter—it sorts through all the incoming data and helps you focus on what’s important based on your past experiences.

But here's the catch: if your past has been filled with stress, fast-paced living, or constant activation, your RAS will filter the world around you through that lens. It’ll pick up on sensory cues that reinforce that “ON” state—keeping you in a state of high alert, always looking for the next thing to react to. This makes it harder for your body and mind to relax.

That’s where our work comes in. By focusing on practices like glimmer work, nervous system awareness, and rituals that establish regular rhythms, we help retrain your RAS. Instead of filtering information through a lens of stress, we guide you toward a state of regulation and safety.

The goal? To teach your nervous system to recognize cues that it's okay to switch gears, slow down, and feel safe. We want you to notice things you might have missed before, like the small moments of calm that can shift your focus from stress to relaxation.

Now that you know how your RAS works, it’s time to start paying attention. What information is your RAS sending you? Are you noticing patterns that reinforce a stress response? The great thing is, you are in control. You can change the way your brain filters your world.

If you want some help getting started, download our free Glimmer Worksheet. It’s time to take control of your nervous system and start living with more balance and awareness.