The Journey Back to Calm, What Every Woman Should Know

If you’re a woman living in the world today, chances are your nervous system is carrying far more than it was ever designed for.
Work. Family. Emotional labour. Constant decisions. Holding everyone together.
And somewhere along the way, many of us stopped knowing how to come back to calm.

For years, I didn’t realise how loud my internal world had become. I remember sitting in my car after a long day, hands still gripping the steering wheel, only noticing in that moment how tightly my shoulders had been clenched for hours. My body knew before my mind did. It always does.

And if you can relate… you’re not alone.

Here’s the truth we’re finally allowed to say out loud:

Your nervous system is shaped by both your lived experience and your beliefs.

Neuroscience shows that the body learns stress patterns over time. If you were often praised for being strong, capable, helpful, high-achieving, or the one who holds everything together, your nervous system may have learned to operate in a constant state of overdrive.

Add to that the limiting beliefs many women carry quietly:

• “I need to cope on my own.”
• “Rest is unproductive.”
• “I shouldn’t struggle; others have it harder.”

These beliefs keep the body in an activated state long after the stressful moment has passed.

And when you ignore the whispers of your body, the whispers eventually turn into shouts: exhaustion, irritability, anxiety, emotional shutdown, and energy depletion.

We often try to “think” ourselves calm.
But calm is not a thought; calm is a physiological state.

Your nervous system communicates through sensation: tightness, heaviness, fluttering, numbness, racing thoughts, restlessness.

When you learn to listen to it, everything changes.

I see this with so many of the women I work with. The moment they shift from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What is my body asking for?”, something softens.
Your baseline begins to move.
Your system learns a new way of being.

You do not need to rethink your entire life.
You need small, consistent practices that signal safety to your nervous system.

Here’s where you can begin:

Why it works:
Breathwork directly affects the vagus nerve, which is the primary pathway of the parasympathetic nervous system. This system supports rest, repair, digestion, and emotional regulation. Slow, intentional exhalations strengthen vagal tone and help reduce stress hormones such as cortisol.

Try this (2 minutes):

• Inhale through your nose for a count of 4
• Hold for 2
• Exhale slowly for 6
• Repeat for 5 cycles

You can also download my free guide, 5 Breathwork Practices to Reset Your Nervous System, if you want different techniques for different moments (overwhelm, anxiety, fatigue, etc.).

Why it works:
When the body experiences stress, it creates incomplete survival responses such as tightening, bracing, and shallow breathing. Somatic work helps release these “stuck” impulses, signalling to the brain that the threat has passed.

Try this (90 seconds):

• Stand or sit comfortably
• Gently shake your hands, arms, and shoulders as if releasing water
• Let your breath deepen naturally
• End by placing your hands over your heart or belly

This activates the body’s natural completion mechanism, helping the nervous system reset.

Why it works:
Walking regulates the nervous system by creating bilateral stimulation (left–right movement), which calms the amygdala, the part of your brain responsible for fear and emotional reactivity.

Try this (5 minutes):

• Let your eyes soften and widen your peripheral vision
• This instantly reduces the body’s stress response.
• Walk slowly
• Match your breath to your steps
• Inhale for 3 steps, exhale for 4

Why it works:
Slow, steady music can help shift the brain out of beta, the stressed and alert state, and into alpha or theta, the more relaxed, creative, and restorative states. Studies show that sound therapy can lower heart rate, release muscle tension, and reduce emotional reactivity.

Try this:
Search for playlists such as:

• “432 Hz calming music”
• “Nervous system regulation”
• “Healing vibration music”
• “Ambient grounding tracks”

Play softly while you work, cook, or unwind. Let it become background regulation.

Why it works:
Your body speaks through sensations long before the mind becomes aware. Learning to identify early signs of dysregulation prevents overwhelm, burnout, and emotional shutdown.

Try this (60 seconds):
Pause and ask yourself:

• Where do I feel tightness?
• Is my breath shallow or deep?
• Do I feel expanded or contracted?

Place your hand on that area, breathe gently, and acknowledge what your body is communicating. This simple act builds interoception – your ability to feel and respond to your internal world.

Why it works:
Grounding activates sensory pathways that signal to the brain, I am safe, immediately calming the stress response.

Try this:

• Sit with both feet on the floor
• Press them gently downward
• Feel the support underneath you
• Take one long exhale

This anchors you back into your body – and it works instantly.

Why it works:
When we are overwhelmed, our energy becomes scattered, our attention fragmented, and our presence diluted. Hand placement helps bring your awareness inward, activating the parasympathetic system and your innate healing capacity.

Try this:
Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly.
Breathe slowly.
Imagine your breath creating warmth where your hands rest.
Notice the shift.

A regulated nervous system changes everything:

• You think more clearly.
• You feel grounded instead of reactive.
• You make decisions from intuition, not fear.
• You have more energy for the things that truly matter.
• Your relationships soften because you soften.

Calm isn’t the absence of stress.
Calm is the ability to come home to yourself, even in the middle of life.

This is exactly why I created Come Home to Your Body, a 3-session nervous system reset designed to help you shift out of survival mode and back into a grounded, peaceful baseline.

A space to breathe again.
To soften.
To reconnect.
To find your way back to yourself gently, not forcefully.

If you feel your body saying yes, I’d love to walk this journey with you. You can also book a complimentary coaching chat with me to explore how this reset could support your journey back to calm.

If this resonated, you may find these helpful too:

• Find Your Inner Calm – 5 Simple Tools For a Busy Day
• Your Body Is Always Speaking to You — Are You Listening?
• How Breathwork Calms and Resets Your Nervous System

Yvette Puchert is a Belief Breakthrough Coach and Reiki Master who helps women return to calm, clarity, and inner steadiness through a blend of coaching, nervous system regulation, breathwork, and energy healing. With over 20 years in advertising and marketing, Yvette understands what it means to live in a fast-paced world that demands constant output and leaves little room for presence. Her work is rooted in helping high-achieving women reconnect with their bodies, release old patterns, and build a calmer, more empowered way of living.

Through her signature offering, Come Home to Your Body, Yvette guides clients through practical tools, somatic practices, and energetic alignment to create long-lasting nervous system balance and emotional resilience. She writes and teaches from personal experience – blending science, spirituality, and lived wisdom to help others find their own journey back to calm. Find out more about Yvette.