You Weren’t Made for the Grind: 10 Ways to Regulate Your Nervous System This Week

Let’s start with a hard truth:
The 40-hour workweek wasn’t made for your wellbeing.
It was made for factories. For efficiency. For the economy.
Not for your nervous system. Not for healing. Not for a life of meaning and connection.

In 1926, Henry Ford introduced the 40-hour, five-day workweek to increase productivity—and profits. He believed that workers with more rest would be better employees and better consumers. It wasn’t about balance. It was about output.

And nearly 100 years later, we’re still living under the illusion that our worth is tied to how much we do, how many emails we send, how fast we bounce back.

We’ve normalized stress, burnout, and exhaustion—but our bodies haven’t.

The Nervous System Wasn’t Designed for This Pace

Your nervous system is ancient. It’s designed to keep you safe, not help you “thrive” under pressure.
But chronic stress, overworking, and the constant noise of modern life can leave us stuck in survival mode—flooded with cortisol, disconnected from our breath, and feeling like we just can’t catch up.

Even when you aren’t being chased by a threat, your body responds to work stress, toxic environments, and overcommitment the same way it would respond to danger.

This is why you might feel:

• Tired but wired

• Overwhelmed by the smallest things

• Numb, irritable, or emotionally drained

• Disconnected from your body, intuition, or joy

This is nervous system dysregulation.
And no—pushing through it isn’t a solution.
But slowing down can be.

You Deserve to Feel Safe in Your Body Again

Rest is not weakness.
Slowness is not laziness.
And healing isn’t something you have to earn after proving you’re productive.

Here are 10 simple, powerful ways to support your nervous system this week—especially if you’re tired of pretending everything’s fine.

10 Ways to Regulate Your Nervous System This Week

1. Touch the Earth (Literally)
Stand barefoot outside. Sit on the ground. Press your hands into the earth.
Grounding physically helps anchor your energy and shift you out of “fight or flight.”

2. Try 3 Rounds of Box Breathing
Inhale for 4. Hold for 4. Exhale for 4. Hold for 4.
This breath pattern calms the mind and creates internal stability.

3. Use a Myofascial Release Tool
Release stored tension in high-stress zones like your upper back, feet, or hips.
I recommend the RAD Centre—it’s what I use in my workshops and with clients.

4. Rest Without Earning It
Lie down. Close your eyes. Do nothing. You don’t have to explain or justify it.
Rest is your birthright—not a reward.

5. Set a Soft Boundary
Say no. Cancel the thing. Postpone the call.
Safety in the nervous system starts with knowing you have a choice.

6. Move Intuitively (Not to Burn Calories)
Stretch, shake, sway, or flow. Let your body lead. Movement doesn’t need to be structured to be healing.

7. Nourish Your Body
Hydrate. Eat something grounding and real.
This tells your body, “I’m safe. I’m cared for.”

8. Create a Moment of Beauty
Light a candle. Brew your favorite tea. Pick a flower. Put on music that feels soft.
Beauty regulates. So does ritual.

9. Pick One Thing to Not Do
Give yourself permission to drop the ball—on purpose.
Say out loud: “This can wait.”

10. Remember That Healing Isn’t Linear
Some days you’ll feel clear. Other days you’ll feel raw. Both are valid. Both are part of the process.

You Don’t Need to Hustle to Be Whole

The world may try to measure you in output.
But your worth has nothing to do with productivity.

If you're craving deeper rest, connection, and balance, I’m here for it.
I guide clients through nervous system healing, yoga, myofascial release, and coaching to support your body, your purpose, and your pace.