5 Movements That Feel Like Coming Home
The kind of movement that makes your nervous system exhale
There are movements that burn, sculpt, lengthen, and tone and then there are movements that feel like an exhale you didn’t know you were holding.
The kind that gently crack open the door between your body and your deeper self.
This isn’t about reps or results. It’s not a workout. It’s a remembering.
The most powerful practices aren’t always the ones that push us they’re the ones that invite us to listen. To soften. To land.
They ask us to return to our bodies not as projects to fix, but as places to live.
Below are five of my favorite “homecoming” movements each one paired with a sensory cue or intention to help you feel your way in.
Let’s begin.
One of my favorite images. After fracturing my spine in my early twenties, I felt disconnected from it for years like it had betrayed me, or I had betrayed it. This photo reminds me not just of the six years of work it took to rebuild, but of the beautiful opportunity I was given to come home to my body again.
1. Cat-Cow (Spinal Articulation)
Sensory cue: Moving like ocean waves through your spine
This isn’t just a yoga warm-up it’s a nervous system recalibrator.
Cat-Cow invites your spine to move through flexion and extension, which helps regulate the breath, mobilize the fascia, and bring awareness to your spinal articulation (think moving one vertebra at a time).
When we’ve been sitting for hours or spinning mentally, this movement gently reorients us back into our bodies.
Try slowing it way down. Close your eyes. Let it be breath-led, not brain-led. You should notice a shift by the third or fourth round.
2. Supported Child’s Pose
Sensory cue: Sinking into warm sand
There’s a reason this shape is found across cultures, from prayer postures to rest rituals.
It’s deeply regulating to the vagus nerve and gently stretches the low back, hips, and ankles all areas that tighten under stress.
With support under the chest or thighs (think a pillow, bolster, or folded blanket), just relax and surrender. Let your breath expand into your low back and side ribs.
Stay for several minutes if you can it gets better with time.
3. Pelvic Tilts (Supine)
Sensory cue: Slow waves rolling across the shore
This foundational movement helps reestablish your relationship with your deep core without the crunches or strain.
It gently mobilizes the sacrum and lumbar spine while encouraging breath-to-pelvis connection. It’s especially helpful for grounding after travel, screen time, or nervous energy spikes.
From a neuromuscular standpoint, these tilts also help retrain spinal sequencing and coordination key elements in both Pilates and functional movement.
Small move, big ripple effect.
4. Standing Roll Down
Sensory cue: Spilling tension like water off your back
There’s magic in this one.
A full-body unwind that gently stretches the posterior chain (think calves, hamstrings, spine) while reintroducing flow to the fascia and restoring head-to-toe awareness.
It also taps into proprioception, your body’s internal GPS, which helps recalibrate balance and presence.
Let your knees bend. Let your arms dangle. Let gravity do the work.
As you roll back up, imagine restacking your whole self physically, emotionally, energetically.
5. Seated Spinal Twist
Sensory cue: Wringing out the noise
Twisting is one of the most underappreciated tools for nervous system support.
A gentle seated twist hydrates the spine, supports digestion via gentle organ compression, and enhances breath capacity through thoracic rotation. It also gives your ribcage and lungs a chance to stretch in directions we don’t often explore.
Keep the twist tall, not forceful. Use your inhale to lengthen and your exhale to rotate.
It’s not about how far you go it’s about how connected you feel as you move.
How to Use These Movements
You don’t need fancy props or a full hour. Here's a simple way to weave them into your day.
✧ The 10-Minute Homecoming Routine
Cat-Cow (1–2 minutes)
Start on hands and knees in tabletop. Wrists under shoulders, knees under hips.
Inhale: Drop your belly, lift your tailbone and heart gaze forward or slightly up.
Exhale: Round your spine like a Halloween cat, pressing the floor away and tucking your chin.
Continue moving with your breath. Let the shape be fluid and organic—not forced.
Supine Pelvic Tilts (2 minutes)
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
Inhale: Let your low back arch gently off the mat.
Exhale: Draw your belly in and tilt your pelvis so your low back presses into the floor.
Continue for 1–2 minutes, slowly and smoothly.
Pro tip: Imagine you’re slowly tipping a bowl of water forward and back.
Child’s Pose (2 minutes)
Kneel down, big toes together, knees wide or narrow whatever feels best.
Fold forward, resting your torso on a cushion, bolster, or the floor. Arms can stretch forward or rest alongside your body.
Let your forehead make contact with something. Grounding through the head is magic for the nervous system.
Breathe into your back ribs. Stay for 1–2 minutes.
Seated Twist (1 minute per side)
Sit comfortably (cross-legged, kneeling, or on a block).
Inhale to lengthen your spine tall.
Exhale to twist to the right, placing your right hand behind you and your left hand to the outside of your right knee or thigh.
Stay for a few breaths, then slowly switch sides.
Standing Roll Down (2 minutes)
Stand tall with feet hip-width apart. Knees soft.
Inhale, then exhale slowly as you tuck your chin and begin to roll down through your spine.
Let your arms dangle, neck relax, knees stay slightly bent.
Stay at the bottom for a few breaths. Sway gently if that feels good.
Roll back up slowly, one vertebra at a time.
Why These Movements Work
Each of these shapes speaks to a different part of your nervous system.
They calm. They regulate.
They invite a shift from sympathetic “doing” to parasympathetic “being.”
They’re also deeply intuitive which means your body already knows them, even if your brain has forgotten.
They’re not flashy, but they’re foundational. And sometimes, the simplest moves are the ones that remind you:
Oh right, I live here. This is my home.
If one of these movements spoke to something deeper if your body whispered “yes, more of this”—I’d love to hear about it.
Leave a comment, share this with someone who needs a nervous system exhale, or save it for the days you forget how to land.
Weekly Wandering 🌻
🔖 I stumbled on this quote from Pema Chödrön that’s been echoing in my mind:
“You are the sky. Everything else it’s just the weather.” Such a grounding reminder that no matter the storms or sunshine, our true self remains steady and vast beneath it all.
🌿 So I started a mini daily ritual: pausing to really notice one sensory detail before starting my day. Today, I ran my fingers over the smooth surface of my favorite mug, feeling its warmth and weight. It sounds silly but it really helps connect you to the present and slow down…
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I specialize in empowering wellness seekers, busy professionals, and adventurous travelers to break free from overwhelm and step into a life of balance, vitality, and connection. Whether you're navigating a demanding career, recovering from setbacks, or striving to harmonize wellness with your passions, I'm here to help. Together, we'll uncover sustainable habits, optimize your health, and create a personalized path to feeling your best—no matter where life takes you.