Gentle Tools for Coming Home to Ourselves this Mental Health Awareness Month
The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to collectively soften into care, awareness, and new ways of holding ourselves and each other through the tides of life. While traditional therapy and medication are invaluable tools, there are also gentle, powerful modalities that remind us: there is nothing wrong with us at our core. We may carry pain, coping mechanisms, and old survival strategies, but beneath it all lives wholeness.
Below we explore nine potent approaches that invite us to return to ourselves with more compassion and presence. These are not cures, but companions—each with the potential to guide us through transformation, gently.
1. Tapping / EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)
A blend of acupressure and psychology, EFT involves tapping on specific meridian points while speaking phrases aloud to release emotional blocks. It’s like acupuncture for the nervous system—without needles. A tool for rewiring belief systems, shifting stress responses, and calming anxiety.
2. IFS (Internal Family Systems)
IFS teaches that we are made up of many inner parts—some protective, some wounded, some wise. Rather than pathologizing, it invites us to meet each part with curiosity and care. At the core of this model lies the Self: calm, compassionate, and whole.
3. SE (Somatic Experiencing)
Somatic Experiencing works with the body’s natural capacity to heal from trauma. It helps release stored tension from the nervous system and teaches how to feel safe in our own skin again. A path back to regulation, presence, and vitality.
4. CI (Compassionate Inquiry)
Founded by Dr. Gabor Maté, this approach gently unravels the root of our patterns, beliefs, and pain. It invites us to notice what's beneath our reactions, not with judgment, but with deep compassion. It fosters connection to our inner truth.
5. Pre- & Perinatal Psychology
Our earliest experiences—conception, gestation, birth—can shape our nervous systems. This modality explores original imprints and how they influence us today. Through guided practices, we can renurture these layers and offer the care we might not have received.
6. Yoga Nidra
A guided meditation technique that allows the body to rest deeply while the mind explores states between waking and sleeping. Yoga Nidra supports nervous system repair, subconscious reprogramming, and a return to one’s essence. Explore our free sessions:
7. Nature, Movement & Connection
Time in the sun, a good sweat, and being held in community—these are biologically wired remedies. Sunshine boosts serotonin, movement releases endorphins, and hugs or shared smiles activate oxytocin. Nature reminds us of our place in the great web of life.
8. Spirituality
If it resonates, connection to something greater—God, Source, Goddess, the Universe—can anchor us in faith. It offers solace when we feel alone and helps us trust that life is unfolding with purpose, even through the unknown.
9. Affirmations & Thought Rewiring
Our thoughts create pathways in the brain. Lovingly guiding them can help reframe our inner dialogue. Affirmations are not just words—they are acts of devotion to our truth. Take our Affirmation Quiz to discover mantras tailored to your soul's season.
As we move through Mental Health Month, may we remember: healing is not about becoming someone else—it’s about remembering who we are. In honoring our cracks, we echo ancient wisdom. As the Goddess Akhilanda reminds us in our Unbroken Light Collection, there is strength in imperfection, and light that pours through every crack.
JEWELRY TO NURTURE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Let this be a call to tend to your inner world with fierce love. To find tools that meet you where you are. And to trust that wholeness is not something to chase—it is already within you, waiting to be reclaimed.
