25 Simple Ways To Return To Your Body When You Feel Disconnected
Do you need to upregulate or downregulate?
Lynk
mbg Spirituality & Relationships Editor
Image by Rawpixel / iStock April 02, 2026 We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links. Whether you're feeling dissociative, anxious, or depressed, a dysregulated nervous system can leave you feeling out of body—and out of touch with yourself. But oftentimes, when we can incorporate practices that engage our bodies, our minds and nervous systems catch up, allowing us to feel more centered and present. If that sounds like something you could use right about now, here's what experts recommend.
What does "coming back to the body" really mean?
Simply put, "coming back to the body" just means getting your nervous system to a relaxed place where you feel present and calm as opposed to frazzled and out of body.
And as associate director of the Modern Sex Therapy Institute and somatic psychotherapist Holly Richmond, Ph.D., tells mindbodygreen, the first step to coming back to your body is figuring out where your nervous system is at.
As she explains, you can use a simple scale to assess your current state, with 1 being very depressed, and 10 being panic mode. "We're aiming for that four-to-six range, that flexibility and elasticity—so when we talk about regulating, are we upregulating, or are we downregulating?" she explains.
For instance, if you were feeling depressed and low, you'd want to upregulate. On the other hand, if you're feeling anxious, you'd want to downregulate.
25 ways to come back to your body
If you want to upregulate
Upregulating involves amping up your energy to elevate your nervous system from a lower, depressive state. The following options, from both Richmond and licensed psychotherapist Babita Spinelli, L.P., are great for getting your energy up and feeling more alive:
If you want to downregulate
If you're feeling more anxious or stressed and would rather bring your energy down, that's when downregulating techniques come in. As Spinelli tells mindbodygreen, "Grounding and mindfulness techniques help your body to reconnect and return to being fully present."
Other ways to connect to yourself
These last four options could be either up- or downregulating, depending on your response to them. Similarly, journaling or doing inner-child work may actually help to get your energy up, but if you are doing it in a calm and quiet way, it might feel more relaxing.
Certain breathwork sequences are also either calming or energizing, so choose one that suits what you need right now:
The takeaway
As Richmond tells mindbodygreen, "A healthy nervous system is a flexible nervous system." And with these practices, you can help encourage your nervous system to learn how to come back to equilibrium while simultaneously connecting to your body and mind and feeling more present.
