Hi friends, welcome back to Faith & Soul Care. Today, I want to talk
with you about something
Over the years, I’ve seen again and again that it doesn’t have to take
years, or even months, to reset your nervous system and renew your soul. With
the right daily practices—rooted in both faith and evidence-based
strategies—you can experience real change quickly.
That’s why I run my Faith & Soul Care Cohort, and in this episode I’m
going to share the exact three-part pathway we use so you can begin this
process yourself.
The Three-Pronged Pathway
There are three core areas we work through:
- Faith-based somatic practices – calming the body.
- Evidence-based and biblically
sound anxiety-reduction practices – calming the mind.
- Effective prayer practices – calming the soul.
Let’s walk through each of these in the article below. Or if you want me to personally guide you through the process over the next month, sign up for the Free Online Soul Care Cohort right here: Free Foundations Cohort Sign Up!
[You can always listen to these articles on the Faith & Soul Care podcast here, or from your preferred podcast hosting platform:]
1. Faith-Based Somatic Practices
The word “somatic” simply means “of the body.” These are practices that use our
physical body to bring down stress and help us be still before God.
Why start with the body? Because most of us can’t quiet our minds until
our bodies are relaxed. And scrolling our phones or watching TV doesn’t count
as rest—our brains are still overloaded with input.
Here are the three practices I teach first:
- Deep Breathing – breathing slowly, with longer
exhales than inhales, signals safety to the brain. Sometimes I even pair
my breath with Scripture or the name of God: breathing in on “Yah” and out
on “weh.”
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation – tensing and releasing each
muscle group, from toes to shoulders, melts away stored tension. Many
people are surprised how much energy returns after just a few weeks of
doing this daily.
- Vagus Nerve Stretches – simple movements like shoulder
rolls, gentle neck stretches, or slow windmill arms help calm the nervous
system through the vagus nerve, which runs through nearly every organ.
Practicing these regularly lowers heart rate, blood pressure, and stress
hormones. And when our bodies are calm, our souls can be still before God.
2. Pouring Out and Refilling the Mind
Once the body is calm, we turn to the mind. Many of us live with looping
anxious thoughts—replaying worries or what-ifs over and over. The Bible tells
us to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, and one of the
best tools I’ve found for this is what I call “Pouring Out and Refilling.”
Here’s how it works:
- Set a timer for 5–10 minutes.
Write down—or voice record—every worry, stress, or negative thought that’s
cluttering your mind. Don’t filter, just pour it out.
- Then, go back and sift through
what you wrote. Ask: Is this true? What does God say about this?
Replace lies or fears with truth from Scripture.
This simple practice interrupts the anxiety loops in the brain. Over
time, your mind starts rerouting automatically—not just to the worry, but to
God’s truth.
3. Effective Prayer Practices
The third area is the soul: learning to pray in ways that are effective and
life-giving. Prayer isn’t just talking to God; it’s also listening, releasing,
and keeping track of what He’s doing.
Some of the practices I teach include:
- A simple four-step prayer
structure—praise, confession, requests, and release.
- Prayer journaling—writing
requests down and tracking how God answers.
- Practicing the presence of
Jesus—inviting Him into the ordinary moments of your day.
One of the most powerful shifts happens when you actually record your
prayers. Because later, when God answers—even in small ways—you see His
fingerprints all over your life. That builds confidence, faith, and peace.
I’ll never forget a simple prayer I once prayed for my daughter when she
was in middle school: “Lord, help her attitude about school.” Just one quick
prayer, written down. Six weeks later, her whole outlook had shifted. And I
wouldn’t have even connected it to prayer if I hadn’t written it down.
Anchors in Your Day
To make all of this practical, I like to think of our days as a river. The
current of life can get rough—storms come, the water rushes—but we can drop
anchors throughout the day to stay grounded in God’s peace.
Some anchors might be:
- A few minutes of deep breathing
in the morning.
- Reciting a verse of Scripture on
your lunch break.
- A short evening reflection: “What
good thing happened today? What did I accomplish today?”
These little anchors keep us steady, no matter what the day brings.
The 28-Day Transformation
Here’s how it all comes together over four weeks:
- Week 1: Practice somatic exercises daily
and try your first “pouring out.”
- Week 2: Learn and experiment with
effective prayer methods.
- Week 3: Begin building consistency,
figuring out when and how these practices fit your real life.
- Week 4: Smooth sailing—strengthening
habits and enjoying the peace of living anchored in God’s presence.
When you do these consistently, you’ll notice less anxiety, more calm,
renewed energy, and deeper closeness with God.
Closing
Friend, it is absolutely possible to go from stressed-out and overwhelmed to
calm and purposeful in just 28 days. Not by your own strength, but by truly
giving your anxiety to God and practicing these simple, powerful habits.
If you want to go deeper, I’d love for you to join me in the Faith &
Soul Care Cohort. The basic version is completely free, and you’ll get support,
encouragement, and accountability as we walk through this together. You can
register at sherryelaine.com/cohorts. If you have already enrolled in
the free option, you may upgrade to the VIP experience at a very affordable
rate through the “back door” HERE: sherryelaine.com/thankyou
Thank you for spending this time with me today. I pray you’ll begin even
one of these practices this week and start experiencing the peace of God
guarding your heart and mind.
Until next time, take care of your soul and keep drawing closer to God.
Sherry
Join the Cohort FREE: https://sherryelaine.com/cohorts
Join the Cohort VIP Upgrade Option: https://sherryelaine.com/Thankyou
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