"Overthinking? Anxious? Your Senses Hold the Key to Peace"
How is your mind these days?
If you’re like many women, you might feel caught in an exhausting feedback loop: worry, busy thought cycles, endless "what ifs." Over time, this chronic mental hum dysregulates our nervous system, leading to fatigue, burnout, and even collapse.
And let's be honest: today's chaotic world, amplified by our retreat into digital spaces, fuels fear, distrust, division. No wonder so many of us feel disconnected, anxious, and depleted.
But what if we could see this moment in our world, and in our lives, as a natural contraction? A pause, not a permanent state. What if we could meet it, not with fear or resistance, but with expansion through simple, powerful tools we already have within us?
This is where our senses come in.
The Body's Wisdom: Returning to Presence
You may have heard the first instruction of mindfulness:
Turn your attention to your body. Notice your breath.
When we simply notice without judgment, something magical happens: the breath smooths. The mind quiets. We return to the present.
But this isn’t just "awareness," it’s a somatic practice. It’s about sensing, feeling, being in the body, tapping into the profound intelligence that lives under our skin.
It’s one of the most powerful ways I know to soothe the mind, calm overthinking, and ground ourselves during turbulent times. Especially during menopause, when everything, body, mind, and emotions, can feel in flux.
How I Fell in Love with the Power of the Senses
I was 19, studying Food Science at London University, when my grandmother set me up with an internship at the Swedish Food Institute.
My project? Testing people's ability to sense the "bounce" of gels. Hardly glamorous —but it blew my mind. I was amazed by how finely tuned our senses are, capable of detecting even minute changes.
That early fascination led me to a Ph.D. in sensory perception, a decade of research, and eventually a more personal journey into healing.
Midway through my career, I began studying holistic medicine: acupressure and aromatherapy massage under my beloved mentor, SohEng Lim. One of my first practice partners was Anthea, a woman who had survived deep trauma and breast cancer. Through the gentle, directed touch of massage, she slowly released her armor. We laughed. We cried. We healed.
Later, working with women navigating perimenopause, I saw again and again how tuning into the body's sensory wisdom, not just our breath, but touch, temperature, texture, and scent, could ease anxiety, calm the mind, and build resilience.
Somatic Mindfulness: Everyday Practices for Menopause (and Beyond)
Here’s the best part:
You don’t need a meditation cushion to practice somatic mindfulness.
You can begin right now while cooking dinner, walking outside, or folding laundry.
The key is to bring your senses online to notice what’s happening in and around your body.
Here are some simple ways to start:
🌿 Feel your feet on the floor. Sense the weight, the pressure, the connection.
🌿 Notice the brush of air against your skin. Is it warm, cool, still, or moving?
🌿 Tune in to internal sensations. Are you hungry? Tired? Energized? Tense?
🌿 Taste your food. Savor it fully. Notice texture, flavor, and aroma.
🌿 Smell the morning air, the evening kitchen, your favorite oil or flower.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, sensory-based practices have been used for thousands of years to combat emotional stagnation, ease overthinking, lift the spirits, and restore tranquility.
TCM Somatic Practices for Finding Ease
Here are some of my favourite practices:
Five Element Music Therapy
Clinical studies in recent years have shown that elemental tones can meaningfully reduce anxiety and encourage deeper sleep. Findings showed that this form of music, based on the five elements, was more effective in improving moods than standard music or pharmaceuticals.
You can experience it for yourself thanks to my friends at The Eastern Philosophy.
Acupressure to Improve Mood
Acupressure is the application of firm pressure with the fingers on specific points on the body known as Acupuncture points. These Acupuncture points are concentrated areas on the body that provide specific relief for various ailments. These points have “high electrical conductivity at the surface of the skin” allowing “qi” to flow through the meridians. The meridians are energy pathways connecting the acupuncture points to their associated internal organ.
Acupressure can help to:
Release emotions such as anger, fear, worry, grief, and more
Relieve pain
Ease anxiety and low moods
Ying Tang , the third eye, is one of my favourite points to help calm anxiety, relax the body, relieve nervousness, increase intuition, and restore emotional balance.
General Outline for Acupressure Practice:
Sit in a quiet, distraction-free area. Give yourself time with the deep breathing to bring awareness to your body and go within. What sensations do you notice?
Hold the point without any other movement, and bring awareness to any changes or releases that may arise. Any changes in tension? Increase relaxation? Where? Any temperature changes? Do any emotions arise?
As emotions arise, continue breathing. Understand that deep relaxation can release “memories, feelings, a variety of involuntary body responses such as shaking, yawning, or light-headedness”.
To stay grounded visualize a grounding cord from the base of your spine connecting to the center of the Earth.
Allow yourself time to unwind, cover yourself with a blanket, and allow yourself to shake if needed. Slowly take deep breaths and slowly open your eyes as you reconnect to the present.
After Acupressure session: it is recommended to take a nap afterwards to allow your body to process the release and relax, avoid cold drinks/icy foods, and chaotic environments.
You have these tools at your fingertips literally.
An Invitation
Your body is wise. Your senses are a bridge home. If you’re feeling weary, anxious, or unmoored, know that you’re not alone.
Though sensory experience is ephemeral and brief; the more we tune in to that we can learn to go with the flow in life. Feel it, trust it, relax into this connection with our senses that help us to meet the challenges of menopause in our messy world with grace, resilience, and deep self-compassion.
What somatic mindfulness practices have you tried? How did they work out for you?
Exciting News!
and I are excited to be teaming up for a series of LIVES, sharing our passion and perspectives on perimenopause and menopause from the Ayurvedic and TCM traditions. Our first live is on May 22nd at 11.00 EST with our top tips on how to prepare yourself and navigate this major life transition with greater ease. Join us for ‘Wisdom Within: An Ayurvedic and TCM Journey Through Menopause’
Hope to see you there
Clarissa xo
Thank you for sharing! This a new way for me to approach mindfulness and meditation with a familiar and grounding entry point and I always love TCM and Ayurveda collabs 🌟