“Stay calm—peace is true power.” — Bruce Lee

Calmness is a superpower—and something we can practise. The more often we make room for it, the more familiar it becomes. Even a few minutes may help interrupt a stress spiral before it gathers momentum.

When daily life leaves us feeling anxious, tense or overwhelmed, simple actions can help us pause and settle. We can draw on the body’s own intelligence to move from stress towards rest and recovery.

With this in mind, I developed the AVB method—a short calming practice combining comfortable breathing, gentle touch and attention to the body:

• A — Air: slow, comfortable breathing
• V — Vagus: a focus on rest and recovery
• B — Belly: gentle abdominal touch

Take a few minutes to slow down, reconnect with your body and create space for calm.

Calm is more than the absence of activity. It involves active biological processes that support rest, recovery and connection.

Quote from professor Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, who pioneered research into what she calls the “calm and connection system,” highlighting oxytocin’s important role. Her longstanding work has helped explain how touch, warmth and closeness can support calm, well-being and recovery throughout life. A remarkable pioneering contribution to our understanding of human health.

This perspective is central to my AVB practice: using comfortable breathing, gentle touch and focused attention to make room for calm.

 

Inviting calm and quiet

The AVB method brings together breathing, the vagus nerve and the abdomen. I developed this simple practice to offer a moment of calm when stress feels overwhelming. The vagus nerve plays an important role in regulating internal organs and supporting the body’s rest-and-digest functions.

Here’s how to begin:

1. The A-point — air and breathing

Pause and bring your attention to your breath. Breathe gently and slowly through your nose throughout the exercise, allowing your abdomen to move naturally. Let the breath deepen comfortably, without forcing it.

Bring the fingertips of your left hand together, like a flower bud. Rest them gently on the lower part of your breastbone, using light, comfortable contact.

Hold for about a minute, or longer if it feels soothing. Use the touch as a focus for your attention, noticing the movement of each breath and allowing yourself time to settle. Notice whether your breathing feels calmer or easier.

 

2. The V-point — vagus nerve and relaxation

With your fingertips still gathered into a “flower bud,” rest them gently at the back of your neck, where it meets your upper back. Keep the contact light and comfortable, and continue breathing calmly through your nose.

Hold for one to two minutes, allowing your neck and shoulders to soften. In the AVB method, this point represents the vagus nerve and its role in rest and recovery. The gentle contact provides a focus for attention and may feel soothing.

Notice how you feel, without trying to force a particular response. When I used this practice before a writing session, I felt so relaxed that I decided to lie down and rest for a while!  (Read more about the vagus nerve below.)

 

3. The B-point — belly

Place your whole hand on your lower abdomen, just below the navel. Continue breathing slowly and comfortably, allowing your belly to move naturally with each breath. Rest your hand directly on your skin or over your clothes—whichever feels most soothing.

Move your hand slowly in gentle circles over your abdomen for at least one minute. Keep the pressure light, and let the warmth and contact bring your attention to this part of your body.

By now, you may notice that your breathing has settled and your body feels more relaxed. Give yourself a moment to notice how you feel.

Try the complete AVB practice before a meal: a few minutes of calm breathing and gentle touch can offer a welcome pause, helping you settle before you eat.

 

Why practice calmness?

Calming the gut can help calm the mind. The gut and brain communicate constantly through nerves, hormones and other signals. Stress can disturb digestion and bowel function, while signals from the gut can influence how we feel. This connection is one reason to include the abdomen in a calming practice.

There is also something mentally strengthening about discovering that you can take an active part in your own well-being. Even when stress responses feel automatic, you can practise ways to settle and support yourself. A simple, accessible practice gives you something to turn to when everyday life feels demanding.

With regular practice, you may become more aware of your early stress signals and find it easier to settle. Repetition can help make this response more familiar, supporting your ability to recover from stress.

Each pause is an opportunity to practise calm. Over time, small daily actions can build greater resilience and confidence in your ability to meet life’s challenges.

A small shift that brings a big change to your new life!

 

The Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve is a vital communication pathway between the brain and the body, helping regulate heart rate, digestion and rest-and-recovery functions.

As the longest cranial nerve, it connects the brainstem with organs including the heart, lungs and digestive tract. It is an important part of the parasympathetic nervous system—often called our “rest-and-digest” system.

Communication travels both ways. Around 80% of vagal nerve fibres carry sensory information from the body towards the brain. This does not mean that 80% of all gut–brain communication travels in that direction, but it highlights how much information the brain receives from within us.

 

Meet your gut brain

Your digestive tract has its own extensive network of nerve cells: the enteric nervous system (ENS), often called the “gut brain.” It helps regulate digestion and works closely with the brain, immune system and gut microbes.

The ENS can coordinate many digestive functions independently, while exchanging information with the brain through pathways including the vagus nerve. This two-way relationship helps explain why stress can upset your stomach—and why gut discomfort can affect how you feel.

AVB offers a simple pause: comfortable breathing and gentle touch to help you settle before meals or during a demanding day.

 

Creating Space for Bliss

I call this feeling Bliss—a sense of peace and calm, with quiet inner joy and harmony. For me, it is something to make room for in everyday life: moments when thoughts settle and we feel at ease within ourselves.

The aim is not to feel calm all the time, but to give ourselves regular opportunities to return to calm. The AVB practice offers a simple structure for these pauses through breathing, attention and gentle touch.

Make room for calm. Give yourself time to settle, recover and simply be.

Try practising for three to six minutes, once or several times during your day, and notice how you feel. Let it become a moment of care rather than another task to accomplish.

How does the practice feel for you? Share your experience in the comments below.

 

Hormones and nerve signals involved in calming

Slow breathing and soothing touch may influence the body’s stress response. These are possible mechanisms, rather than demonstrated effects of the AVB method itself.

• Acetylcholine — rest and digest. This neurotransmitter carries parasympathetic signals that help slow the heart and support digestion. Slow breathing may support this signalling through changes in cardiac vagal activity.
• Cortisol — a gentler stress response. Rather than increasing this stress hormone, calming practices may reduce its response to stress. A controlled study found that self-soothing touch reduced the cortisol response to a stressful task.
• Oxytocin — connection and comfort. Affectionate touch has been associated with higher oxytocin levels and lower perceived stress. Its involvement in this particular self-touch exercise remains a possibility, rather than an established effect.

 

The Blissful Body method

To continue this moment of calm, try my Blissful Body method, which I began developing in 2013. Gently shift your attention from your abdomen to the area around your heart. Bring your fingertips together and rest them lightly on your chest, over your heart region. Continue breathing comfortably.

Choose five or six words that evoke something pleasant and strengthening for you, such as light, warmth, peace, joy, love and harmony. Repeat them slowly and silently for a few minutes. Give each word space, noticing any feelings or sensations it brings.

There is no particular state you need to achieve. Let the words and gentle touch offer a focus for your attention and an opportunity to settle more deeply.

Let calm become more than the absence of stress—a moment of warmth, quiet joy and connection with yourself.

Together, AVB and Blissful Body offer a simple sequence: first settle through breathing and gentle touch, then make room for feelings you want to nurture.

Read more about my Blissful Body method.

Dr. Sanna Ehdin

 

Learn more:

• Listen to professor Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg lecture about Oxytocin as an antidote to stress 
• The vagus nerve and how to activate it for better health and energy.
• Get energized by nasal breathing
• Conscious breathing
• How to increase resilience, stress tolerance.
• The Blissful body method 
• The quote with Bruce Lee here
• See references in my (Swedish) book New Stop Fighting – Start Living