Featured in Bustle: Five-Finger Breathing to Calm Anxiety
Chloë Bean, LMFT is a licensed somatic trauma therapist based in Los Angeles, specializing in anxiety, burnout, trauma, and nervous system healing for high-achieving women. Her work integrates somatic therapy, EMDR, and IFS to support lasting regulation, resilience, and relational healing.
What Is Five-Finger Breathing and How Does It Calm Anxiety?
Five-finger breathing is a simple, body-based grounding practice that helps calm anxiety by pairing slow, intentional breath with gentle physical awareness. As you trace each finger while breathing in and out, the nervous system receives clear signals of rhythm, predictability, and safety. This combination supports regulation by slowing the stress response and bringing attention back into the present moment.
Because it does not require special tools, long explanations, or perfect technique, five-finger breathing is especially helpful during moments of overwhelm, anxiety, or emotional escalation. It offers an accessible way to interrupt spiraling thoughts and help the body settle without forcing calm or bypassing what you are feeling.
Featured in Bustle: Five-Finger Breathing as a Grounding Tool for Anxiety
I was recently featured in Bustle sharing a grounding practice I often teach clients experiencing anxiety and overwhelm: five-finger breathing. This simple somatic technique helps calm the nervous system by pairing slow breath with gentle physical awareness.
In my work as a somatic trauma and anxiety therapist, I often see how effective regulation tools need to be accessible, portable, and body-based. Five-finger breathing is one of those practices.
You can read the full Bustle article here
Why Five-Finger Breathing Works for Anxiety and Overwhelm
When someone is anxious, overstimulated, or overwhelmed, the nervous system shifts into a protective state—typically fight, flight, or freeze. Breath becomes shallow, cognitive processing speeds up, and internal pressure increases. Practices like this are often part of somatic therapy for anxiety, which focuses on helping the nervous system feel safe enough to settle.
Five-finger breathing interrupts that pattern through two channels:
1. Structured Breath work
Slow, intentional breathing signals the parasympathetic nervous system to settle. It helps slow the heart rate, reduce sympathetic/stress activation, and brings the body back toward regulation.
2. Gentle Sensory Grounding
Tracing the outline of your hand gives the brain a repetitive, soothing anchor. This grounding touch provides a focus point that quiets mental noise, especially for people who tend to overthink or feel pulled in multiple directions.
In the Bustle article, I explained it this way:
“The tactile sensation of tracing helps you to stay present in your senses while the steady rhythm of breathing activates the vagus nerve, which helps the body move from fight or flight to rest and digest.”
How to Practice Five-Finger Breathing
Hold one hand out in front of you, fingers spread comfortably.
With the index finger of your opposite hand, slowly trace the outside of your thumb as you inhale.
Trace down the inside of your thumb as you exhale.
Continue this slow in-and-out pattern as you trace each finger.
Move at a steady, slow pace until you reach your pinky.
Repeat as needed.
This practice works especially well:
in the car before work
during holiday stress or family overwhelm
before bed
after conflict or difficult conversations
when thoughts start to spiral
when feeling overstimulated or disconnected
Related Somatic Tools That Complement Five-Finger Breathing
If this technique resonates with you, you may also find relief in other somatic and nervous-system practices.
You can explore a related grounding practice called Resonance Breathing.
These tools help support emotional regulation, reduce chronic stress, and create more internal safety.
Somatic Therapy for Anxiety, Burnout, and High-Functioning Stress
As a somatic therapist, I help clients who struggle with:
anxiety and chronic worry
high-functioning burnout
people-pleasing and perfectionism
emotional sensitivity and overwhelm
body image concerns and disordered eating patterns
difficulty slowing down or feeling present
If you’d like to learn more about this work, you can explore:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is five-finger breathing?
Five-finger breathing is a grounding technique that pairs slow, intentional breathing with gentle tactile tracing of the hand. It helps calm anxiety, settle the nervous system, and support emotional regulation.
How does five-finger breathing help anxiety?
It interrupts fight-or-flight by combining breathwork with sensory focus. This dual pathway gives the brain something steady to track, which helps quiet internal overwhelm.
When should I use five-finger breathing?
It’s helpful during anxious moments, before sleep, after conflict, during overstimulation, during work stress, or anytime you feel disconnected from your body.
Is this technique part of somatic therapy?
Yes. Five-finger breathing is commonly used in somatic therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and other nervous-system–informed modalities. It helps bring clients into the present moment and supports emotional regulation.
Can somatic therapy help with chronic anxiety or burnout?
Many clients find that somatic therapy helps address the roots of anxiety, chronic overwhelm, perfectionism, and burnout by working directly with the nervous system—not just the mind.
How can I start therapy with you?
You can explore my specialties or schedule a consultation here.
About Chloë Bean, LMFT
Chloë Bean, LMFT is a somatic trauma and anxiety therapist based in West Los Angeles and online throughout California. She specializes in supporting high-achieving women navigating anxiety, burnout, chronic stress, relationship patterns, and deeper nervous-system healing.