Top 10 Life Hacks for Calming Chaos

A gentle guide to reclaiming inner peace — anytime, anywhere.

In chaotic moments, we tend to forget that peace is available to us — right here, right now. But the truth is, it doesn’t take a dramatic life change to shift from stress to stillness. Sometimes, it’s the simplest practices that bring us home to ourselves.

Over the years of teaching, listening, and holding space for others (and myself), I’ve gathered a collection of soul-soothing tools. They’re not complicated. Most take less than five minutes. But used consistently, they can gently rewire your nervous system, reset your perspective, and soften the edges when feeling overwhelmed.

Here are ten of my go-to practices for calming chaos — from body to breath, from thoughts to spirit.

1. Breathe Deeply, Intentionally

When in doubt, start with your breath.

Inhale slowly… hold… and exhale longer than you inhaled.

Do this a few times. Let your shoulders drop.

The nervous system responds almost immediately to breath. It doesn’t need convincing — just space.

2. Exhale With Purpose

Don’t just breathe out — release with intention.

Exhale the tension in your jaw, the pressure behind your eyes, the tightness in your chest.

Visualize stress leaving your body like smoke on the wind.

3. Hand on Heart, Hand on Belly

Pause. Lie down or sit comfortably.

One hand over your heart, the other over your belly.

Ask, gently:

“What am I feeling right now?”

Let the answer come without judgment. This practice brings you back to your emotional center.

4. Ask: “Who Am I?”

Not your job title, not your role in the family, not what the world says.

Who are you… underneath it all?

Let this question be a quiet invitation, not a demand. The asking is more important than the answer.

5. Ask: “What Is My Purpose — In This Moment?”

Purpose doesn’t always show up in grand visions.

Sometimes, your highest calling is to rest. Or to drink water. Or to say no.

Purpose lives in the present, not some distant ideal.

6. Ask: “What is this Moment here to teach Me?”

Every experience — even uncomfortable ones — are our teachers.

Instead of resisting what is, we can choose to listen. Ask - what is this moment here to teach?

Imagine every experience is curated by your higher self to evolve your good and expand your soul. When you frame it like this, you’ve detached, become the watcher, the witnessing consciousness, transmuting “chaos” to a powerful moment of curated calm. YOU are in control of your reactions moment to moment. Breath in, center, visualize yourself profoundly grounded. Gently tapping third eye center -Ajna chakra - between the eyebrows, while repeating “ I am soul” is a good way to stay focused. It’s my personal favorite.

Sometimes the lesson is patience. Sometimes it’s surrender. Sometimes it’s just breathe in and keep going.

7. “Delete, Delete, Delete”

Thoughts come and go, but not all of them deserve a seat at your table.

When you feel yourself spiraling -say NO - I’m NOT going to spiral. I alone choose what thoughts rent space in my head. When an anxious unhelpful or negative tape loop starts or a crappy thought appears, mentally say, “Delete, delete, delete.” Imagine that you double click on it and drag it to the trash and then mentally click “empty trash.”

It’s not suppression — it’s discernment. You and you alone get to choose which thoughts get to stay, and which ones get tossed. You control the two things our brains react to : the words we tell it and the pictures we send it.

Change the words and the pictures you feed your brain and you’ve just taken a giant leap in re wiring your reality. It’s called neuro plasticity - it’s cutting edge science and to others, ancient yogic knowledge applied. Bottom line , you GOT this , you can retrain your brain, just breath and practice delete delete delete. I LOVE this bio hack, it absolutely works.

8. Affirm the Present

A good affirmation isn’t fluffy — it’s grounding.

It’s a declaration that aligns you with your spirit, your soul, your unshakeable eternal essence ,

your innermost calm.

Try this affirmation :

”All is well, perfect, whole and complete. I trust the unfolding. Everything that happens serves my higher good.” Believe it. Say it in the mirror . Chant it. Sing it. Believe it with every fiber of your being. Let the words become a rhythm, a call to action, a divining mantra that stirs your heart, ugniting your hopes and dreams. Let your focus and your intentions become so lazer like that like a cosmic knife they cut the extraneous crap away and get on with with reshaping malleable reality into a more pleasing form for you to enjoy.

Power is in perception. You are in control of how you perceive reality.

Set intentions to stay focused :

today I will not judge, today I will not spiral. If I feel stress or tension - I will pause to breath, center and ground.

The universe rearranges itself to accommodate your picture of reality.

Change the picture, change the words you use & watch the magic happen.

If your self talk isn’t 100% positive , delete that noise now. You deserve the best, accept it now.

9. Return to the Body

Sometimes, over thinking is a problem. It happens. So what. Just move thru it. Literally.

Movement brings us back to the now A walk. A gentle stretch. Floating in water. Masturbating -yes , why not?

Physical movement is a great way to get a runaway brain back on track.

Resting your bare feet on the earth can do wonders too. Your body is a wise ally. Get out of its way and let it heal you. It knows how to ground you. If you’re having trouble focusing, taming the brain, get into the body.

Remember yoga means union & breathing can unite body mind and spirit if you let it.

See the union, intend it, keep bringing your attention back to the breath. Eventually you will be able to keep your mindfulness no matter what goes on around you.

10. Give Yourself Permission to Just Be

Stop only being a human doing.

Start being a human be-ing.

Just be -

Imagine a space where there is nothing to fix in this moment- Nothing to prove, nothing that needs your immediate attention. Relax the body relax the mind just BE.

You don’t have to earn your rest.

You don’t have to constantly do -

It’s okay to simply be.

Breathe , sit in silence.

Sometimes the most courageous act is choosing stillness.

We can’t control the chaos around us — but we can learn how to create a calm space within it. These small practices are powerful tools for your serenity. These practices are grounding, simple techniques that are always available to you when you need them.

Pick one on this list that resonates and trust it . Start there. Try one thing today. Let your nervous system catch its breath.

And remember — calm isn’t something we find.

It’s something we cultivate.

To your health!

With love and light ,

Kali Ma