Most women I meet in my New York City psychotherapy practice tell me the same thing: they don’t know how to slow down. They wake up already behind, their nervous systems wired before their feet hit the floor. The pace feels normal until one day it doesn’t — until the exhaustion becomes cellular. Burnout recovery isn’t just about taking a vacation. It’s about retraining your nervous system to believe that rest is safe. And the way we do that isn’t through grand gestures — it’s through micro-resets. These tiny, body-based pauses are how you begin to restore what stress and striving have stripped away: safety, presence, and vitality.

Developing daily practices does not mean that you need to dedicate 30-60 minutes into your already packed day. Science shares that even 5-10 minutes makes a difference!

What Are Micro-Resets?

Micro-resets are small, sensory-based moments of awareness that tell your body, “I’m safe right now.”
They come from somatic psychology, mindfulness, EMDR resourcing, and Somatic Experiencing®, all of which focus on the connection between mind, body, and emotion. When practiced regularly, they help regulate the autonomic nervous system — the body’s built-in stress thermostat — moving you out of fight-or-flight and into calm. Over time, these moments build resilience and make rest feel natural rather than frightening. In my practice, I often teach women recovering from chronic stress, overachievement, or trauma. Each micro-reset takes seconds, but together, they reshape how the brain and body experience safety.

Why They Matter

When you live in constant acceleration, the nervous system forgets what safety feels like.