How to Build Nervous System Capacity in a Fast City

A practical, lived, science-supported guide for Hong Kong

And if stress is not a badge of honour, then what takes its place?
And how do we move through Hong Kong without being swallowed by its speed?
And how do we hold our clarity, our energy, and our sanity in a world that rarely slows down?

These are not abstract questions.
They are the questions I ask myself almost every day.

I am not someone who “escaped” stress. I am not someone floating above the noise. I live in Hong Kong. I raise two children. I run a practice. I juggle schedules, deadlines, and days that fill themselves faster than I can empty them.

The Slow Fast Life did not begin as a philosophy. It began as survival. It grew from the moments when my system whispered, then pleaded, for another way. A way that didn’t ask me to abandon the speed of my life, but to meet it with enough inner capacity to stay whole.

Everything you’ll read below is something I practice myself. I return to these tools daily. Some days I forget. Some days I remember. And slowly, steadily, capacity grows.

Below are seven simple practices shaped for Hong Kong’s rhythm. Each includes a short “In science speak” section for the minds that love credibility and clarity.

1. Look around the room to bring your system out of threat mode

I use this constantly. On the MTR. In lifts. Before events. When my mind starts moving too fast for my breath to keep up.

Try
Let your eyes travel gently around the space you are in. Notice colour, shape, distance, light. Settle your attention on something neutral or pleasant.

Why this matters
Your system can only think clearly when it feels safe enough to stop defending.

In science speak
Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory describes neuroception, the body’s unconscious scan for safety or danger. Visual orienting reduces sympathetic arousal and increases vagal regulation.
Reference: Porges, S. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. Norton.

2. Use a longer exhale to calm your body quickly

This one has rescued me more times than I can count. Between sessions. Before emails. In moments when the day stacks endlessly.

Try
Inhale for four.
Exhale for six.
Three to five rounds.

Why this matters
A slow exhale signals to your system that it is safe to soften, even if your schedule is full.

In science speak
Longer exhalation increases parasympathetic activity and improves heart-rate variability, a marker of emotional regulation and stress resilience.
Reference: Zaccaro et al. (2018). “Slow breathing and HRV.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

3. Lean into support to release unnecessary tension

There are days I catch myself bracing without noticing: shoulders lifted, belly tight, spine rigid. That’s usually the moment I find a wall and just lean.

Try
Let your back rest against a wall or chair. Feel the support. Let your weight settle.

Why this matters
When the body stops bracing, the mind begins to clear.

In science speak
Dr. Peter Levine teaches that physical support reduces defensive tension stored in the muscles and fascia. Research shows external pressure can lower sympathetic activity.
Reference: Rocha et al. (2014). “Postural support and autonomic response.” Biological Psychology.

4. Release tension by completing the stress cycle

After emotional conversations. After crowded commutes. After days when my system feels “unfinished.” This is what helps me reset.

Try
Shake your hands.
Roll your shoulders.
Take a one-minute walk.
Lift your arms and sigh.

Why this matters
Stress accumulates when the body never gets to release the energy it mobilised.

In science speak
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk describes incomplete motor responses as a key part of stored stress. Small movements help complete these cycles and restore regulation.
Reference: van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Viking.

5. Use soothing touch to settle your emotions

I do this often. When my chest tightens. When my breath shortens. When something inside feels too fast.

Try
One hand on your chest.
One hand on your belly.
Feel the warmth. Feel your breath beneath your hands.

Why this matters
Warm, steady pressure communicates safety directly to your system.

In science speak
Steady touch lowers cortisol and increases oxytocin. Sternum pressure activates parasympathetic pathways through the vagus nerve.
Reference: Walker & McGlone (2013). “The social brain and affective touch.” Trends in Neurosciences.

6. Set one micro boundary to protect your clarity

I used to say yes too quickly. Overcommit without meaning to. Rush into responses. Now I pause. Even one breath creates spaciousness.

Choose one
Finish one task before starting another.
Pause before replying.
Take a breath before saying yes.
Give yourself two minutes alone before entering your home.

Why this matters
Boundaries are not emotional luxuries. They are cognitive protection.

In science speak
Research on attention residue shows that task-switching increases cortisol, scatters focus, and weakens executive function.
Reference: Leroy, S. (2009). “Why is it so hard to do my work?” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

7. Let yourself feel something pleasant for ten seconds

The practice that changed everything for me

This is how The Slow Fast Life truly began.
Not with a grand idea.
But with this tiny practice.
Ten seconds of noticing something good, steady, warm, or grounding… even when everything else was fast.

Try
Notice one sensation that brings the smallest sense of ease.
The warmth of your drink.
Sunlight brushing your cheek.
Air moving against your skin.
Your feet grounding the floor.
The softness of a fabric.
A memory that warms your chest.

Feel it for ten seconds.
Longer than you think.
Long enough for your body to say, “I am safe enough right now.”

Why this matters
These micro-moments are not escapes. They are training. They widen your capacity and teach your system that safety is possible even in a fast life.

This is not something you force.
It is something you allow.
This is the essence of capacity.

In science speak
In Somatic Experiencing™, this is called resourcing. Neuroscientist Richard Davidson found that attention to positive or steady sensations shifts neural activity from threat circuits toward emotional stability and connection.
Reference: Davidson, R. (2000). “Affective style and emotion regulation.” Psychological Science.

A note
Resourcing deserves its own article, and I will write one soon. It is one of the most profound skills I know.

Why this matters in Hong Kong, and why it matters for the future

Hong Kong rewards clarity, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and leadership presence. None of these come from stress. All of them come from regulation.

A regulated system
• makes fewer reactive decisions
• communicates more effectively
• handles conflict with steadiness
• recovers faster
• sustains performance without burning out
• feels more spacious on the inside

This is The Slow Fast Life. Not slowing down your ambition, but strengthening the body that carries it. Not rejecting the fast, but learning to meet it with grounded capacity.

This is the movement I am building because it is the life I needed. It is the life I practise every day. And it is the life I hope more people in Hong Kong can experience.

And if some of this feels almost too simple, you’re not wrong. It is simple.

People often expect nervous system work to be complicated or mysterious, but our physiology is beautifully straightforward. The body responds to small cues. It shifts through tiny invitations. It learns through repetition, not intensity. These practices may look easy, but they are quietly powerful. Simplicity is not a weakness in nervous system work. It is the design. Small shifts, practiced consistently, change the entire internal landscape. This is how capacity grows. This is how we live slow and fast at the same time.