The power of ritual, self-touch and botanicals for nervous system regulation
In a world where we spend so much time in our heads, self-touch invites us back into the body. It offers a quiet moment of connection - a way for the skin, muscles, nerves and mind to ‘talk’ to one another again.
It’s one of the simplest and most powerful ways we can soften stress and restore balance — no fancy equipment, no complexity, just presence and touch.
The Radiance Ritual at Wild Reset
During my recent Wild Reset Retreat, we explored this through The Radiance Ritual — a self-massage and gua sha practice I co-created with ISUN Skincare.
Designed as a mid-retreat pause, it became a full sensory experience — blending the science of self-regulation with the beauty of ritual and the nourishment of natural botanicals.
The science behind self-touch
Self-touch may sound simple, but it’s one of the body’s most direct ways to signal safety and calm to the nervous system.
When we place warm, steady hands on the skin, we activate special sensory receptors that love slow, gentle pressure (called Ruffini endings and C-tactile afferents). These send soothing messages through the body’s “rest and digest” network (the parasympathetic nervous system).
This helps shift us out of a highly stimulated, stressed or even “fight-or-flight” state (the sympathetic state) and into balance, where the body can digest, heal, and restore.
At the same time, this kind of touch increases oxytocin (the hormone linked to bonding and relaxation) and reduces cortisol (the main stress hormone). That’s why gentle touch can slow the heart rate, ease tension, and make tissues feel softer and more hydrated.
So when we massage the face, neck, or chest, we’re not just caring for our skin — we’re having a conversation with the nervous system in its own language: warmth, rhythm, and care.
The art of the ritual
Rituals are how we bring meaning to the everyday. They help us slow down, be present, and find beauty in simple actions. Across cultures, ritual has always been a bridge between body, mind, earth and spirit.
Viewed through a nervous system lens, ritual gives structure to stillness. Repetition and rhythm signal safety — lighting a candle, applying oil, or breathing slowly all tell the body: you’re safe, you can rest.
A skincare ritual becomes more than a beauty practice. It becomes a gentle meditation — a sensory way of grounding ourselves through touch, scent, and breath.
Gua Sha: a tool of flow and renewal
The practice of gua sha has its roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it’s been used for centuries to boost circulation, release tension, and support healing. The name itself simply means to scrape - referring to the gentle motion used to move energy and improve flow beneath the skin.
When adapted for the face, gua sha becomes a soft, soothing ritual rather than a vigorous treatment. Slow, gliding strokes help to move lymph fluid — the body’s natural cleansing system — and bring fresh oxygen and nutrients to the skin. This supports natural detoxification while easing the small muscles that hold emotional tension, especially around the jaw, temples, and neck.
The Aventurine stone we used on retreat is often linked with balance, harmony, and emotional openness. Whether you connect with its energetic symbolism or simply enjoy its cool, calming touch, the act of moving the stone slowly across the skin encourages mindful presence, which, in itself, helps regulate the nervous system.
Why I chose to partner with ISUN
For The Radiance Ritual, I wanted to use products that felt as alive and intelligent as the practice itself. ISUN Skincare stood out for its use of wildcrafted, whole-plant ingredients and its belief that true beauty is an inner-outer process.
Each formula is handcrafted in small batches using wild-harvested and organic botanicals, cold-pressed to preserve their full life force and energetic integrity. Even the water in ISUN’s products comes from a high-altitude spring in the San Juan Mountains, enriched with Ormus minerals — a naturally occurring complex said to support conductivity and flow within the body.
That quality of flow mirrors the state of nervous system regulation — when energy, communication, and vitality move freely through us. It’s this resonance between product and practice that made ISUN the perfect partner for The Radiance Ritual.
The alchemy of botanicals
Plants have always offered us tools for healing and restoration. In ISUN’s Sapphire Facial Oil, those tools are very much alive — wild-harvested and cold-processed to preserve their natural vitality and life force.
The blend combines botanicals such as calendula, chamomile, and passionfruit, each chosen for their calming and restorative qualities that nurture both skin and senses.
Calendula soothes and supports renewal, helping the skin recover from stress or irritation.
Chamomile naturally relaxes smooth muscle tissue and reduces reactivity — both in the skin and in the body’s stress response.
Passionfruit seed oil is rich in essential fatty acids that keep the skin’s barrier strong, supple, and hydrated.
Beyond their chemistry, these botanicals also work on a sensory level. Their natural textures and subtle plant aromas engage the senses, helping the body shift out of mental overdrive and into a calmer, more present state. In this way, applying the oil becomes more than skincare — it’s a simple, repeatable act that helps the nervous system recognise safety and restore balance.
Products featured in the retreat rituals
A gentle facial oil that nourishes deeply without feeling heavy. Infused with chamomile, calendula, and passionfruit, it helps to soothe sensitivity, calm inflammation, and strengthen the skin’s natural barrier. These botanicals support renewal at both skin and sensory level — mirroring the same calm and restoration we aim to cultivate in the nervous system.
Made from soft green aventurine, this gua sha tool supports lymphatic flow, releases facial tension, and restores natural vitality to the skin. Aventurine is traditionally linked with balance and emotional harmony — qualities we explored throughout the retreat. Used with slow, mindful strokes, it becomes more than a skincare tool: a simple, tactile way to encourage release and renewal.
A light, aromatic mist that became a quiet companion throughout the retreat. We used it to close meditations and mark transitions — a simple way to refresh the skin and reset the senses. Infused with Ormus minerals (thought to enhance cellular communication and energy balance), wildcrafted herbs, essential oils, and pure mountain spring water, it brings a clear, balanced feeling to both body and mind.
Returning home to yourself
Whether it’s part of your morning ritual or a few mindful minutes before bed, self-touch can be a simple way to return home to yourself. A breath, a pause, a hand on the heart — small gestures that remind your body it’s safe to soften.
If you’d like to explore ISUN’s beautiful, wild-crafted range, you can find them at isunskincare.co.uk. Use the code RORIYOGA for 20% off your purchase.
PS - a note on this partnership
This post isn’t sponsored. I haven’t been paid to write it, nor do I receive commission for anything purchased using my discount code. Everything I’ve shared here reflects my own experience and perspective. ISUN Skincare kindly gifted the products used during the retreat, and I chose to include them because their ethos and formulations align so closely with the work I do around nervous system health, embodiment, and the power of nature as healer.
I only ever feature brands I genuinely use and believe in - ones that help support the kind of deep, sensory wellbeing I want my clients and retreat guests to experience.