Healing Modalities for Highly Sensitive People

I’ve just recently shared a post on Instagram in which I talk about the paradox of being „too much“ as an HSP. You’re welcome to have a look here. It’s worth checking out, especially if you identify as an HSP or if you have someone close to you who does.

In the post I explore the paradox of HSPs often being viewed as „too much“, when in fact it is the „outside world“ that is often too much for HSPs.
I want to state here that of course not all HSPs are the same. It’s not „one size fits all“, it’s a spectrum, like with many things.

The way an HSP experiences their high sensitivity will also be shaped by how they grew up and how their sensitivity was mirrored back to them.

I for instance heard a lot that my high sensitivity was too much, a nuisance, that what I sensed and noticed was exaggerated or not true.
When you hear often enough that what you sense is wrong, you start to believe it – and suppress it. And since your sensitivity is such an integral part of you that means you’re suppressing yourself.

It took me a very long time to start to understand that my sensitivity is real, is a gift and also an amazing quality – and I’m still learning to embrace that.

This can be challenging in a world that doesn’t necessarily welcome sensitivity. But at least there is research now, there are studies – the first real study on this subject was done in the nineties, which means I was around thirty! – and we now know that HSPs are neurologically wired differently than others. More people know about it now, which is truly helpful.

What many HSPs often find out in the course of their life is that healing modalities that seem to fit a lot of people are too much for them.

This can be true both for modern medicine and also so-called „alternative medicine“.

When I did acupuncture for instance I needed to find someone who didn’t just stick as many needles as possible in me, but who knew exactly which one, two or at most three points needed to be treated.

There are special traditions and schools within acupuncture where the acupuncturist learns to treat the patient exactly this way: less is more.

My shiatsu therapist sometimes just lightly touches me in one or two places on my body and my whole energy starts to shift instantly.

And that’s the key with HSPs:

LESS IS MORE.

In many fields of our lives. We need much less stimulation for things to shift, blossom, flow.

Which also means: things can become too much for us faster than for people who are not HSPs.
 Learning to set boundaries, to know how far we can go to stay healthy, to know when to say: enough, my nervous system now needs time to integrate and regenerate, is a learning process that is key in every HSP’s life.

Qi Gong & Stillness is a practice that supports exactly this motto: less is more.


The exercises are so gentle, soothing and boiled down to the essence, which is a wonderful thing for everyone – and especially for highly sensitive people.
An HSP’s nervous system is so finely tuned that they can have wonderful results and experiences while practicing Qi Gong. They are often able to find calm and peace in their body, mind and energy quite quickly – once they give themselves time and space for a practice.

I remember the first time I went to a Qi Gong lesson: it was like a big exhale. I knew instantly that this was it. This was the practice I had been looking for all my life – but probably was ready for only then – and I started my training to be a Qi Gong teacher that same year. That was twenty years ago.

Since then I don’t think there have been many days when I didn’t do some kind of Qi Gong & Stillness. It’s completely integrated into my life.

Interested in learning more or joining us for a free trial lesson?

Check out my course page or write to me.

I look forward to hearing from you!