Feeling dizzy, light-headed, or unsteady? You’re not alone—and it’s not “just in your head.”
Many people live with undiagnosed vestibular issues that disrupt their sense of balance and stability. But here’s the twist: these imbalances don’t just affect your physical body. They often trigger a cascade of emotional symptoms, especially anxiety, stress, and disconnection.
Let’s explore how vestibular dysfunction and mental health are deeply connected—and why a holistic, integrative approach is key to long-term healing.
What Is the Vestibular System?
The vestibular system is your body’s balance centre. It integrates signals from:
- The inner ear (vestibular organs)
- The eyes (visual input)
- The neck and spine (proprioceptive feedback)
These three inputs work together to tell your brain where your body is in space. When one or more of these signals is off—even slightly—your balance is compromised, and your brain becomes confused. This can lead to:
- Vertigo (spinning sensations)
- Dizziness (light-headedness, floating, swaying or walking on a boat)
- Unsteadiness when walking
- Eye strain, visual sensitivity, eye flickering & struggling to focus on a target
- A feeling of disorientation or detachment
- Brain fog
- Sensitivity to light, sounds, crowded/open spaces
- Dissociation
How Balance Problems Trigger Anxiety
Vestibular disorders often activate the fight-or-flight response in the nervous system. Why?
Because when your brain isn’t confident about your position in space, it interprets that as a threat.
This results in:
- Increased anxiety and panic
- Chest-tightening shallow breathing
- Irritability and emotional dysregulation
- Sleep disturbances and fatigue
What’s more, ongoing dizziness or instability can make everyday tasks feel unsafe, which leads to social withdrawal, fear of movement, and depression. This feedback loop makes vestibular issues a physical and emotional challenge.
Why Does Vestibular Dysfunction Happen?
Common root causes include:
- Inner ear inflammation or infection
- Neck misalignment, tightness, or poor posture
- Uncoordinated eye and head movement
- Stress and shallow breathing patterns
- Qi imbalances or blocked energy flow (Traditional Chinese Medicine)
- Chakra disturbances, particularly in the third eye, crown, throat, and base chakra
The body’s balance system is complex, so effective treatment must take a whole-body approach—not just treat symptoms in isolation.
The Holistic Path to Healing
At Hito Holistic Health, we believe in treating the root cause, not just the symptoms. Alessio’s method combines evidence-based rehab with integrative therapies to help recalibrate the body’s balance system and support the nervous system at the same time.
Here’s how:
Gaze Stability Training
Specialised exercises retrain your brain to coordinate eye and head movement, improving spatial awareness and balance.
Balance & Coordination Training
Targeted physical activities to strengthen postural stability and reflexes.
Neck Release & Postural Realignment
Manual therapy ensures your neck has full range of motion, free of tension or misalignment, to allow accurate vestibular feedback.
Breathwork & Diaphragmatic Breathing
Chest and clavicular breathing can intensify dizziness, while deep belly breathing soothes the nervous system and restores clarity. By shifting your breath from the chest to the belly, you enhance oxygen flow, ease anxiety, and support relief from vertigo.
Moreover, specific breathing patterns — such as incorporating pauses or extending the exhale — can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping the body shift into a state of healing, rest, sleep, and digestion.
Complementary Therapy
From meditation and journaling to sound healing, craniosacral therapy, and binaural beats, these help bring the nervous system back to a state of rest, digest, and heal.
Acupuncture & Energy Medicine
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), dizziness and tinnitus are related to imbalances in Qi—often connected to the kidney, bladder, and gallbladder meridians.
In Ayurveda, symptoms are tied to imbalances in the Brow, Crown, and Root Chakras, suggesting a need for grounding, clarity, and stability.
Postural Assessment
Balance and dizziness can often be influenced by posture.
Alessio offers a detailed postural assessment to identify whether your posture is being affected by the spine, gut, vision, foot mechanics, or jaw alignment. Based on his findings, he applies targeted, specific treatments to address the root cause and support overall balance and stability.
Patient Success Story: From Sofa-Bound to Steady Again
“I went to Alessio with vertigo that had me home, on the sofa, unable to do work or go out. Within weeks of his treatment, he had sorted the issues with my neck and ears. I feel so much better and I walk out of every session with the satisfying feeling of progress. He’s extremely knowledgeable about all sorts of issues, extremely thorough, calming and relaxing (which is just what I needed with the stress of a physical issue) and honestly, the best physio I’ve ever worked with. I’ve since referred him to multiple people – from my dad to my colleagues. Highly recommended if that wasn’t obvious already!”
-Leila d’A.-
Self-Care Tip 1
A Daily Practice for Stability: Grounding Technique for Balance & Stability
Try this whenever you feel wobbly or out of sorts—physically or mentally:
Feet on the Earth:
Stand with feet hip-width apart.
Shift Awareness:
Slowly sway side to side, then forward and back.
Visualize Roots:
Imagine your feet growing roots into the ground.
Diaphragmatic Breathing:
Inhale deeply through the nose, belly expanding. Exhale slowly.
Engage the Senses:
Name 3 things you can see, hear, and feel to anchor your awareness.
*Practiced regularly, this technique trains both body and mind to return to a calm, grounded presence.
Self-Care Tip 2: XLT Calming Breathing Exercise
Sustained rest: a breath-based restoration protocol
Experience a scientifically-validated approach to stress management through this breathing practice. Combining extended exhale, low frequency humming breath and 4-7-8 breathing techniques, this protocol targets the body’s stress response. By influencing the autonomic nervous system and promoting oxygenation, these exercises can induce a calming response and a parasympathetic activation.
Extended Exhale
This technique helps to quickly down regulate and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. It is a slow controlled technique where the exhale is longer than the inhale with no breath-holding in between. Helps with relaxation and tension decompression.
HOW TO:
- Breathe slowly to a comfortably full level
- No pause needed
- Exhale long, slow and deep with an extended exhalation
- Repeat as needed
Variations: Mouth closed/open or audible sigh
Low Frequency Humming Breath
A gentle down regulation technique. The vibrations from this breathing technique are known to soothe the nervous system and to free the mind of agitation.
HOW TO:
- Gently place the thumbs over each tragus, applying gentle pressure
- Allow the rest of your fingers to rest naturally along your forehead
- With mouth closed take a slow breath in to full capacity
- As you exhale slowly create a gentle humming sound
- Repeat as needed
Variations: Use index finger to seal ear canals to heighten the sensory experience and focus
Triangle Breathing 4-7-8 Variation
An inverted variation of triangle breathing with a elongated focus on the inhalation, pause and exhalation. This calming and down regulating technique is an effective way of managing anxiety and quelling errant stress responses.
HOW TO:
- Use the triangle breathing technique above as the foundation
- Inhale for the count of 4 slow counting
- Pause and hold the breath for 7 slow counting
- Exhale for the slow count of 8
- Repeat as needed
| 2 MINUTE BREATHING PROTOCOL | 5 MINUTE BREATHING PROTOCOL | 10 MINUTE BREATHING PROTOCOL |
| 3× rounds: Extended Exhale | 5× rounds: Extended Exhale | 10× rounds: Extended Exhale |
| 3× rounds: Low Frequency Humming Breath | 5× rounds: Low Frequency Humming Breath | 10× rounds: Low Frequency Humming Breath |
| 3× rounds: Triangle Breathing 4-7-8 Variation | 5× rounds: Triangle Breathing 4-7-8 Variation | 10× rounds: Triangle Breathing 4-7-8 Variation |
💬 Final Thoughts
Dizziness and anxiety don’t need to define your life. If you’ve been told it’s “all in your head,” know that there is a reason for how you feel—and there is a path back to balance.
A holistic, body-mind approach to vestibular health can help you regain not just physical stability, but emotional clarity and calm as well.
If you’re ready to get to the root of your symptoms, we’re here to support you.
