Hello lovely human,

Grab a brew… and before we go any further, let’s take a few slow, steady breaths together.

Deep breath in through the nose… Slow breath out…

Repeat… in. Now, a slower breath out.

One more… In… hold it for a heartbeat or three. Now… sigh it out through the mouth.

Great stuff...let's continue.

I started in the wellness world over 17 years ago. After a few stressful years of running kitchens, the party lifestyle… followed by having my first child… something in me needed to change.

Back then, my mind was fast (ruefully, it still is)… really fast. Brilliant in a kitchen… less helpful when I’m holding a screaming baby and there was nowhere for it to go.

To chill, I'd have massages… it helped. Then Ginger Spice brought out a Yoga DVD… god bless ya Spice Girls! Then eventually building up the confidence to walk into a proper class.

And something shifted.

I couldn’t explain it at the time… but I could go from completely overwhelmed… to calm… up there with the Zen Monks in minutes. I was hooked.

So in 2009 I swapped chef whites for a massage tunic… yoga leggings… and a meditation cushion.

As a teenager… I struggled… I think most of us did. There’s nothing like the blend of raging hormones and acne, neatly paired with the need to be liked but wanting to be individual, to confuse the fck out of anyone.

Back then I didn’t have a name for anxiety. I was just told I was “over sensitive.” Which, as you can imagine… was as helpful as a chocolate teapot.

And I know I wasn’t the only one. Maybe you were told something similar. Or maybe you were the one, keeping those feelings on the down low.

In 2013 Mindfulness crossed my path… I did the training. And suddenly there was some language around stress and anxiety… something to do about it.

And now? It’s all about the nervous system.

People come to me all the time saying “I think my nervous system is dysregulated.” Growing up my only understanding was Nan saying she’d “have a little sherry for her nerves.” I had absolutely no idea what that meant at the time… but I get it now.

Back then, we were feeling the exact same thing… we just didn’t have the words for it. And I love we are all starting to understand our inner worlds better and actually have universal language to express it.

So what actually is the nervous system?

In simple terms… it’s your body’s built-in safety system. It’s constantly scanning what’s going on around you and deciding: am I safe… or do I need to react?

When it senses pressure or threat, it speeds things up. It elevates your heart rate, thoughts, and increases physical tension, so you are able to deal with the threat.

When it feels safe, it slows things down… heart rate drops, breathing slows, muscles start to release, your body can finally rest.

It’s not designed to be permanently calm. It’s designed to move between the two.

But the problem is… life gives it a lot to deal with and sometimes it gets a bit… stuck in "go" mode or a low level anxiety we can’t put our finger on.

Having the understanding and language is great… but what I’ve learned… through all of it… is this: We don’t need perfect terminology. We need to be able to feel it and have a way back into our body.

It’s easy to ignore with an hour or two scrolling on the socials, beer, wine, chocolate (add your preference)… for me back in the 80s and 90s it was a VHS binge of Neighbours or Home and Away… and when I was a teen anything mind-altering that seemed like a good idea at the time.

But ignoring dysregulation doesn’t make it go away. It just tucks it away in the background for a while.

So how do we deal with a sticky nervous system…

We are all different and as much as the wellness industry claims to have all the answers… it doesn’t. It’s a process of trying things out and finding ‘yo thang’.

For me, it’s walks and talks with mates, feeling part of a community, yoga and writing (to slow the thoughts)… they are my calm places.

What could it be for you? Maybe take a moment to think about it now…

• It might be movement.
• It might be stillness.
• It might be stepping away from the noise for five minutes.
• It might be having a good old verbal diarrhoea session with a pal.

If your mind tends to ramp up the moment your head hits the pillow or wakes you up at ‘stupid o’clock’...

This week’s sleep story is a slow, sensory somatic visit to Nourish Cafe in the Village. I will guide you so everything slows down in a way your body can rest and sleep.

And if you're local to Quorn and your body feels just as busy as your mind, come and join me in real life at the Yoga Studio.

Our next Mind-Body-Restore session is next Sunday 12th at 5pm.

Ok, coffee and waffle complete… gym to be gymming at.

Catch up with you next week,

Lynz x