Building Nervous System Capacity | 175

Welcome to Follow Your Gut. Daily Anchors.

I’m Juniper, and I’ll be guiding you in this daily embodiment practice for grounding, expansion, and self-leadership.

Go ahead and find a comfortable position wherever you are. You don’t need to sit a certain way or do anything special. You can be lying down, sitting, or listening while on a walk. Just allow your mind and body to arrive.

If it feels good, gently close your eyes. And if not, soften your gaze.

Take a slow breath in through your nose.
And a long breath out through your mouth.

Roll your shoulders forward and up toward your ears, and then roll them back and down. Opening up your heart space and allowing your shoulders to relax.

Let your jaw unclench.
Let your body know that, for these few minutes, there is nowhere else you need to be.

This anchoring practice is about creating a daily habit of tuning into your nervous system with curiosity.

A few years ago, one of my mentors shared something that has stayed with me. You don’t want to attune to your nervous system only when life gets hard or everything feels like it’s falling apart. You want nervous system hygiene. A daily relationship. A practice of checking in before you’re overwhelmed, reactive, or exhausted. So that when life does get hard, you don’t find yourself upside down and completely shaken.

Because this is how we change generational patterns.

Not in the hot moments of crisis.

Crisis will happen. Life will inevitably get hard but this is not the time to try to figure out your nervous system. You don’t learn how to anchor a boat for the first time in the middle of a storm. When you’ve practiced anchoring in calm waters, you intuitively know how to respond when things get rough.

It’s pretty easy to move through life when things are going well. When our health feels stable, our kids are okay, our relationships feel calm, and life isn’t asking too much of us.

Our strength isn’t tested when life is easy.

It’s tested when something feels uncertain.

When a symptom shows up.

When a child is struggling.

When we’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or carrying more than we know what to do with.

And in those moments, most of us instinctively look outward for support. For answers. For something to fix or soothe what we’re feeling.

But one of the most powerful shifts we can make is realizing that the greatest support isn’t external. It’s internal.

It’s the relationship you have with your own body.

It’s whether you know how to check in.

It’s whether you can notice what’s happening inside of you before you’re pushed into reaction.

This is what we are doing in this practice.

Just learning how to be with yourself, consistently, so that when life gets hard, you know how to loving sit with yourself and respond with confidence instead of reacting with fear.

So let’s begin by simply noticing how you’re showing up right now.

There’s no right or wrong way for this to feel. And there’s nothing you need to figure out or fix.

Just bring your attention inward and notice what’s there.

For some people, the nervous system shows up physically through the breath. Maybe you notice that your breathing feels shallow, tight, or rushed. Or maybe it feels slow and full.

For others, it shows up as tension in the body. A tight jaw. Shoulders that feel like they’re creeping up toward your ears. A clenched belly.

For me, I feel overwhelm in my hips. My SI joint gets tight and sore when I’m carrying too much or pushing through too hard. That’s how my body communicates with me.

For some, it might be a headache.
Or a sore neck.
Or the beginning of a rash on the hands, legs, feet, under the breasts, or elbows.
Or a stress mark near the lip.

And for others, the nervous system shows up less in the body and more in the inner world.

It might sound like racing thoughts.
Difficulty focusing.
Replaying conversations.
Feeling mentally scattered or foggy.

It might show up emotionally as irritability, heaviness, numbness, or feeling more sensitive than usual.

Or it might show up in your sleep. Trouble falling asleep. Waking in the middle of the night. Feeling tired even after rest.

All of these are ways your nervous system communicates.

This practice is about connecting your own dots and getting curious about how your system speaks.

So as we move through this, I want you to gently scan not just your body, but your whole experience.

Notice your head and face.
Your jaw.
Your neck and shoulders.

Notice your chest and your upper back.
Your belly and lower back.
Your hips and pelvis.
Your legs and feet.

And now notice your inner landscape.

What does your emotional body feel like right now?
What does your mind feel like? Busy, quiet, heavy, alert?

Is there anywhere you feel tight, heavy, tender, restless, or tired?
Is there anywhere that feels open, calm, or supported?

You’re just noticing the information your body is sharing with you.

This is what tuning into your nervous system actually looks like.

It’s learning the language your body, emotions, and mind are using to communicate with you.

And when you make this kind of check-in part of your daily rhythm, you start to recognize patterns. You notice what stress feels like in your body. You notice what regulation feels like in your body. And over time, you learn how to respond with intentional love instead of waiting until your body has to shout to be heard.

We are going to do this practice together everyday for two weeks so that it becomes a pattern. This is something you will start naturally doing when life does get hard. You will pause and allow yourself the space and support to do a quick scan so you can get really clear on what your body needs. 

Many of you joining me in this practice are mothers healing your child who is consumed with symptoms. You’re navigating flare-ups, regressions, uncertainty. You’re carrying so much. And many of you have lived in your own body with chronic symptoms or disease for years, sometimes decades.

Some of you listening are thriving and simply tuning in to continue on your path.

This practice is for all of you.

What’s important to understand is that what you’re noticing in this practice is not static. Your internal experience will change day to day.

It changes with stress and rest.
With sleep and nourishment.
With where you are in your menstrual cycle.
With the foods you eat and the state of your microbiome.

Your gut and your nervous system are in constant conversation. When one is under strain, the other experience the repercussion.. When one is supported, the other heals too.

So when you scan your body and your inner world, you’re not looking for a final answer. You’re not trying to arrive at a destination where everything feels perfect and regulated all the time.

That’s not how our human bodies work.
That’s not how healing works.
And that’s not how life works.

This practice and life is about the process.

It’s about learning how to be in relationship with yourself as you move through the natural rhythms of life. The ups and the downs. The good days and the hard ones. The calm moments and the seasons that ask more of you.

So what do you do with the information you’re noticing?

You simply listen.

You notice patterns over time, without judgment. You begin to recognize how stress shows up in your body. What support feels like. What depletion feels like. What nourishment feels like.

And instead of reacting from fear or urgency, you start responding from awareness.

For the next two weeks, as you return to this practice each day, I want you to keep it very simple.

Now I want you to ask yourself…

What is the most supportive thing I need today? 

Not what should I fix.
Not what am I doing wrong.
Just what would support me today.

Sometimes that support will be physical. Food. Water. Rest. Movement. Supplements.
Sometimes it will be emotional. Boundaries. Gentleness. Reassurance. Space. Connection.
Sometimes it will be mental. Slowing down. Saying no. Letting something be unfinished.

And some days, the most supportive thing will simply be noticing and doing nothing else.

This is how we build self-trust.
This is how we shift patterns.
This is how healing becomes less reactive and more intentional.

You’re not trying to master your body.
You’re learning to listen to it.

And over time, this becomes a daily habit that changes everything.

Now, I want you to place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly.

And if you can, gently speak to your body out loud.

“I’m listening.”
“I’m here.”
“I’m safe.”

Let’s take a slow breath in through your nose for a count of four.
One… two… three… four.

And exhale through your mouth for a count of six.
One… two… three… four… five… six.

We are going to do this one more time.

Inhale for four.
Exhale for six.

As you breathe, imagine your body receiving the message that it doesn’t need to brace right now.

With each exhale, allow your shoulders to soften just a little more.
Allow your belly to relax.
Allow your breath to find its own natural rhythm.

This is nervous system hygiene.

It’s really this simple. 
It is getting comfortable in the discomfort of exploring how we feel beneath the surface and making a daily habit of checking in so that when life gets hard you are already attuned to how to care for your body. 

In the same way we don’t wait for our teeth to all be rotten to brush them, or for our bodies to feel completely depleted before we rest, we don’t want to only tend to our nervous system when things feel hard.

Before we close out I want to offer you a few affirmations. 

I tune into my nervous system and my gut as a daily hygiene practice, not just in emergency.

Awareness creates choice. Choice creates empowered change.

Small, steady practices are how I change my patterns and my life.

As we come out of this practice, let’s take a moment to set our anchors for the day.

Today, I commit to nourishing my body with microbiome friendly food and abundant water.

Today, I choose to support my mind, brain, nervous system, and liver with my rebalancing or maintenance supplements.

Today, I trust that I am safe, and that everything is always working for me.

And today, I will choose one small action that supports the life I am affirming.

Let this practice orient your day and remind you that alignment is built through small, consistent choices.

Let’s take one slow breath here.

May your heart feel supported, your body feel safe, and your intuition lead your day.

Trust your body. Follow your gut.