Heal Within with Dr. Evette Rose

Rewriting Your Nervous System: Tools for Lasting Emotional Change + Meditation

• Dr. Evette Rose • Season 15 • Episode 9

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Feeling constantly anxious, drained, or on edge might not mean you’re broken—it may mean your nervous system is stuck in survival mode.

Your nervous system is more than a stress responder; it’s your inner safety system, influencing everything from your heartbeat to your relationships. But most of us live in sympathetic nervous system overdrive—perpetually bracing for threats even when we’re safe. This state can manifest as:

  • Insomnia or restless sleep
  • Digestive issues
  • Heightened emotional reactivity
  • The “wired but tired” exhaustion that leaves you drained yet unable to relax

These aren’t weaknesses. They’re messages from a dysregulated nervous system that doesn’t feel safe.

The transformative truth? You can retrain your nervous system.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The science of nervous system regulation and why safety—not willpower—is the foundation of healing
  • How the physiological sigh (two short inhales through the nose, one long exhale through the mouth) can calm your system instantly
  • Why mindful movement, walking meditations, and grounding practices are especially helpful for sensitive empaths
  • How tools like weighted blankets, nature connection, and quality sleep literally reshape neural pathways for resilience
  • What happens in the brain when you practice regulation: your amygdala calms, your prefrontal cortex strengthens, and your vagus nerve becomes more resilient

The episode closes with a guided meditation to help you experience regulation in your body—so you don’t just understand it intellectually, you feel it.

✨ Inside this episode:

  • Why dysregulation isn’t your fault
  • Everyday micro-practices that strengthen your nervous system
  • How to rewire your brain for calm and safety
  • A guided meditation to anchor into your body

Your nervous system is shaped by what it repeatedly experiences. Through daily care and compassionate micro-practices, you can rewire your body’s safety system and move from surviving to truly thriving.

Ready to come home to your body? Subscribe now for more episodes that support your journey back to wholeness—one breath and one breakthrough at a time.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Heal Within here with me, Dr. Evette Rose, Trauma Therapist and also creator of Metaphysical Anatomy Technique. And this podcast is your safe space to explore emotional healing, nervous system repair and also deep inner transformation. And if you are ready to go deeper and you would like to be supported in your journey, you can always book a one-on-one session with me or with any of my certified metapsychology coaching practitioners. You can also join one of our upcoming live healing events, workshops or retreats at events, workshops or retreats at metaphysicalanatomycom. So let's begin your journey back to wholeness, one breath and one breakthrough at a time.

Speaker 1:

And today we're going to talk about something that every human experiences, but so very few of us truly understand Stress and how to regulate your nervous system. You see, we all face pressure, deadlines, difficult conversations and goodness, a lot of moments of uncertainty, especially now. So a little bit of stress, it might sharpen your focus. But when stress becomes chronic, the body shifts into survival mode and it stays there, and that's where the real problem begins. And so in today's episode, we're going to be exploring what the nervous system, what it does and when the nervous system regulates. What does that really mean and how stress also impacts your brain and your body. The science also. Yes, I think let's also dive into the science of dysregulation that you actually here's the catch that you might be ignoring. We think we figured out that nervous system. Let me tell you, it has a few tricks up its sleeve as well, and then we're going to be diving also into some fun techniques that can actually help you to reset, naturally and gently. You see, your nervous system is the control center of your calm. What does that mean? You see, your nervous system is more than just a stress responder. It's actually your inner safety system. It governs your breath, your digestion, your emotional regulation, your heart rate and even how you connect with others, and even how you connect with others. And at the core is something called the autonomic nervous system, which has two key branches One is the sympathetic nervous system, which is your fight or flight response, and then also the parasympathetic nervous system, that is, your rest and restore response. Now, both are essential. One helps you to survive and the other helps you to heal. But here's the issue that most of us are living in the sympathetic overdrive, constantly bracing for that next threat, even when we're safe.

Speaker 1:

Now, where does this lead us? I'm sure you have experienced and met fatigue head on, insomnia, anxiety, digestive problems, emotional reactivity and also long-term health challenges. Now, what you are feeling isn't weakness, it's nervous system dysregulation. Now what does that also look like and feel like?

Speaker 1:

Let's dive into just some common signs, just a few, that your nervous system might be out of whack. You see, you feel anxious or easily overwhelmed, you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. You live in this panic mode even if nothing is wrong. Your digestion feels off and completely unpredictable, and you're often exhausted, but it's almost like this weird sense of wiredness. At the same time, you might also feel that you carry unexplained muscle tension or chronic pain. You see, these symptoms are not messages, they are malfunctions and they are your body's way of saying I don't feel safe right now. And that brings us also to the powerful truth that you can retrain your nervous system, you can teach your body to feel safe again and you can learn to really gently start to move out of that survival mode and into a state of regulation and peace as well. So let's look at some tools, and some tools that I myself also found very helpful, and the first one I want to dive into might sound a bit odd or a bit funny, but I want to introduce you to the physiological sigh. So that's two short inhale through the nose and one long exhale through the mouth. You see this breath pattern immediately reduces the sympathetic activation and it soothes also the nervous system. Another point also that I never really used to believe in or I didn't value as much as I probably should have, but I do now is being mindful, whether it's walking, stretching, dancing or doing yoga. And the next step also is mindful movement. Whether you're stretching, whether you're dancing or just doing yoga, moving your body, it starts to shift that stuck energy and it also lowers cortisol. And something that I saw recently that a friend of mine had and I tried it and it actually worked was a weighted blanket bringing you back into the parasympathetic mode, and it also actually mimics the comfort of being held.

Speaker 1:

Meditation is another one. Even just five minutes of mindfulness breathing or box breathing, this can all be incredibly powerful to help your brain and to anchor your body into the present moment. Now keep in mind, if you are an empath, you might need a different meditation strategy. Meditation for empaths can actually be re-traumatizing, and the reason why is when we become really quiet it can trigger and bring up a lot of feelings of anxiety and feeling unsafe. So if that's you, I would highly recommend that you meditate while maybe going for a nice gentle walk, or maybe when you're lying on the grass and you can gently stroke your hands on the grass or your feet. Do something while you're meditating Something gentle, not something overwhelming, but there needs to be an extra stimulation to actually help you to stay present and grounded. So I do hope that that helps. I mean, this definitely was true for me, so see if that works for you. Meditation can be powerful, but you need to do it in the right way for you.

Speaker 1:

Now the next step and tip that I want to share with you as well that really helped me was grounding practices, and I already touched on it ever so briefly. You can place your feet on the earth, on the ground, on grass, feel the sun on your skin. If you live in a place where you don't have access to a lot of sunlight, there are these lights that mimic sunlight that you can buy online. I bought one when I lived in a city where it was just overcast the whole time. It was one of the best investments that I ever made for my mental health. At that time I made a 360 degree turnaround when I just had that feeling, that sunlight, it was all that. It really really helped.

Speaker 1:

Another one that I had to learn and it took me a while was self-compassion. To have self-compassion for myself during moments of stress, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, feeling vulnerable, feeling raw, instead of there sitting thinking, oh my God, you're so weak, you know what is wrong with you, what is going wrong with my body. Now again, all this criticism, all this attack, even just that slight fleeting thought, it's attacking yourself, and that is the last thing that you need when you are stressed. What we need is safety, what we need is compassion, and we don't always have that compassionate witness with us. So become that for yourself through self-compassion. Another one that I love so much is breath work. Now, a lot of people ask me what's my favorite. For me, it's in the mouth, out the nose, 13 times, and the last breath I personally like to hold as long as I feel comfortable and then I slowly exhale and then I just drop into this really nice, calm, peaceful place and space. It is so incredible.

Speaker 1:

Now, another thing that a lot of people are raving about is ice baths, cold exposure. Just keep in mind ice baths, especially for women, is actually not that healthy, especially if you start looking at seven degrees like these really really cold ice baths. Research is actually now showing that it's best if the ice bath is around 13 degrees or probably even a little bit higher, purely because of our thyroid and also how it can actually cause a dysregulation in our hormones and for a lot of women it actually shocks the body into a fight or flight response. So it has the opposite effect of what we really truly need. So if you are a woman and you're listening and you can do seven degrees Celsius amazing. But I cannot, and there's many others also who cannot. So it's important to. If you want to try it, go for it. Or you can just jump into a nice cold swimming pool or take a lukewarm or cold-ish shower. That can also work.

Speaker 1:

What I find personally works for me is to actually put my feet in very cold water. There it can be seven degrees Celsius. That's fine, but my feet I find it's so soothing when I take it out after a few minutes. It makes for me personally a really big difference. And another one that I love is the nature connection. That's when we are walking, you know between the trees we're breathing fresh air.

Speaker 1:

Even just looking at natural imagery, it can really downregulate the nervous system, especially if you have a picture that shows a valley or a view. You know something where you almost feel like you're looking into the distance. Because if you're sitting in an office space or you sit like you know I have an office, so you know I'm sitting between four walls quite a lot during the day, if we don't have the ability to see far away, like long distance, the enclosure that you're in can actually trigger the nervous system. It can trigger the final flight response. It can cause a person to feel that they're trapped. So it's really important that maybe you have a window where that you can look out. And even if you just look out into the sky, just seeing that there's that distance soothes already the nervous system and the amygdala.

Speaker 1:

And another one that I also found incredibly powerful for me is co-regulation. So that can be, for example, when you sit with someone who feels safe. It's almost like their nervous system is influencing yours, why we are wired for connection. And another one that I only learned recently to start to do shamelessly, without feeling guilty, is laughter and play, and I have to thank my children for that, because they really helped me to loosen up a bit Right? So for me, these are not luxuries, it's actually a healing mechanism. And joy it's actually a healing mechanism and joy it's a regulator.

Speaker 1:

And also, something for me that is not negotiable is to prioritize sleep. Sleep and rest is not laziness, it's medicine. Sleep resets your nervous system on a cellular level, literally. You see, when we look at these different ways of regulating, co-regulating and also from a brain-based perspective, your nervous system is shaped by what it repeats. So when you start to really truly value activities that you resonate with, you don't have to follow what I just shared with you. It's important that you find what works for you right.

Speaker 1:

So when you start to engage in those daily micro practices that can start to support safety, like grounding, breathwork or emotional expression, journaling, you are rewiring your neural pathways and your amygdala becomes less reactive, your prefrontal cortex becomes more resilient and your vagus nerve, it strengthens its ability to anchor in calmness. You see, you start to move from reactive to responsive, from chaos to clarity and from surviving to thriving. So, beautiful people, here is what I invite you to remember Stress is not your enemy. This regulation is not your fault. Your body's not broken, it really is brilliant, and you can learn to feel safe again. And I acknowledge that it's not going to happen overnight. But with daily care, gentle curiosity and a little bit of support, you really truly can come home to your body again.

Speaker 1:

And for those of you who love meditations, it is time let's take a nice deep breath and you can sit up or lie down, whatever you feel most comfortable with, just noticing as you're starting to focus on your breath, just gently breathing. Noticing as you're starting to focus on your breath, just gently breathing, noticing as you're inhaling and exhaling Very good. And notice also, as you're breathing, how it's gently bringing you back into the body, feeling the ground beneath you, feel that support beneath you and as you're noticing that support, feeling your shoulders dropping, feeling also your stomach softening with each breath. You are safe to arrive not just in this space but in your body in this moment, finding yourself breathing in calmness and exhale tension, breathing in softness and exhale any pressure that you've been holding on to. And I invite you now to bring your attention gently to your body.

Speaker 1:

Notice your chest, your jaw, your stomach. Are you holding tightness, maybe anywhere Are you holding tightness? Maybe anywhere Are there places that feel heavy, numb or agitated. There's no need to fix anything, just observe and breathe and, as you exhale, imagine tension leaving your body like smoke, just dissolving into the air, going going, going gone. You don't need to carry it all, not now, not now. Now bring your awareness to your heart center. Imagine a warm, gentle light there, soft, golden, healing light, and with every breath let this expand, flowing into your chest, your shoulders, down your arms, through your spine, into your stomach and legs, all the way to your fate. This light is calming your nervous system. It's gently whispering you are safe now.

Speaker 1:

It's okay to rest now. Now, gently, imagine a younger version of yourself sitting in front of you, maybe 5 or 10, or in their teenage years. They've been carrying so much Teenage years. They've been carrying so much. Looking at them through soft eyes now and say I see you, I understand how hard it's been. You are safe now and you don't have to do it all alone anymore. I'm here with you and I'm not going anywhere.

Speaker 1:

Feel your nervous system settling down, noticing your younger self, softening into your presence, into your safety, into your love. Now breathe slowly and repeat these affirmations with me only if you want, or you can just listen to my voice. My body is safe to relax, I'm allowed to feel calm. It is safe to be present in my body. My nervous system knows how to heal. I'm grounded, centered and at peace. I trust my body and I trust my path.

Speaker 1:

Allowing these words to vibrate through every single cell in your body, I invite you to put one hand on your heart, one hand on your stomach, and say to yourself I am home in my body, I am safe to heal. I can return to calm whenever I need to Take one more nourishing breath when you're ready, feeling the surface beneath your body again, giving yourself a nice big stretch and welcome back. Well done, well done An affirmation. For today I'm allowed to feel calm and remember. If this episode touched you, please share it with someone on their healing journey and, as always, breathe deep, listen within and stay gently curious Until our next episode. I love you all and until next time, be the light that you are. Bye everyone.