Journey to the Sunnyside

Today’s guest is Rachel Lundberg. Rachel has spent more than three decades working with movement, yoga, and nervous system regulation, and she’s the founder of Thrive Yoga and Wellness, where she helps people feel more at home in their bodies and less reactive in their habits. Her work sits at the intersection of alignment, breath, and awareness — the stuff that actually determines whether a craving passes or takes over. In this episode, we unpack her ABC method for cravings and stress drinking, what nervous system regulation really looks like in everyday life, and a few simple tools you can use in the moment to slow things down and make a more conscious choice before you pour.

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Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.

Creators and Guests

Host
Mike Hardenbrook
#1 best-selling author of "No Willpower Required," neuroscience enthusiast, and habit change expert.

What is Journey to the Sunnyside?

Journey to the Sunnyside is a top 1% podcast, reaching over 500,000 listeners every week. It’s your guide to exploring mindful living with alcohol—whether you're cutting back, moderating, or thinking about quitting.

While Sunnyside helps you reduce your drinking, this podcast goes further, diving into topics like mindful drinking, sober curiosity, moderation, and full sobriety. Through real stories, expert insights, and science-backed strategies, we help you find what actually works for your journey.

Hosted by Mike Hardenbrook, a #1 best-selling author and neuroscience enthusiast, the show is dedicated to helping people transform their relationship with alcohol—without shame, judgment, or rigid rules.

This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the leading platform for mindful drinking. Want to take the next step in your journey? Head over to sunnyside.co for a free 15-day trial.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in our episodes do not necessarily represent those of Sunnyside. We’re committed to sharing diverse perspectives on health and wellness. If you’re concerned about your drinking, please consult a medical professional. Sunnyside, this podcast, and its guests are not necessarily medical providers and the content is not medical advice. We do not endorse drinking in any amount.

Speaker 1:

Today's guest is Rachel Lundberg. Rachel has spent more than three decades working with movement, yoga, and nervous system regulation. And she's the founder of Thrive Yoga and Wellness, where she helps people feel more at home in their bodies and less reactive in their habits. Her work sits at the intersection of alignment, breath, and awareness. The stuff that actually determines whether a craving passes or takes over.

Speaker 1:

In this episode, we unpack her ABC method for cravings and stress drinking, what nervous system regulation really looks like in everyday life, and a few simple tools you can use in the moment to slow things down and make a more conscious choice before you pour.

Speaker 2:

Okay, Rachel. Thanks for coming on today.

Speaker 3:

Thank you. Happy to be here.

Speaker 2:

I am I'm very happy to have you here as well because we're gonna be discussing a topic that is a recurring theme here on the show. However, you have a unique background that'll bring some different tactics that we can try and also strategies. So, okay, let's start with the foundation. So you teach many on habits, which includes drinking. Are are nervous system patterns, you know, specifically is another thing that you get into.

Speaker 2:

Does the nervous system regulation influence how our habits are formed, especially when it comes to stress or end of day drinking or even daily drinking?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. So I think that there's obviously a large spectrum, which we're all playing on when it comes to how much something like drinking affects our bodies. And it could be drinking, it could be eating, shopping. Just anything that kind of pulls us out of presence and allows us to escape. And so my biggest technique, I would say, is helping people understand what presence is.

Speaker 3:

And not just presence, but your quality of presence when you're tending to a task of any kind. So that's that's the foundation.

Speaker 2:

I'm aware of presence, but tell me about the quality of presence. Elaborate on that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. Absolutely. So presence is a very used word in philosophies and in neuroscience techniques and things like that. But it truly is about the quality of our presence. So when so for example, I always give this example.

Speaker 3:

Let's say you are at the dinner table with your family. So you are present in your physical body. You might even be making some eye contact with people at the table, but your mind is completely somewhere else, or maybe you're distracted by the environment, or you are distracted by your phone. That is just that your quality of presence is low to what's here right now in your surroundings and also probably what's going on inside of you. And so that's when we tend to disassociate and or seek outside, stimuli so that we can, regulate our nervous system in a certain way.

Speaker 3:

But quality of presence is a practice that we can intentionally include in our day, which, starts to formulate the habit of really choosing to be not just present in your physical sense, but truly present in your body, truly present to the people that you're with. And you can feel that presence when you are with somebody who's fully present with you. You you know, it's very apparent, and you feel it.

Speaker 2:

You definitely feel it. And it's, like, subtle cues that you couldn't even define. It's just almost built into us. Let me ask you on the other thing here, though, that we're discussing before we get into any top topics or tactics outside of this. So the term nervous system and nervous system regulation, I think everyone listening might say, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. I know what that is. But then all of a sudden, if they got grilled with the question, well, then tell me what it is. I think people might fumble that a little bit. Can you define it a little bit here?

Speaker 2:

What we're talking about?

Speaker 3:

I'll speak to it is a very used term in the sense that we're familiar with it. When I was first introduced to it, I had no idea what it was. I didn't know what neuroplasticity was. I had heard people say like my mom, like, it's really I'm having a nervous breakdown or this is really, you know, I can't handle this. Those would be like cues that nervous system is is dysregulated.

Speaker 3:

But just we have a baseline. And I think what's really important for everybody to understand is that the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems are important for various things. We need to be able to move into action, which is the sympathetic nervous system. We need to be able to move into more relaxation, which is the parasympathetic. And it's like a wave that's moving continuously.

Speaker 3:

And so when we're dysregulated, we could be dysregulated more on the parasympathetic side, meaning, like, paralyzed in the sense of not being able to do anything. Maybe you could think of things more like depression. And then when we're really stimulated in the sympathetic nervous system, you can think more like taking action, retreating, and anxiety. So those are kind of the the ways that it can get stuck in one side or the other. Neither of them being super beneficial for us over the long term, but each of them being beneficial for us in the short term.

Speaker 3:

And and when it's used for the forward movement of our lives. And the one way I like to to tell my yoga students and and people that I work with about this is that when we inhale, that is the sympathetic nervous system, the inhalation. That's the activation. That's the awakening of the nervous system. And when we exhale, that's the parasympathetic nervous system.

Speaker 3:

So we're constantly riding the wave of these two systems, and they're incredibly important. And so I do think that the sympathetic nervous system gets a bad rap if I'm more to were to kinda nerd out on that for a second. But but it's again, when we get stuck in one side or the other, and then that's when we become dysregulated and learning the skills to bring ourselves back into a balance is is what it's all about.

Speaker 2:

That makes total sense, and I'm really glad that you dug into that before we go in any further about how we can kinda move in and out of those and be aware of where we are. So, you know, sympathetic would be would this be a good analogy? Let's say, I wanna be in that mode if I'm mountain biking and I'm getting ready to go down a cliff and I need to have all my wits about me. That would be 10 tapping into sympathetic. Right?

Speaker 2:

Where it's beneficial.

Speaker 3:

The adrenaline, the the excitements, the anxiety that you might feel. Those are all incredibly important systems to have on board when you're doing something that high level and requires acute awareness and attention. So absolutely, sympathetic nervous system.

Speaker 2:

When would we not wanna have that going on? Just to I mean, I'm just gonna play completely ignorant to all of this. You know? When does that start to work against us?

Speaker 3:

Well, like I said earlier, when it stuck. So let's say you go on that mountain bike, right, or whatever in your you said mountain bike. Right? You're bombing down the hill like this is so exciting. And you get to the bottom and you and all of a sudden, your body moves into a panic attack.

Speaker 3:

And then you can't sleep for days on end. And, you know, so it's it's that when there's and this is, again, very very, I think, very common knowledge that maybe it's just the circles that I'm in. But there's that whole analogy of like, there isn't a tiger to fight. So the body doesn't need to be in that elevated state continuously. And what happens for us is we're so stimulated all the time by information, by knowing a lot about the world at any given moment, and a lot about our families, a lot about our communities, a lot about health, a lot about politics, everything.

Speaker 3:

And so that can really amp up that sympathetic nervous response and keep us there. And then it it leads to the deterioration of the of the body and and ultimately, like, our mental health as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. You know, I think that there's so much concentration on, like, moving into parasympathetic, and that's important because we're always overstimulated. But also, I think it's important to note as you've as you highlighted here is that there is a time and a place to be in both of those modes. They're not inherently bad. It's just bad to be stuck into one.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. If we didn't have the sympathetic nervous system working, we wouldn't do anything. You know? We wouldn't it's important. And and and other philosophies, they'll they'll liken it to like masculine and feminine energies, you know, it's the action energy or the the nurturing energy.

Speaker 3:

And so we have to have both, each and every one of us. Yeah. And so there are time periods of time where it might need to be a little bit longer that we're in that sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system state. But once it starts to affect your life in a way that doesn't feel productive or helpful or in a way that you can contribute, then that's when it's time to start to regulate.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. And and so let's get into that a little bit because, I mean, a lot of the this dysregulation is also very closely tied to the topic of the show, which is around alcohol, and a big part of alcohol comes in the way of cravings and urges. And sometimes those those can hit in very predictable moments and very unpredictable moments. And so how can movement or breath work actually interrupt these urges and help someone shift their state in in real time?

Speaker 3:

Well, that's a great question because I think across the board with any sort of habit or choice that we're making whether and, you know, I know this is specific to to alcohol, but we could really apply this to anything is that the moment that we move into a state of awareness, which means I'm aware that this craving is here. I'm aware that I'm making the choice to go drink. That is step number one as far as as changing the patterns of the brain. So with neuroplasticity, we've got to become aware first. And when I talk about neuroplasticity, what I'm talking about is the capacity for us to change the neurons the way that the neurons are firing in the brain and create new habits and essentially an entirely new way of being in our body and in our life.

Speaker 3:

So so when we become aware, we and we create a tiny pause. It doesn't have to be a day, an hour, even ten minutes. It could be literally like thirty seconds, maybe not even that long, where we decide that we're gonna take a moment. And I I call this and I've learned it this way. It's the ABCs.

Speaker 3:

So a being allowing or becoming aware. And then b is breathing. Just starting to notice your breath. Taking some inhalations and some exhalations. Slowing things down just ever so slightly.

Speaker 3:

It doesn't have to be a 100%. It can be 2%. 2% slowdown. And then c is choice. What do I choose in this moment?

Speaker 3:

And when we can move into a moment and say, yeah, I do choose to drink right now. That's very different than I really have no choice. Like, I am a I'm a victim. I I you know, this has got me so I'm not saying that it's easy, but it is very possible and it is what is required when we wanna change any kind of habit. Is awareness slowing things down enough to be able to consciously, and that word consciously is really important, consciously make a choice.

Speaker 3:

And if you consciously choose to drink or whatever it is that you're doing, I guarantee you it's gonna be a much different experience than if you do it unconsciously and just out of habit. You won't beat yourself up as much. And then ultimately, you'll you'll you'll maybe choose something different in the future.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. I mean, I know that you know about mindfulness and mindfulness. That term can be applied to drinking

Speaker 3:

thus Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I'd be curious to know what is your personal favorite, I guess. And then also one related to what we're talking about, you know, you walk through the ABC. Are there specific types of breath work that you prefer maybe for beginners? And then Yeah. Like I said, maybe for yourself too.

Speaker 3:

Well, the one that I use for beginners is the one that I use for myself. So there are very I wouldn't even say challenging techniques, but there are techniques where you're closing off one nostril and leaving one open. And, you know, if you're out there in public, you might look a little strange doing that. Or big breaths like, you know, which I'm not afraid to do necessarily, but, you know, you look a little strange as well. So what I like to do is I really think hands on body is a powerful, powerful thing, and it's very underused.

Speaker 3:

So I like to put my hand over my heart, but I will tell people even just to put their hands together. Maybe rub your hands together or rub your arm or anything where you make some personal contact with yourself. And then just start to slowly breathe. So it doesn't have to be anything special. I say about three breaths is a really great place to start.

Speaker 3:

And I like putting my hand over my heart because the heart brain is the wise brain. This brain up here is the one that's been conditioned by all of belief systems and habits and chemicals and all of the things that we experience in this human life. Heart is wise. So I put hand on heart. I take a few breaths.

Speaker 3:

I typically close my eyes if I can. Maybe I do this in a bathroom stall. Maybe I'm in, you know, not driving obviously, but in my car before I get out. And I'm like, okay. And that gives me enough of a pause and I can just choose something.

Speaker 3:

Choose anything. But as far as the breathing goes, keep it simple. Don't make it very complicated. Just notice that you're inhaling. Notice that you're exhaling.

Speaker 3:

If you're super stressed and you want to calm things down, exhale through your mouth. That's incredibly powerful because remember the exhale is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system. So when we exhale through the mouth specifically with like a sigh or a sound. That helps release the jaws. It helps release the belly, the pelvis, opens up the space of the heart, and allows you to calm down enough to make a conscious choice.

Speaker 3:

So simple. Hands on body. That isn't even required. It's just like an extra upgrade. Hands on body, a few slow steady breaths.

Speaker 3:

That's it.

Speaker 2:

I like simple, and I like the way you said that. Simple the what I suggest for beginners is the same thing I use. So that's very cool that I think anybody can do this. I really like any practice that you can kinda do anywhere, anytime Mhmm. That isn't that isn't exclusive to where you have space.

Speaker 2:

Because for myself, actually, I've been doing Wim Hof or the like for over ten years. And the the problem with that, though, is number one, you need a lot time. You need a good space, and it's really loud. So when we're traveling, even if, like, my wife and kids are upstairs and it's early morning, I could potentially wake them up being on a different floor.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. And Not

Speaker 2:

not my go to for this.

Speaker 3:

It's such a such a cool technique and such a cool thing to explore, but also, you know, not the comfort level for a lot of people. And, you know

Speaker 2:

It's very uncomfortable, difficult, and you have to commit. And like I said, it's only yeah. I've been doing it for ten years, and I feel still some days, I'm just like, I am just I don't think I got three rounds in me even when I'm out of cadence with it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. And simplifying, especially when we're working with changing complex habits, having one simple practice that you can go to over and over again. I'm currently working with a client who's trying to change some habits around, you know, the way that he approaches his work schedule and life schedule. And I mean, this is a he's got a million projects going on, and you could think of your own self in one of these kind of scenarios. And after so much talking, the one thing I gave him to do, the one assignment is to do the ABCs.

Speaker 3:

And anytime he's coming forward to me with like, oh, but this, oh, but this, I'm like, ABCs. Go back to

Speaker 2:

the Because

Speaker 3:

that will start to train your nervous systems like, oh, I don't have to be so reactive. I can feel safe in my body. I can honor my choice. Even honor a choice that might be considered the wrong choice to someone else or even to the judge inside of you. But there's a wiser part of you that's like, okay, make that choice.

Speaker 3:

I choose it without the guilt or shame, without the judge. And next time, you know what? I'll like I said earlier, I'll probably choose something else.

Speaker 2:

That's great. And, I mean, you can literally I mean, I say this kinda tongue in cheek, but get high on your own supply and then elevate yourself just by using breath and elevate yourself to make better choices. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Well, breath and meditation, I mean, there's the science out there to prove that as well, and we can move into very altered states of being that are quite euphoric. I would say that supersede getting or supersede even psychedelics or on par and, you know, whatever it is that you might wanna experience is often something that you can experience through breath and meditation if you're willing to put in that practice with them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. I've done a little bit of the holotropic Mhmm.

Speaker 3:

Breath work really cool.

Speaker 2:

And I and I have had, like, full energetic releases from that. And I know that's off topic here, but a 100% agree.

Speaker 3:

But I'm with you on that.

Speaker 2:

So much power. Mhmm.

Speaker 3:

It's a it's our most powerful tool that we take for granted. And it and if you think about it, it's the one thing that is continuous and constant in the way that you are as a human. Like, you're breathing. And that's the one connection that you have to presence more than anything else. You know, your heart's in there, but you can't feel, you know, you don't really feel that your the heart beating, the blood moving through the body.

Speaker 3:

You can, of course, at sometimes. But it's that breath. The breath is the is the the thread, the tether to presence.

Speaker 2:

100%. Well, I think this is all leading into another aspect that many of us deal with is just this feeling of out of alignment, especially in midlife. So for example, like, our audience, many of those listening are in their forties, fifties, even sixties. They feel more physically and emotionally off than they used to. So what does being out of alignment look like in the body, and how does that maybe relate to what we're talking about here on the podcast to behavior change?

Speaker 3:

Well, if I can just speak to that phase of life, I think what happens across the board in humanity is that at that point in our lives and this is Rachel's opinion. Okay? This isn't necessarily science based. But I think that that point in our lives, we've experienced enough to where we can look at life and be like, why? Like, why not why to life, but like, am I choosing?

Speaker 3:

And whose life am I living? And who am I living my life for? And what? And why? And I think that's one of the most important questions we can ask ourself is, who am I living my life for?

Speaker 3:

And if it's for your job or your parents or someone other than something that really drives you passionately. Maybe it's a love for your family. Maybe it's, you know, your your talent, your passion, your career. Then it's time to start looking at the belief systems that you've bought into over your lifetime because those have definitely affected the choices that you've made unconsciously. And as we make these, even just in the ABCs, we start to become a more conscious choice maker.

Speaker 3:

And in midlife, I think that's really the call. Like, the natural call is like, how can I become a conscious choice maker? Because this really is my life experience. And it's what I'm gonna create here. And and and the legacy that I wanna leave behind, maybe not you're not gonna necessarily be famous, but what is it that you what is it that drives you?

Speaker 3:

And and it requires a lot of internal That's why I think at this point in time, a lot of us go more internal is because we're like, wait a minute. What what have I bought into that doesn't resonate for me anymore? And you'll know you're out of alignment because your physical health will be affected. Mental health will be affected. Relationships will be effective.

Speaker 3:

Productivity is affected. For myself, when I really realized that things were out of alignment for me, it was panic attacks, insomnia, all kinds of chronic illness. And, you know, it took me ten years to figure out what was going on for me and how things were out of alignment for me. I would love for it to not take ten years for other people. So if I had been able to really tune into the things that I that got me out of that shift, you know, and into the growth that I've been in now, then I feel like that's a super important thing.

Speaker 2:

Is that where you feel connected to most? Is that you wanna give somebody else more of a direct shot to not have to struggle maybe the way that you did?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. If somebody had sat down with me, you know, and, you know, my I think my midlife crisis came on a little early. But if somebody had sat down with me, you know, when I just had my third baby and I was barely turning 30 years old, maybe even 29 and said, hey, like you, this is happening in your body because your life is out of alignment.

Speaker 3:

And I don't know that I could have handled that then. But but in retrospect, if if I could, you know, and then not to judge someone, say your life is out of alignment, but to say, hey, like, what is it that you're buying into that you don't have to? How could things be different and actually even more beautiful and more expansive?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. The I mean, I'm 46, so this is definitely the time where I'm I mean, I I've been sort of on this where does my life wanna go, you know, redefining things like what is rich to me. You know? But, like, for me, like, yeah, I wanted to be rich, but did I really wanna be rich? Actually, I wanted to be free.

Speaker 2:

Yes. And I don't care about the money. And then, like, what is actually rich to me? It's not like, all these things where you're, like, starting to come into alignment. Money is obviously, like, the most generic thing I can grab.

Speaker 2:

But, yeah, like, I think it's really hard to feel an alignment maybe when you're making choices that aren't even your ideas that you just kind of adopted growing And I

Speaker 3:

think that's where we kind of I would suggest that that's where we start. And if it feels like too much to start there, find somebody that can support you in starting there and just being like, okay. So here you are. Again, who are you living your life for and what let's let's explore, how do you feel about money? How do you feel about your body in relationships?

Speaker 3:

And and also the the idea that we're never actually trapped or stuck. It we may feel that way, but as that we allow our perspective to change and start to see things more in a 360 degrees instead of just in tunnel vision, then it's miraculous what can shift both I mean, in your in every aspect. I've seen my whole life change if it in my physical health, my mental health, my relationships by by changing my perspective.

Speaker 2:

I love that. And, I mean, it's so relevant also to just, like, how many of us grow up like, oh, I'm that person at the party. I do this. That's just what I do when it comes to, you know, drinking or all these things. So, like, when you're out of alignment even in that way, even though it's just one aspect, it's it's it's still in that category being out of alignment if it doesn't match up to who you want to be.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. Who you want to be and and ultimately, you know, we can nerd We out can nerd out there for a second. But that's an that's a that's a, I would say, a false identity that we kind of carry, like a false costume that we're carrying.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

And once we become aware that that's what it is, it's not as hard to shift it as we think it is. It just it does require a commitment and and a quality of presence. If I return back to that to deciding that I you know what? I'm gonna do something different. And I know it's gonna take a minute, and I know it's gonna take a lot of little choices, but I I'm gonna do something different.

Speaker 3:

And the positive feedback, you know, I was looking over your guys' site and what you do and that, you know, that our body and brain, they want positive feedback. They want to know that we're doing great, that everything's okay, that we're important and cherished and loved. And and so learning to give that to ourselves because you know what? At the end of the day, that's who that's who you go to sleep with that night. That's who you wake up with in the morning.

Speaker 3:

That's who you talk to all day long. It's you and you. So give that to yourself and and appreciate, celebrate who you are and all the little tiny and huge accomplishments that you that you do. When you make just even one choice. I'm you know what?

Speaker 3:

Today, I'm gonna have one drink. Whereas maybe you would have had five. And then celebrate the I can't I'm not gonna use a bad word, but just celebrate that too. Like you like you just won the gold at the Olympics.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Oh, Rachel was waving her arms out in celebration to anybody listening. So no. And I'll also note that we could I I don't wanna geek out. I didn't try to invoke the geek out knowing the difference between who I am and what I do and all these ego based things that we would attach to.

Speaker 2:

I'll separate us that because that would be a whole other podcast.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

But totally, I love all of this. Well, before we get going here, I wanna talk about some actionable strategies that maybe you could suggest for anybody listening, maybe somebody that's working on their mindful drinking or cutting back. What are few a few grounding cues? Maybe, I have some list here. Microbe movements and alignment practices that they could try to support a calmer, more conscious choice.

Speaker 3:

Well, I think it's important to recognize if kind of the the energy level that's driving the choice. So, like, let's say, I'm kind of in

Speaker 2:

that We did breath work. Sorry to interrupt. Did breath work. And we did your ABC. So I'll recognize that before the question first and make

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So you can definitely use both of those. But I do think that it's all absolutely across the board, you can use both of those no matter what's going on. K? That can be a 100% the number one thing that you do.

Speaker 3:

However, if you can can note notice inside of yourself that you're running high, like the energy's high, maybe more toward the anxiety way of being, then I actually actually, this works for both parasympathetic and sympathetic where whether you're kinda stuck and paralyzed or or overly active. I like to bounce. So I just like to bounce on my heels and just bounce up and down. And it might seem strange, but again, this is something that you maybe would do in a bathroom stall or like whatever. Bounce or tap on the body.

Speaker 3:

So, you know, just I know not everybody can see me, but I'm just tapping on my shoulders or tapping on the sternum or taking your shoulders up and down. So do something physical. Do something physical. And if you're and and you could even make that your part of your a b something physical before you make the choice. Because what that's gonna do is it's gonna bring you into your body.

Speaker 3:

And so you've got your breath. You're coming more into your body through movement, and then you are in a even more powerful quality of presence to make a conscious choice. I will do simple things like just rub the back of my neck. That's very calming for the nervous system. If I'm doing the ABCs and I've, you know, maybe I have one hand on my heart and I just rub the back of my neck or I might rub my jaws.

Speaker 3:

I tend to run more anxious, so I'm often bringing myself back down. But in those moments where I'm feeling lethargic or, you know, really down, again, just really start with gentle movements and then try to increase those movements to maybe a little bit more and and then that will really assist you. So it's very small move. It doesn't you don't have to go take a class. You don't have to run a marathon.

Speaker 3:

You don't have to do any of this stuff. You just need to feel your body. You could tap your fingers together. I mean, honestly, it's just your choice, but do something physical.

Speaker 2:

So the balancing would be activating or Oh, it's both

Speaker 3:

for both.

Speaker 2:

It does both?

Speaker 3:

Oh, for sure. It does both. Yeah. Because if you try if you so if you're familiar with TRE, which is like this this like shaking method to release the nervous system, it's it's similar to that, but also along the lines of Qigong and things like that where we get this kind of rhythmic movement. We let the body really be primal in a way.

Speaker 3:

So just bouncing on your heels, if you did that for ten seconds and then you stop, your whole body goes Like, your nervous system is like, what? Because you just released so much of that internal tension in the body. And if you've been, you know, past, like, more on the depressed side, you're gonna feel like, oh, okay. I'm a I'm alive. There's, you know, there's some life here in me.

Speaker 3:

Like, I've got I can make some choices.

Speaker 2:

Is this is would you say this is in the same category with the nervous system as the EFT tapping?

Speaker 3:

I love EFT tapping. Yes. But I would say this what I'm sharing with you are, like, in the moment things that you could do that aren't gonna that are gonna be very effective quickly. EFT is incredible. I love it, and I use it, and I work with clients with it.

Speaker 3:

It does require a little more practice and a little bit more guidance. So

Speaker 2:

I get rusty when I haven't done it in a little

Speaker 3:

while. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Let me pull up that YouTube video again.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

But it does I I love it too. I love it too. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

It's so powerful. And I would say anytime you're trying to change a habit, EFT is a really great avenue to look into as well if you're looking for a practice to relieve the tension in the body. But again, as far as like quick, easy, accessible stuff, bounce on your heels, tap your body in any way, You could I'll tap on the center of my, you know, my sternum and just say, I got you. You know, sometimes that's myself, I got you. It's really, you know, we are the the stewards of this body.

Speaker 3:

We are we are the lens through which our nervous system granted our nervous system is often much smarter than our than what we tend to tend to think think about. But but as we become conscious choice makers, the nervous system is like, oh, she or he's in charge. They're in charge. So I don't have to work so hard to try to regulate this because this choice maker that's inhabiting this physical body is has got me so I don't have to work so hard. And that's just a really lovely place to be.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Yes. For sure. Well, Rachel, this has been amazing. You know, before we go though, as you as a yoga master, we didn't get into to too much on that, but I think the mindfulness and the nervous system regulation is, like, just, you know, plugs right into that.

Speaker 2:

But for anybody that wants to bring yoga into their habit change, you know, process or journey, what's the most helpful mindset or starting point for them to get going forward?

Speaker 3:

Well, I think one thing that's important for people to know about yoga is that that it is an industry. And if you are truly interested in what yoga is, don't I would say, don't limit yourself by what you look like, by, you know, whether or not you are flexible or strong. Because when you find the right teacher in the right space, you should feel comfortable, you should feel welcomed, and there should be things that you can access. Movement that you can access no matter where you're at with your body, your size, your your mobility. Yoga is an internal journey.

Speaker 3:

And we you know, in the West, we've really commercialized it to become to be this very popular in in exercise form. But at the truth of the the truth of the of yoga is truly that it's a journey going inward, movement being one part of that journey. Just like I talked about today with these mini, like, hands on things that I would consider that a 100% yoga. So yoga is very accessible. And, you know, if I also am incredibly geek.

Speaker 3:

I geek out on anatomy, and I train teachers on how to get really specific about working with people in their physical alignment. So so, you know, if you're if you wanna nerd out with me in any of that, you can you can check out what I have available. But I just say that for people to really to not be afraid to try. And if you are if you are uncomfortable in the environment, then try something then try a different class. Try something else.

Speaker 3:

Or reach out to me. I'll be happy to help.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. No. That's great. You know what? It's it's I'm glad you said it that way.

Speaker 2:

I I have always struggled to get into yoga even though I'm open to all kinds of different modalities of mindfulness and also physical activity. I'm always been an athlete. I've always been into fitness. And for whatever reason or not, it's like something I go back to. I I struggle with it.

Speaker 2:

Like, I can't quiet my mind or the class is too long or it's too busy or something like that. But when you so it makes me wanna go and retry it again, especially when you say that, oh, it's been commercialized in a lot of ways, unfortunately, and it is more around a lot of what we talked about today instead of just a workout, you know?

Speaker 3:

Well, yeah. That's gonna be teacher dependent and, you know, so I I suggest that people also read teachers' bios and, you know, is this person is this person more interested in teaching a workout class? Are they gonna you know, am I gonna actually is it an alignment? Is how this person's teaching in alignment with what I'm looking for? And for some of us, it is a workout.

Speaker 3:

And there's nothing wrong with that. So just understanding what your own expectations are and then doing your research so that you can get in a good aligned space.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. That's that's really good to know. I mean, everything I else I'm an entrepreneur, a hustler, and if I don't find the answer that I wanna, I always go and just find it until I do. Yeah. So it's good to know that I should do that here too.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. If you really wanna explore yoga and there's so many ways of you know, like I said, movement is just one way to access what yoga has to offer. So

Speaker 2:

Well, Rachel, this has been amazing. It was a fun conversation. We got to dive into a lot of things that I actually feel passionate about as well, and and I know you do, and you're very knowledgeable on those. So thanks for coming on. Before we go, though, I wanna give a chance for anybody that's listening to find out more about anything that you're working on, where they could find you and maybe contact you if they wanted to reach out and learn more?

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So there's two spaces that you can contact me at. There's my physical space, which is you can find at thriveyogaoc.com. That's here in Oregon. And then we do offer all of our classes live stream and in person.

Speaker 3:

So I always like to say that if you wanna take a class with me or one of my teachers, no matter where you are out in the world, you can do your first class for free. You can live stream in if you want to. If you're interested in my nervous system regulation programs and or becoming a yoga teacher and alignment based yoga specialist, you can still access me through that site, but there's also another site. I have a university called Yoga Oak University, and that's where I do my brain body, heart work, nervous system regulation, and and teacher trainings.

Speaker 2:

Yes. I love it. And I I might be one of your new students there attending one of your online streaming classes.

Speaker 3:

Excellent. That would be super fun.

Speaker 2:

Alright. Well, thanks so much again for coming. It was my pleasure to speak with you, and appreciate it.

Speaker 3:

Thank you. It's been super fun for me too.