Spandex & Wine

You Do Not Have To Carry Stress Alone

If you’re the person everyone depends on, you probably know the moment when “I can handle it” quietly turns into “I can’t breathe.” We’re closing our nervous system regulation series with the most uncomfortable and most powerful tool of all: asking for help. We talk about the lie so many capable people carry that you should be able to fix everything on your own, and why that mindset confuses independence with isolation. I share my honest relationship with therapy, how I’ve processed hard parts of my story over time, and the question that keeps echoing for me: if we hire a trainer for physical health, why would emotional health deserve less support? We also explore what it looks like to build a real wellness team and a practical stress management plan, from professionals like therapists, dietitians, psychologists, and health coaches to everyday tools like breathwork, grounding, walking, and turning down stimulation. Finally, we touch on the gut brain axis and why gut health and mood are so closely linked, including how a daily probiotic can be one piece of the puzzle (without replacing professional care). The goal isn’t a perfect routine. It’s a nervous system toolbox you can actually use when life gets loud. If this helped you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who needs a steadier exhale today. What’s one kind of help you want to get better at asking for? Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/spandexandwine] Thanks so much for listening! Get all the info here: LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/spandexandwine] Instagram & Facebook: @spandexandwine Web Site: www.spandexandwine.com

Celebrate Freedom - America 250

Freedom is not just something we celebrate on a calendar. It’s the quiet stuff: waking up and going for a walk, lifting your grandkids, carrying groceries without thinking twice, taking a bike ride, hugging the people you love, and feeling your heartbeat after a hill. For this special holiday message, I’m pausing the nervous system regulation series to bring the idea of freedom closer to home, into the daily choices that shape our health, mobility, and joy.  We talk about how easy it is to take your body for granted until movement gets harder, and why that reality should not scare us, but wake us up. If you’ve been stuck in weight loss pressure, calorie counting, or trying to look a certain way, you’ll hear a different perspective: our bodies are created to move, not because movement “earns” food or burns calories, but because movement gives us life. Strength training becomes less about aesthetics and more about independence, longevity, and saying yes to the moments that matter.  We also go deeper than workouts and macros. I share why gratitude sits underneath every healthy habit, and how being thankful for your body changes the way you care for it. Instead of asking how to make your body smaller, we shift to a better question: how can you help your body serve you for the next 20 or 30 years? Expect a refreshing push away from all-or-nothing thinking and toward freedom from perfection, freedom from guilt, and freedom to choose joy.  If this message hits home, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, leave a five-star review, and share this with a friend who needs a reminder to celebrate their health today. What’s one way you’re choosing everyday freedom this week? Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/spandexandwine] Thanks so much for listening! Get all the info here: LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/spandexandwine] Instagram & Facebook: @spandexandwine Web Site: www.spandexandwine.com

Quiet Your Brain - Part 4 of 6

Your day might look “normal” but your nervous system could be interpreting it like a stress test. From the alarm clock on your phone to emails, headlines, social media, buzzing watches, background TV, and bedtime scrolling, we’re asking our brains to process nonstop information with almost no real pauses. When that input never lets up, it’s no surprise you end the day feeling irritable, overwhelmed, unfocused, or mentally exhausted even if you didn’t do anything physically hard. We dig into an idea that can change how you rest: scrolling isn’t relaxation, it’s distraction. Relaxation helps your nervous system settle and signals safety to your body, while distraction keeps feeding your brain new noise to process. We talk about why the nervous system often can’t tell the difference between stimulation and stress, and how “always on” living can quietly drive burnout, anxiety, and that wired-but-tired feeling. You’ll also get simple, realistic ways to reduce overstimulation without disappearing from real life: driving without the radio sometimes, keeping phones away from the dinner table, stepping outside for ten minutes without your device, reading instead of doomscrolling, and building a bedtime routine that turns the phone off at least 30 minutes before sleep. I also share a quick experiment to reveal your phone reflex and a gentle challenge to create five to ten minutes of true quiet each day. If this resonates, subscribe or follow Spandex and Wine, leave a five-star review, and share this with a friend who could use more calm and less noise. What’s one pocket of your day where you can try five minutes of quiet? Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/spandexandwine] Thanks so much for listening! Get all the info here: LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/spandexandwine] Instagram & Facebook: @spandexandwine Web Site: www.spandexandwine.com

Sensory Grounding For Instant Calm - Part 3 of 6

Anxiety has a sneaky way of time-traveling our brains, dragging us into worst-case futures, while rumination can keep us replaying the past on a loop. When that happens, sensory grounding is one of the fastest, most practical ways to come back to what is actually happening right now. We share why grounding helps the nervous system settle and how this kind of present-moment awareness connects to practices many of us already love, like yoga and mindful movement. We walk you through the 5-4-3-2-1 method step-by-step: five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste. We also make it real with a simple example from my favorite place, the screened-in porch, where noticing trees, birds, wind, and even a glass of water turns into a full-body reset. Along the way, we talk about easy, natural stress relief tools you can try immediately, like holding a cold drink, walking barefoot in the grass, listening for birds in the morning, and paying attention to the calming cue of green. Grounding is not about ignoring problems. It is about creating enough internal space to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting on autopilot. If you have been feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated, or stuck in your head, this is a small wellness practice with a big payoff, and it works for adults and kids. Try the daily challenge with us this week, then share what you noticed. Subscribe to Spandex and Wine, leave a five-star review, and send this to a friend who could use a calmer nervous system today. Here is Alenda Jacobson's episode I mentioned: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-vulnerability-leads-to-freedom-w-alenda-jacobson/id1706879663?i=1000722046898 Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/spandexandwine] Thanks so much for listening! Get all the info here: LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/spandexandwine] Instagram & Facebook: @spandexandwine Web Site: www.spandexandwine.com

How To Regulate Your Nervous System With Simple Breathing - Part 2 of 6

Your body is always reading signals from the outside world and from the inside of your chest. When stress ramps up, your breathing often becomes shallow and fast, and that pattern tells your nervous system to stay on alert. The good news is you have a built-in reset button you can use anywhere, anytime: intentional breathing. We kick off our series on nervous system regulation with breath work because it’s simple, free, and shockingly effective.  We share a personal story from early yoga training that still surprises me, sitting in quiet space, focusing on deep breathing, and seeing real change show up in my body. From there, we connect the dots to what many experts (including physical therapists working on things like pelvic floor function, low back pain, and movement form) keep coming back to: proper breathing supports better training, better recovery, and better sleep quality. We also talk through why breath is unique, it’s automatic, but you can consciously control it, which makes it one of the most practical tools for stress management.  You’ll learn how slowing your breath sends the message “I’m safe,” how that relates to the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), and why the goal is awareness, not perfection. Then we practice together with a calming 4-count inhale and 6-count exhale pattern, plus a cozy “hot chocolate breathing” technique you can use when you need to come back to the present moment. If this helps you, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review so more people can find these nervous system regulation tools. Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/spandexandwine] Thanks so much for listening! Get all the info here: LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/spandexandwine] Instagram & Facebook: @spandexandwine Web Site: www.spandexandwine.com