From my nervous system to yours 💛

Nourishing tools to calm the chaos & show up for ourselves

Golden September Edition 🌻 While we’ve been blessed with the most gorgeous weather across Germany, I've had some oddly anxious days for no apparent reason. It heightened when I accidentally left behind the iced matcha I'd ordered and paid for earlier this week but forgot to take with me. I walked out and left it behind, I still can't quite believe it!

Do you sometimes find yourself lost in distractions, unaware of the present, and have even experienced that intense craving for something you cannot have?

The emotions that bubble up in such moments are worth exploring.

We all have days that aren’t picture-perfect, don’t we? But who's to say what's right or wrong? It's a journey, learning to navigate, relearn, repattern and hold ourselves through the spectrum of emotions, all the gentle ones and the intense ones. We have a choice as adults now even if we didn’t learn the tools as a child.

Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. Haruki Murakami

Let me paint a scene for these big and small emotions to be witnessed that were stirred up with the forgotten matcha latte. It’s 8:30 p.m. on one of the last hot summer days and likely the final heat wave this year. Peak summer warmth in the golden evening air, July vibes, almost. Anyways, I’m on the train, sweaty from carrying a heap of bags. Ready to lean back. I thought…

All I can think of is that iced matcha. Anxiety creeping in, what‘s wrong with me, how could I just walk out and forget it on the countertop?

I wanted to look out the window and watch the sun beginning to set, casting a warm, nostalgic glow. But it's not the sunset that's filling me with nostalgia now, it's the thought of the Pret a Manger store at the train station earlier. (I didn't even know we had them in Germany!) My heart skipped a beat when I saw it.

You see, Pret a Manger stores have become synonymous with London for me. It's a reminder of all those years I spent in the UK, sipping on countless matcha lattes, (and some hot chocolates, no coffee). It's incredible how the smallest things can bring us the most joy and sometimes, well, light anxiety.

While I was reflecting on the train, the ice in my paper cup had surely melted into a pool of matcha memories sitting on the napkin station, where I had left it. It's an annoying thought, but at least I have my favourite baguette (avocado, sundried tomatoes, roasted pine nuts) to console me now. And to top it off, the seat next to me is empty, a small delight on this crowded train. Those who travel by train more often know the feeling of freedom that creeps in.

With four hours ahead of me on this journey, I have plenty of time now to ponder why I've been feeling like a headless chicken all week. Forgetting what I wanted to do halfway between leaving a browser tab and opening a new one, between putting shoes on and leaving the house and, well, leaving my iced matcha behind with the napkins.

The last two weeks were quite strange. Did you experience that, too?

Weather changes, colder nights, some more hot days in Europe. Unexpected communication problems and my head was in too many places, overflowing with creative ideas and balancing these with tasks that needed attention. I was overwhelmed today by simple tasks like doing laundry and moping the floor.

Some say it’s the stars, the retrograde return but I’m no astrologer, unfortunately. Others blame the back-to-school vibes for putting an end to everyone’s free-flowing summer rhythms. Or the shift from summer to autumn externally and within. But in the grand scheme of things, does the "why" even matter? Do we need a reason for days like these? Some things don’t need explanations.

My first response when I realised I had left the matcha latte behind was self-judgment: I caught myself thinking I should have been more present, setting an example of unwavering calm. After all, I'm a yoga teacher, sound therapist, and corporate well-being expert. I shouldn't be struggling, should I? But on days like these, I remind myself:

No one can be 100% present, mindful, and lead a completely conscious life all the time. All these feelings are part of being human.

I could have snapped at the conductor for daring to check my ticket twice! I could have stewed in misery throughout the four-hour train ride, drowning in regrets and annoyance, and perhaps even sent a bunch of angry messages to my loved ones. We've all been there, right?

Instead, I chose to take it lightly. Maybe that cold drink wouldn't have been so enjoyable on an ice-cold, air-conditioned train in the evening. Yes, it feels like 4.70 Euros down the drain for nothing. I could go on, searching for lessons or reasons, but life simply carries on. It's about feeling those emotions, anger frustration, annoyance, and regret in my case, and then letting them go.

For me, an embodiment practice helps a lot. It shifts our focus from our minds back into our bodies. After all, that's where we truly reside.

So, here's a glimpse into my personal toolbox of practices that help me navigate days like these, and I believe they might be helpful for you too:

In moments where I struggle, I pick one of the following practices:

• Heart Connection: I find solace in the simple act of touching my chest. It's a reminder that I'm here, and I focus on my breath - my chest gently rising and falling with each inhale and exhale. It's a calming rhythm we can connect to.

• Tapping: collarbone or slightly below. This EFT-inspired, scientifically backed and peer-reviewed method can reduce anxiety and signals our mind to calm down. Focus on your breath as you gently tap, and observe as mind and body slow down. Continue until you feel different. 1 min. already helps me.

• Shaking It Off: When I feel like I am just not fully myself, I shake off any frustration and other emotions that are present. If needed, I brush my body down from head to toe to come more in connection with myself again, it brings me back into my body, especially when my mind feels scattered.

• Humming: A gentle, self-soothing practice that research shows can reduce stress, induce calmness, enhance sleep, lower heart rate and blood pressure, and trigger the release of oxytocin, the love hormone. Great for babies and adults alike.

These practices are my anchors, especially on days like today. You can find me practising them in any shape or form that is doable in the situation I’m in, such as waiting in a queue, on the train toilet, cycling, or at my desk.

Two of my varying daily non-negotiables that serve as my strong foundation:

• I try to journal daily and pay attention to my mood, energy, focus, and monthly shifts in my body. This way I can see repeating waves of peaks and lows and draw connections to external factors and the internal rhythms of my female body.

• When I finally arrive home tonight, likely past midnight, I'll indulge in a calming shower, the water helps my nervous system to slow down. It’s my (almost) daily nighttime routine that washes off and flushes down the drain anything I want to release from the day. Works almost like magic.

What's in your toolbox? I'm curious to know.
I invite you to share your go-to practices in the comments below.

Perhaps it’s listening to music, meditating, dancing, doing a handstand or singing?

Things I overheard and inspired me this week

I had the chance to overhear a conversation between a couple from Southeast Asia, and it got me thinking. The topic was yoga.
In a nutshell, they talked about a specific upsetting experience the guy had encountered in a local yoga studio. His partner offered a perspective that resonated with me. She said that regardless of how it's done at that particular studio, it doesn’t change yoga in itself, yoga for her, for him, and for anyone who wants to practice it differently from the people at the studio.
She acknowledged that cultural appropriation might likely be a sad reality in the case he described and should be addressed appropriately. And still, we all have a choice, she suggested. A choice to find our own path and not practice with people or studios that don't align with our truth.

Change the perspective and reframe the status quo to find solutions that help us move forward. 💛

Travelling continuously inspires me to reflect on what I call home and why. Sharing with you here some impressions from the Bavarian Alpine region, where I grew up and returned to last year.

What I loved reading this week: all about love, magic, writing, autumn, and rooting ourselves this season.

More on the shift from summer to autumn by

Lyndsay Kaldor

“There is a depth to this corner of the calendar, as although it is a month of harvesting abundance, it is also a time of clearing, with layers to peel away. There is a release of expectations and a return to routine, a reset and a refresh. To me, it signals a time to let go of summer dreaming, instead turning inwards to take stock, to sift and refine.”

Stacey Langford

wrote about “How do we root ourselves and claim all the benefits therein, in a world designed to uproot us? I know how lucky I am to be here.” → my favourite topic my Substack is dedicated to, so I highly recommend reading her view.

We all need a little bit more magic in our lives, don’t we? I have a feeling that all lovers of letters and misty landscapes will enjoy the captivating exchange across the pond. If you’re curious and want to wrap your “head around the idea that this thing I call magic might have a physical home in the body…”. By

Laura Pashby

.

Jenna Newell Hiott started a beautiful thread on Notes where everyone shared incredible synchronicities from their life. Proof of real-life magic in the everyday.

Have you ever written for the sake of writing, without an agenda, expectations and maybe even a deadline?

Claudia Wilde

wrote about how so “often we get stuck or limit ourselves by writing and creating for the fulfilment and joy of others. So much so that we forget to put pen to paper solely for the simple pleasures of regaining perspective, allowing our own thoughts to emerge without judgment.”

And of course, this section isn’t complete without mentioning that

Elizabeth Gilbert

joined Substack and added a whole lot more love to the space with LETTERS FROM LOVE.

Have you made it all the way to the end?

If you’re still with me, I hope you didn’t forget to drink your iced beverage of choice before melted or hot tea before it cooled down…

Thank you for being here as you are prioritising yourself, for reading what energies you, for making space to reflect, for exploring the seasons in a more embodied way, and for nourishing your mind, heart and body.

Stay well, until next time!