Maria Connolly, LPC
A very successful approach to controlling stress and achieving a lasting peace and calm is to live an embodied life by creating an inner peace and calm through learning to recognize and embrace your inner experience in an honest and curiosity-filled way. It means you’re aware of your total mind/body/spirit connection and you do things daily to nurture it.
This may surprise you: There’s a vast difference between having centering practices and being a centered person. A centering practice can regulate your nervous system for a few minutes. An embodied center changes who you are under pressure. A centering practice is something you do. An embodied center is how you live.
What happened to my client, Laura (not her real name), illustrates this well.
You already know this… life is fast-moving, and often, not in the direction you choose. Your days are filled with problem-solving, managing demands, and meeting deadlines. Granted, you accomplish a lot. However, there’s a downside: it keeps you living in your head. And when that happens, you can stay stuck in reactive mode, responding on autopilot, leaving little time to check in with yourself. As a result, and I’ve seen this in my clients so many times, the quiet wisdom in your body is unheard. So this is an invitation to come home to yourself, to find your way back to the subtle signals your body has been offering.
Fall has a way of pulling us into its whirlwind. The long, lingering days of summer give Life has a way of pulling us into its whirlwind. Deadlines, schedules, events, and the unspoken pressure to keep up seem relentless. Sometimes it feels like we have to force ourselves to relax and unwind, which can cause even more stress, rather than relieving it.
Slowing down may feel like a luxury you can’t afford, but here’s a new way of looking at it: rest isn’t the reward for finishing everything; it’s the foundation that makes everything in your life sustainable. It’s what fuels your energy, creativity, and clarity. Without it, you’re running on fumes.
Many women don’t actually know what rest feels like anymore. Even on vacation, the nervous system often stays in motion. We pack the schedule full, trying to make the most of every moment, or we collapse completely, using food, alcohol, scrolling, or sleep to recover from the pace we’ve been keeping for far too long. But neither busyness nor numbing truly restores us.
Real restoration happens when the body finally feels safe enough to soften.
For many high-achieving women, food isn’t just about nourishment. It’s about regulating your mood, energy, and performance. So there are many elements to consider when we’re looking at how food affects your mood.
You may eat between meetings. Or skip meals without noticing. You reach for something quick when your energy dips. At the end of the day, you unwind with something comforting, not because you’re hungry, but because your body is asking for relief.
And often, the conversation around food gets reduced to discipline. What you should eat. What you shouldn’t. What’s “good” and what’s “bad.” But that framework misses something essential. Your relationship with food isn’t just behavioral. It’s somatic. It lives in your nervous system.