Your Nervous System Isn't Broken (But The System Is)

Nothing. Absolutely Nothing Is Wrong With You.

As a bodyworker (LMT) and nervous system expert in Louisville, KY. I work with burned-out caregivers, activists, chronic pain warriors, and anyone who's forgotten how to rest. Right now? I'm one of them.

My jaw is clenched. My shoulders are up around my ears. I'm doom-scrolling at 2 am even though I know better.

And I'm telling you: that's exactly how your body should be responding right now.

The last twelve months have been an onslaught of "once in a lifetime" experiences piled on top of each other. Our rights are being stripped. People are being kidnapped and shot by ICE during immigration raids. Folks are protesting in literal ice storms because what the fuck else are we supposed to do? A winter storm just affected over two-thirds of our country, plummeting the South into some of the coldest days it's ever had.

Loss of income. Loss of childcare. Loss of human rights. Loss of heat. Loss of life.

Your body is holding all of this.

The terror. The grief. The rage. And that's why you can't sleep. That's why your jaw hurts. That's why your hips are locked up, your neck is stiff, and your breathing is shallow.

This isn't a "you" problem—it's a systemic response to systemic violence.

Why Wellness Culture Is Failing Us Right Now

You get on Instagram—maybe for a laugh, a recipe, something to distract yourself from the chaos—and you're met with healers online telling you to breathe deeper and ignore what's going on in the world so you can feel peaceful.

Bury your head in the sand for a regulated nervous system!

Give me a fat break... and a blunt.

Look, I know this sounds heavy. And yeah, I'm being dramatic. But I'm also dead serious. Because pretending everything is fine when it's not? That's not healing. That's gaslighting.

If one more wellness influencer tells me to stop "spreading fear" by talking about what's actually happening in our country, I might pick up smoking cigarettes again and quit this industry altogether.

But here's the thing: I can't quit. Because you need this work.

Not the "love and light" bullshit. The real work. The kind that acknowledges that your body is a battleground right now and gives it a place to land anyway.

Barefoot (Sarga) bodywork spreads pressure across your whole body like a weighted blanket. Your nervous system reads that as safety. Your muscles finally get the signal that it's okay to let go.

TMJ and jaw work releases the rage you've been clenching. The words you couldn't say. The screams you've been holding back. Even if you don't think you're angry, your jaw knows.

We go at the speed of trust—yours. Because consent-based bodywork in a world that doesn't ask permission? That's radical.

Rest isn't retreat. It's resistance.

Because they want you exhausted, numb, and checked out. And we're not giving them that.

So What Do We Actually Do?

How do we deal with this chronic dysregulated state we're all in as a population?

Here's my take—and it's not just "breathe deeper."

#1: Rest So You Can Fight

You need to get regulated enough to take action. Not complacent. Not checked out. Regulated enough to get your shit together.

That means learning how to actually rest. No, we aren't scrolling on our phones with Netflix on in the background. That stresses your brain more. (I know you didn't want to hear that one.)

Resting isn't about keeping us complacent. It's about being able to continue showing up in ways that matter to our community.

Your rest is sacred. Protect it.

We cannot help the resistance if we are burnt out, exhausted, and checked out because of the barrage of information thrown at us daily, on top of the daily tasks we already have to do to survive.

#2: Use Your Stress to Move You

Recognize that stress—dysregulation—when it's not chronic, can push us into action. We need it to move us.

Acute stress and acute dysregulation are good. They force change when acted upon and not suppressed.

(Chronic stress? Well, that's not as good. Which is why I'm still employed, and what it does to our brains and bodies is a topic for another day.)

#3: Action Makes You Feel Less Helpless

When we are moved to action, we feel less helpless. When we feel less helpless, we feel less overwhelmed and are less likely to check out of our reality.

The whole point is to allow ourselves to get fired up and then let that move us into positive action.

Find ways to help. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Now is not the time to reinvent the wheel. There are so many local and national organizations already doing the work—many of them just want some of your time or your platform. Show up ready to support however that works.

Or stay within your neighborhood and give rides to people who can't get to work safely due to the ice (political or climate, ya feel me?). Offer to babysit so that your neighbor can work an extra shift. Volunteer at a local food pantry.

Keep it simple. But do something so that your stress energy doesn't consume you. Show up for your community and the causes you care about.

Even donating money can help move energy. And money moves people. A lot of good can be done with lots of small donations.

#4: Gather

Get together with people with no other agenda than to be in each other's presence.

We don't need a brand new way to relate—we just need to break bread with people in their homes. What happened to potlucks and bbqs?

Host or gather somewhere free, like a library or a park. Call up a few people you love and have a real conversation about how they're doing. Make a plan to gather. It could be a book club, a weekend walk, a potluck, learning a new skill at the tool library, or volunteering together at a food pantry. Whatever you decide—make it happen.

Your nervous system loves community. Give that to yourself.

Get to know your friends beyond what they do for work and their latest dating horror story. Maybe you have skills you could teach each other. Stay creative.

We are nothing without each other.

Think Globally, Act Locally

A term I was raised on by my restorative justice-driven parents: "Think globally, act locally."

What you do within your own community can change the world.

You and your dysregulated nervous system can change the world by hosting a clothing swap with friends, starting a book club, driving your neighbor to work, and donating to a local mutual aid fund for folks who need housing.

It doesn't have to be complicated. And you'll feel better.

And when your body needs support to keep doing all of this?

That's where I come in.

Why Bodywork Isn't Frivolous Right Now

Here's what I want you to understand: Booking a session with me isn't self-care. It's strategic.

You can't pour from an empty cup, sure. But more importantly? You can't burn it all down if you're burnt out.

The people lying on my table are caregivers, activists, helpers, organizers, parents trying to keep their kids safe, queer folks navigating terror, and people in chronic pain who still have to show up.

They need their bodies to work. They need to sleep. They need to unclench their jaws so they can speak. They need their nervous systems to land somewhere safe for sixty to ninety minutes so they can go back out and fight.

My studio is that place.

Consent-based bodywork in a world that doesn't ask permission is radical. Deep, slow pressure that tells your nervous system, "you can rest here" while everything outside is burning? That's not indulgence. That's resourcing yourself for the long fight ahead.

Rest is how we resource ourselves to keep showing up.

And I see my work as community care, not luxury. Because bodies hold trauma—and bodies can heal. And when your body feels safe enough to release what it's been holding, you get to show up differently in the world.

No More Love and Light

So no more love and light.
No more trying to always have a regulated nervous system.
Burying your head in the sand because the news stresses you out is not a solution either.

Here, we take action.

We care about our communities and stay informed enough to take action to change the world.

Go out and be the change you want to see in the world. Use that dysregulated nervous system to make the world a better place.

And when your body needs a place to land so you can keep going?

I'm here. Book a session. We'll go slow. We'll go deep. We'll go at the speed of trust—yours.

We are going to be okay. We just have to remember how to gather and help each other.