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I Did Insight Timer’s Nervous System Reset Challenge

Photo by Artem Podrez on Pexels.com

… and I’m super happy I did.

I am trying to bring more thoughtful language into my bodywork practice, especially when it comes to the newer services I am offering. I have a lot of training under my belt, but I’m not terribly great at verbalizing in the moment.

Doing this challenge–and consequently, taking notes so I can re-process wording–is helping me curate the language I’m seeking to create.

However, it’s also equipped me with some fascinating new tools. Having been around this field for a long time now, I don’t often feel like many new ideas are added to the wellness community. Well–other than the plethora of new scientific discoveries supporting that which we already experience and know.

See, I forget I’ve lived in a child-induced cave for the past ten years. This practice was a good reminder that while ‘breathe in, breathe out’ is a golden standby and will always be, fresh wording can be created to engage the brain and reset the nervous system.

Insight Timer’s challenge lasted twelve days. However, I freely admit I did have to double up some days due to weekend shenanigans. Even so, the sessions were ten minutes or less for most of them. For those who feel a time crunch, it was perfect to get a meditative activity in each day without surrendering a “to-do” on your never ending list.

Six Notables of the Twelve Sessions

  • Vagal. The repetition of breathing in for three breaths, and out for three breaths over and over again for several minutes without a break was simple and effective. The lasting effects of doing it for more than just a few cycles of breath made a difference.
  • Body-Based Grounding. Beyond just sussing out where a body part is touching something for awareness, you were guided through a series of actions and assessment which added depth to the meditation. Feel the support of what you’re touching, then the weight of what you’re touching. Add pressure, then release, noticing what you are left behind with. Is it warm? Is it cool, tingly? You work with one point at a time, settle, then do a little stretch. Ingenious.
  • Five-Finger Tracing. Why have I never heard of this?! (Oh yeah, the cave thing.) I’ve taught my son another variation of this finger tracing. Unfortunately, while he loved it and asked me to share it with him again, naturally I couldn’t remember exactly how to do it. This method however, is super easy to remember. All you do is trace the outside of your fingers with the index finger from your opposite hand. Breathe in on the outside, exhale on the inside. It engages various senses to disrupt an unwanted cyclical pattern in your brain.
  • Extended Exhale Breathing. You’ve got to be in it to win this one. It was hard to do. I knew it would be, yes, from personal experience as an asthmatic, but also from yoga training suggesting asthmatics nevvveeeer do breathing like this. If you are up to the challenge, you can really extend the exhale. Beyond the six seconds. Breathe in for four to six seconds, but out eight to ten seconds. What?! The second time I practiced this meditation, I managed to do it without coughing. It definitely breaks up monotonous thought patterns, but heed with caution! It is not safe for everyone.
  • Humming for Calm. Sure, we’ve all OMMMMMed at some point in our lives, but this was different. This was led as a directed practice to hum your own sounds for a bit, then stop, then do it again. Maybe I enjoyed as much as I did because of the directional approach to humming rather than it being open-ended.
  • Regulating Through the Eyes. This was really interesting. I’ve tried EMDR before, but to use your eyes in meditation as a way to look without attaching judgment was new to me.

In Conclusion

Insight Timer often offers challenges you can do for free. If challenges aren’t your jam, you can also find random sessions of many different types, including energy sessions. There are sounds, and as the name suggests, a timer you can use for background sounds during your unguided meditation. It’s a pretty cool app with a lot to offer! It’s been around for a while now, but the improvements I’ve seen in the past several years are nothing short of miraculous.

This OMMMtastic post is brought to you by Allison of Nani Lotus Bodywork, & powered by Meditating Squirrel. AI was not used in crafting this article, thus, all errors belong to Allison. Also–she is in no way affiliated with Insight Timer, although, truth be told, she did upload a kid’s meditation once, which was rejected due to sound quality. Will she try again? That is the question.

Thank you for reading! Please support this blog with a one-time donation, or by sharing it with others.

Small Moves, Better Days: Practical Ways to Support Daily Health

Image: Pexels

By Guest Blogger Bella Reilly

Everyday well-being isn’t built on grand overhauls; it grows from steady, repeatable choices that fit naturally into real life. When routines feel manageable, they’re more likely to stick—and that’s where meaningful change begins. The ideas below focus on simple strategies that quietly improve how you feel, think, and function day to day.

Quick Takeaways 

  • Small habits compound faster than occasional big efforts.
  • Movement, rest, and mental engagement work best when they’re consistent.
  • Organization reduces stress just as much as nutrition or exercise.
  • Learning and self-care can be practical, not indulgent.
  • Support systems and tools make healthy choices easier to maintain.

Gentle Habits That Anchor the Day

Daily well-being often hinges on rhythm. Waking up at roughly the same time, getting a few minutes of natural light, and eating regular meals help stabilize energy and mood. Hydration is another quiet lever; keeping a water bottle nearby tends to improve focus and reduce afternoon fatigue. These habits aren’t flashy, but they form the baseline that allows everything else to work better.

Keeping Health Information Organized and Accessible

Managing your health is easier when important documents aren’t scattered or forgotten. Digitizing records like lab results, prescriptions, and visit summaries allows quick reference during appointments or unexpected situations. Having a single, tidy digital folder often reduces anxiety because you know exactly where to look. Saving these files as PDFs helps preserve formatting and makes them easy to share across devices. Using tools for adding, reordering, deleting, or rotating pages keeps everything current without starting over. Learn more about guidelines for inserting pages into a PDF.

Moving the Body Without Making It a Chore

Movement doesn’t require a gym membership or a perfect plan. Walking during phone calls, stretching while waiting for coffee, or doing a brief mobility routine before bed all count. The goal is circulation and joint health, not exhaustion. Over time, these low-effort choices reduce stiffness, support cardiovascular health, and make more demanding activities feel less intimidating.

Learning as a Form of Mental Self-Care

Mental well-being thrives on curiosity and growth. Lifelong learning keeps the mind engaged, builds confidence, and creates a sense of forward motion that counters stagnation. Choosing a program aligned with your goals matters; for instance, someone focused on leadership or operations might explore bachelor in business administration programs to strengthen skills across accounting, communication, and management. Online degree options make this accessible, allowing learning to fit around work, family, and existing routines. 

Making Healthy Choices Stick

Consistency improves when decisions are made ahead of time and kept simple.

  • Choose one habit to focus on for two weeks.
  • Attach it to an existing routine, like mornings or evenings.
  • Keep the effort level intentionally low.
  • Track completion with a quick note or calendar check.
  • Adjust only after the habit feels automatic.

Comparing Everyday Wellness Supports

Different strategies serve different needs, and variety keeps routines flexible.

Focus AreaSimple ApproachEveryday Benefit
Physical energyShort walks or light stretchingBetter circulation and mood
Mental clarityLearning something new weeklyImproved confidence and focus
Stress reductionOrganized health informationLess anxiety during appointments
RecoveryBody-based relaxation practicesImproved sleep and calm

Integrating Bodywork Into Everyday Wellness

Stress often settles in the body before the mind notices it. Holistic services from Nani Lotus Bodywork, including therapeutic massage, reflexology, and Reiki, offer accessible ways to release tension and restore balance. These approaches support relaxation, circulation, and a sense of groundedness that complements everyday habits like movement and sleep. Exploring offerings from Nani Lotus Bodywork can help create a routine that nurtures both physical comfort and mental ease.

Practical Questions About Everyday Wellness Choices

If you’re weighing which steps to prioritize, these questions often come up when people move from interest to action.

How quickly can small health changes make a difference?
Some effects, like improved mood or energy, appear within days of consistent habits. Physical changes usually take longer, but momentum builds early. The key is noticing subtle improvements and letting them reinforce the routine.

Is it better to change multiple habits at once or one at a time?
Focusing on one habit at a time tends to work better for long-term consistency. Once it feels automatic, adding another becomes easier. This approach reduces overwhelm and decision fatigue.

Do digital tools really help with stress and health management?
Yes, especially when they reduce uncertainty. Having records and plans organized lowers cognitive load during already stressful moments. That mental relief often translates into better overall well-being.

How does learning impact mental health beyond career benefits?
Learning stimulates curiosity and provides a sense of progress. It can improve self-efficacy and reduce feelings of stagnation. These psychological benefits extend well beyond professional outcomes.

Are body-based therapies useful if I already exercise and eat well?
They complement those habits by supporting recovery and relaxation. Exercise builds strength, while bodywork helps release accumulated tension. Together, they create a more balanced approach to wellness.

Closing Thoughts

Everyday health is less about perfection and more about alignment. When habits fit your life, they become sustainable rather than stressful. By combining simple routines, organized information, ongoing learning, and intentional self-care, well-being becomes something you live—not something you chase. Small moves, repeated daily, quietly shape better days.

Bella Reilly knows the wellness struggle. For years she bounced from fad diet to trendy wellness treatment, back and forth and back and forth, leaving both her and her bank account feeling depleted. Eventually, she had to say, enough is enough. She began carefully researching wellness trends to find the best, most affordable options for her. At Well Now Shop, she shares some of the tips and advice she has gathered from her ongoing wellness research

No A.I. was used in crafting this article.

Sustainable Ambition: Balancing Well-Being and Momentum When Starting a Side Hustle

By Guest Blogger Zack Spring

Starting a side hustle is an act of optimism, you’re building something of your own. But the excitement of creation can quickly slide into exhaustion. The hardest part isn’t starting, it’s sustaining your pace without sacrificing yourself along the way.

Key Takeaways

  • Burnout prevention is business infrastructure, not indulgence.
  • Energy management and structure outperform raw effort.
  • Outsourcing administrative chaos accelerates clarity.
  • Recovery must be systematized, not improvised.
  • Momentum thrives on rhythm, not relentlessness.

When Drive Turns into Drain

In the first months, your ambition fuels every late night. But eventually, that same drive can turn toxic if it’s not managed. Burnout often arrives disguised as productivity—it feels like progress until you crash.

The truth: consistent energy, not endless effort, builds lasting results. Learn to notice the early warnings: fatigue that no caffeine fixes, irritability during simple tasks, or that subtle resentment toward your own project. That’s not a weakness. It’s a sign your system needs recalibration.

Replace Hustle with Systems

You can’t outwork chaos. Systems replace the daily scramble with a predictable flow, freeing your brain to focus on what matters.

ChallengeReplace WithResult
Endless micro-decisionsWeekly focus frameworkFewer cognitive drains
Overwork cyclesStructured task windowsSustainable output
Admin overloadAutomated tools or templatesTime reclaimed for strategy
Constant mental clutterProcess documentationMental clarity restored

Structure is not restriction, it’s self-respect. It ensures your creativity survives the operational grind.

Reducing Friction Through Smart Delegation

The early stage of a side hustle is fertile ground for overwhelm: business registration, tax setup, compliance, branding. But not everything needs your personal bandwidth. Platforms like ZenBusiness streamline formation, legal filings, and administrative tasks so you can focus on the work that generates value.

Outsourcing complexity is not laziness, it’s optimization. By freeing up mental energy, you shift from being a task executor to a strategic founder. The goal isn’t doing more, it’s doing only what moves the needle.

Energy Protection Protocol: How to Stay Centered

Before you build momentum, you need to protect the foundation: your physical, emotional, and cognitive energy. Think of this as operational hygiene for your mind.

This isn’t about slowing down, it’s about ensuring that your energy is renewable. Without maintenance, every hustle eventually burns through its fuel source: you.

Build Momentum That Doesn’t Break You

Once your energy system is stable, growth becomes a matter of direction and leverage. Building sustainable momentum is less about grinding harder and more about compounding smartly.

  • Prioritize leverage tasks, projects that create recurring benefit (content, automation, partnerships).
  • Establish weekly review rituals to identify what’s actually producing returns.
  • Set quarterly goals, not daily to-do lists, to zoom out and stay strategic.
  • Limit the number of concurrent priorities to three; momentum dies in diffusion.
  • Create checkpoints for celebration; acknowledging progress sustains motivation.

Momentum, when built correctly, feels steady, not frantic. It’s forward motion powered by clarity, not caffeine.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When should I outsource versus learn it myself?
If a task repeats and doesn’t teach you something new, outsource it. Founders often mistake self-sufficiency for efficiency, but learning everything slows growth. Hire or automate anything that doesn’t build your core skill advantage.

2. How do I know if burnout or misalignment is the issue?
Burnout feels like exhaustion without clarity; misalignment feels like resistance even when rested. The fix differs; rest restores the first, refocus cures the second. If you’re recharged but still resentful, it’s not your energy, it’s your direction.

3. What should I invest in first: marketing or systems?
Always systems. Marketing multiplies whatever foundation you have, so if your operations are disorganized, amplification only magnifies inefficiency. Build a scalable base, then invite attention.

4. How do I communicate boundaries with clients or collaborators?
Clarity earns respect. Set expectations at the beginning of every project: availability hours, response times, and deliverable timelines. Boundaries are invisible contracts; when you uphold them, others trust you more, not less.

5. When is it safe to leave my full-time job?
Leave when your side income covers both living costs and recovery capacity. If you can’t sustain your current quality of life with time left for rest, you’ll replace one burnout source with another. A smooth transition is strategic, not timid.

6. What’s the biggest mental shift needed to scale?
Stop identifying as a worker and start thinking like a system architect. Workers optimize hours; architects optimize flow. The moment you treat your hustle like infrastructure, your time becomes a multiplier, not a limitation.

Conclusion

Sustaining a side hustle is a design problem disguised as a discipline problem. Self-care isn’t the opposite of growth, it’s the engine that powers it. By protecting your energy, delegating intelligently, and structuring your momentum, you build something more than a business, you build endurance. True success is measured not by output but by how whole you remain when success finally arrives.

Zack Spring works as a tech consultant, which requires him to travel frequently. He also enjoys running and cycling, staying as active as possible. He created TravelFit.info to encourage his readers to stay active while traveling.

No A.I. was used in crafting this article.

Reiki Infused Holiday Simmer

It’s recipe time!

I will be selling these at my bodywork location over the holidays, but you can also make or tweak your own. Now, I have an old dehydrator that was created with dried fruit in mind, but you could also try to dry out your pieces via a stove, at about 200 degrees, for 3+ hours.

My recipe includes:

fresh rosemary sprigs; dried cranberries; dried lemons; dried oranges (like mandarins or halos); cinnamon sticks.

Things you can add in: cloves, cardamom, other fruits and spices you find pleasing.

Spices & Everything Nices

To use:

Put ingredients into a pot of water on your stove. Boil to start, then set to simmer. Add water when it gets low. Don’t burn your house down!!! Don’t leave it unattended, and don’t leave it on overnight.

Enjoy. Find immense happiness with the way your house smells.

Created with lots of love, and Reiki infused throughout the entire process!

Ready to Rumble!

Synesthesia A-HA Moment

The Telepathy Tapes season two is out, and don’t worry–I’ll comment more on that as a whole later. But I personally had an a-ha moment last week that I’d like to share. I was listening to The Telepathy Tapes about synesthetes, and I got caught in a spiral.

I’m not sure why I’m surprised, but I am.

If you’ve taken workshops with me, you know that I tend to over-share resources about the topic at hand. I don’t want your exploration to stop with whatever it is I’m talking about–I want your journey to continue! I want your knowledge about a topic to far surpass mine.

I’m not sure when I first learned about synesthesia, but I can pinpoint a date to the article about it that I share with my students. The article here by Jess Dunham about an artist named Melissa McCracken who “sees” music, and then paints it, is dated March 31, 2017.

So we can assume I’ve known about synesthesia since at least then. But what is synesthesia? Cleveland Clinic considers it a phenomena where (when?!) a person’s brain connects two or more senses in an unusual experience–in relation to the general population anyhow. Common examples are tasting words, or having certain colors appear related to numbers or letters.

Yes! Here I go writing about the brain again!

There’s a “primary effect” of your brain processing a sense–say, hearing your favorite song being played. That is processed as sound. With synesthesia, however, it doesn’t stop there. When you process the sound, another part of your brain filters that sound, and the next thing you know you see a flash of green across your eyes, either while closed, or open. This would be the “secondary effect”.

In the case of the article I share in my classes, the artist then creates unique paintings about what she sees when she hears a song. It’s fascinating.

There are so many different types of associations one could have with synesthesia, and the ones I knew about did not seem to apply to me. Even so, I also know I’ve seen weird things that others haven’t. Heard things. Smelled things. Tasted things. But I’ve written them off as yes-they-happened, but they shall-remain-unexplained-experiences.

The reasons for them seemed elusive. My experiences are real, and it is what it is. Whatever that is. I assume there is a scientific reason for what I’ve experienced, but I know science is slow to explain things (it has to be!).

Last week I saw an (older) online video about these two women’s father who had aphantasia. (Watch it–it’s awesome.) I’ve known about this phenomenon too–it’s where your mind’s eye stays darkened. But I never thought that I could have any variation of it, or synesthesia for that matter.

It seems I can be daft.

I consider myself fairly visual. But could I have a variation of aphantasia, or maybe just not be as visual as I thought? Apparently the mind’s eye is on a spectrum. Where do you lie on it? I’m thinking I’m between darkness and somewhat vivid, depending on… well a lot of things.

This could be why I’ve never been able to draw from my mind’s eye. Maybe my mind’s eye is blank! But seeing something, with my optical nerve, well, that I can draw.

Seeing with my mind’s eye, it’s definitely up in my head, not in front of my eyes. I don’t know how else to describe it.

I can have crazy vivid and realistic dreams. I can also have black dreams, if you will, and a nonstop narrator. Doing some research, dreams apparently come from a different part of the brain than the mind’s eye.

But there are other “dreams” I have, dreams that are… incredibly realistic. And I’m lucid in them. Could that be astral travel? Where things are brighter than waking life, where I see darkness dissolve into a bright reality? Science does not support astral travel at this venture. Here’s an article about it.

Keep on this spiral with me. This all led me back to synesthesia, wondering if aphantasia and synesthesia were connected. (Right now, via science, they are not). Then this led me to the things that I do see, or things I have seen. You see, I’ve even written about emotional synesthesia in relation to whether or not you can see auras.

So, ding ding ding duh!

I decided maybe these colors mean I’m a stinking synesthete myself! I’ve been meditating more, watching the colors, fully enveloping them. What if they do mean something? What if I could utilize what I see to better help people when I’m doing bodywork?

While meditating last week, it expanded even more. Joy filled my body, and like a sparkler drawing a heart picture in slow motion for a photo, my darkened eyelids were breached. As I was lucid, I popped my eyes open in hilarity, excited about what I had just seen with my mind, rather than my optical nerve.

I’m assuming if I see a heart again I know that means joy to the fullest extent!

More memories unlocked. Of me seeing words spelled in my mind, or the fact that I math weird (per other people’s opinions–I think I math just fine, thank you very much). How about the time that I almost didn’t die, and I was considered pre-syncope, only I never felt like I was fainting at all. And I have fainted, so I know what that’s like.

Instead, I really felt like a part of my brain went black, a part that was not the optical nerve.

Naturally, I cannot quite figure out where I fit on the spectrum. I’ve overcomplicated it and brought in too many other factors–like dreams and astral travel. Perhaps this is me being on that wonderful wave of consciousness The Telepathy Tapes keeps bringing up, and these things are on my radar for a reason. Even if I’m slow – or overcomplicating (hey, ADHD!) — this whole personal exploration process of synesthesia.

More links:


This hyper blog post is brought to you by Allison of Nani Lotus Bodywork, & powered by her words via Meditating Squirrel. Thank you for reading! You can also support this blog with a one-time donation, or by sharing it with others.

BTW, AI was used in creating the digital pic, but these words, all mine! ❤