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In this New Year episode of Nourish the Nervous System, we explore winter not as a time for pushing forward or reinventing ourselves, but as a season of subtlety, listening, and inward refinement.

Rather than loud resolutions or high-energy goals, winter invites a quieter kind of awareness — one that whispers instead of shouts. Through the Ayurvedic lens of Vata dosha and the Sanskrit quality sukshma (the subtle), we explore how this season affects the nervous system, our emotions, and our inner rhythms.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and honor sensitivity as a form of strength — not fragility.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why New Year’s energy can feel misaligned in the deep of winter
• The contrast between summer’s outward buzz and winter’s inward stillness
• Vata dosha in winter, with a focus on sukshma (the subtle quality)
• How winter heightens nervous system sensitivity and perception
• Subtle signs many people notice this time of year, including:
  • quiet or lingering fatigue
  • low-grade anxiety
  • emotional waves without a clear story
  • increased sensitivity to sound, light, and conversation
• Translating Ayurveda into modern language:
  • sensory processing
  • nervous system load
• Why “subtle” does not mean weak — it means attuned
• How winter can surface emotional material without anything being “wrong”
• The cultural pressure to feel “up” and productive — even in winter
• Honoring rest without slipping into stagnation or disconnection

Practical ways to support sukshma energy in winter:

• Softening the edges of your day and reducing transitions
• Creating sensory nourishment with dim lighting, quiet, and warmth
• Using warm oil (especially on the feet) to ground the nervous system
• Staying connected to intuition through journaling, somatic awareness, or creative expression
• Balancing subtlety with sthula (the gross, tangible quality) through grounding movement:
  • strength-based exercise
  • walking outdoors
  • using larger muscle groups
  • getting fresh air and natural light

Reflection questions for the week:

• What feels louder now that life is quieter?
• What is asking for attention?
• What no longer fits?

You’re invited to sit with these questions gently — through journaling, meditation, or simply noticing what arises.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Gentle Ayurvedic Guide to Perimenopause
• Rhythm & Ritual — a small-group seasonal cohort for perimenopause, Ayurveda, and somatic support
  • Spring and Fall cohorts
  • Focused on rhythm, nervous system regulation, and seasonal wisdom
  • Join the waitlist to learn more

Winter doesn’t ask us to fix ourselves. It

Resources:

Ayurvedic Dosha Quick Reference Guide

Abhyanga Self Massage Guide

Weekend Nervous System Reset

Nourished For Resilience Workbook


Find me at www.nourishednervoussystem.com

and @nourishednervoussytem on Instagram

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In this episode of The Nourished Nervous System, I’m joined by Dr. Nima Rahmany, chiropractor, educator, and creator of the Becoming Trigger-Proof methodology, for a deep and illuminating conversation about people pleasing, trauma responses, attachment patterns, and how nervous system healing transforms our relationships — with others and with ourselves.

Dr. Nima shares his personal journey from chiropractic care into somatic psychology and attachment work, shaped by his own experiences with ruptured relationships, trauma bonding, and nervous system dysregulation.

Together, we explore how stress, chronic illness, burnout, and relational conflict often stem from self-abandonment learned early in life — and how healing begins by turning inward.

This conversation weaves somatic awareness, polyvagal theory, shadow work, and attachment theory into a compassionate framework for understanding why so many of us struggle with boundaries, resentment, and emotional exhaustion.

In this episode, we explore:

• The fawn response and how people pleasing develops as a survival strategy
• Why self-abandonment often leads to burnout, autoimmunity, and chronic stress
• How childhood attachment wounds show up in adult relationships and parenting
• The difference between being boundaryless, walled-off, and elegantly boundaried
• Why resentment builds when we ignore our body’s “no”
• How shadow work helps us reclaim disowned parts of ourselves
• A somatic approach to working with triggers in real time
• What it actually means to be “regulated” — and why regulation doesn’t mean being calm all the time
• How to build resilience by increasing your capacity to feel, rather than suppress, emotion

Dr. Nima also walks us through a powerful, embodied example of how triggers with our children or partners can become doorways to healing unmet needs within ourselves — offering a practical, compassionate roadmap for rupture and repair.

This episode is especially supportive if you:

• Identify as a people pleaser or “the strong one”
• Struggle with guilt around saying no
• Feel chronically depleted despite doing “all the right things”
• Are navigating parenting, partnership, or work stress
• Sense that your nervous system is asking for a different way of relating

Resources mentioned:

• Website
• Dr. Nima Rahmany’s Attachment Style Quiz
• The Trigger-Proof Experience
• Facebook

Resources:

Ayurvedic Dosha Quick Reference Guide

Abhyanga Self Massage Guide

Weekend Nervous System Reset

Nourished For Resilience Workbook


Find me at www.nourishednervoussystem.com

and @nourishednervoussytem on Instagram

Send us a text

In this episode, I’m concluding our three-part series on Ayurveda and perimenopause with a deep dive into ojas — the subtle essence that governs vitality, immunity, resilience, and emotional steadiness.

We’re recording in the dark days of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and I begin by reflecting on how seasonal rhythms mirror the inner transitions many of us experience during perimenopause.

Just as nature turns inward in winter, this phase of life invites us to slow down, listen more closely, and tend ourselves with greater care.

In Ayurveda, perimenopause is not seen as a problem or a decline, but as a time of refinement — a transition into a wiser, more conserving phase of life.

Ojas becomes especially precious during this time, as rising vata (air and space) can draw on our reserves of vitality if we’re not supported.

In this episode, we explore:

• What ojas is from an Ayurvedic perspective — physically, energetically, and emotionally
• Why perimenopause is considered an ojas-sensitive window
• How hormonal shifts, stress, sleep disruption, and midlife responsibilities can affect ojas
• The relationship between rasa dhatu, agni, and ojas
• Signs of ojas depletion — emotionally and physically
• The difference between para ojas (essential, life-sustaining) and apara ojas (day-to-day, replenishable vitality)
• How ojas depletion can show up differently through vata, pitta, and kapha qualities
• Gentle, realistic ways to rebuild and protect ojas during perimenopause
• Why this phase is not a depletion story, but a recalibration of energy and vitality

This episode is an invitation to soften the narrative around perimenopause and to see it as a meaningful turning point: a time to protect the sacred nectar of vitality so we can move into the next phase of life feeling steadier, resourced, and radiant.

Resources mentioned:

• Free download: A Gentle Ayurvedic Guide to Perimenopause: Five Ways to Support Your Nervous System and Digestion
• Self-abhyanga (oil massage) practices
• Previous episodes in this series on Rasa and Agni

If this episode resonates with you, I’m also quietly preparing a spring offering that weaves together one-on-one Ayurvedic consultations, group support, yoga, somatic practices, and seasonal rhythm — you can join my mailing list to learn more when it’s ready.

• Join the WAITLIST for Rhythm & RItual: an Ayurvedic Journey for Perimenopause

Thank you so much for listening and for walking this transition with curiosity and care.

Resources:

Ayurvedic Dosha Quick Reference Guide

Abhyanga Self Massage Guide

Weekend Nervous System Reset

Nourished For Resilience Workbook


Find me at www.nourishednervoussystem.com

and @nourishednervoussytem on Instagram