It steals your joy first. It's time to take it back.

Greetings, Reader!

Last week, during the first satsang of my Summer Qigong Series, we did a partner practice with a simple, yet unexpectedly heavy prompt: "What brings you great joy."

For some of the members, joy was easy to access, but for many of us, this question revealed just how elusive joy can be.

Moving through the embodied practice, I realized that for me, great joy is anything that opens me to presence and flow. It is a sensory, whole-being experience of being fully alive and connected to the world. Joy is different than fleeting happiness. It is full of awe, wonder, and gratitude. It is the realization that everything is connected. It is the delight that fills my spirit when I glimpse the infinite wonder of the universe.

When I look at my own life, joy is often found in the simplest, most unexpected moments of pure presence:

Eating a birthday cake proudly made by my favorite 5-year old.
Witnessing Ayodele Casel, one of the greatest tap dancers alive, build soaring rhythms with her feet.
Watching the sun rise over the Vermont Ridgeline.
Reading the latest novel written by my friend, Stephen Kiernan.
Listening to the sound of snow falling in the woods.
Making flower bouquets and painting admittedly bad landscapes, just to marvel at the colors;
Feeling energy transform under my hands during a CranioSacral session;
Listening to the birds sing during outdoor morning meditation.

But in the daily grind, when I am busy, tired, overworked, and focused on just trying to survive, it is easy to miss.

After years of repatterning the nervous system, I know three thing with absolutely clarity:

Energy follows attention.
What we practice, we reinforce.
If we want to feel different, we need to see things differently.

I use these three principles every day when helping people overcome pain, burnout, overwhelm, and trauma so they can reclaim their lives.

I spend a lot of time helping people face fear, pain, heartbreak, grief, anger, and other forms of suffering, and I realized during satsang that this deep somatic work is ultimately a reclamation of joy.

When you are so depleted that you don't have the energy to do the things you love, it steals your joy.

When you are in so much pain that you can't think about anything else, it steals your joy.

When you are stuck reliving trauma, unable to move from the past into the future, it steals your joy.

When you are burned out and every little thing is irritating or overwhelming, it steals your joy.

I've experienced immense suffering in my life. But I've also experienced tremendous joy, and it has been made possible by my refusal to turn away from the hard stuff. It is because of this courage/stubbornness/willingness to let my heart break that my soul, and my nervous system, can now hold wonder, awe, possibility, and joy.

True healing isn't just about eliminating pain; it's about being able to live your life fully.

In a world that benefits from our numbness and disconnection, joy is a radical, defiant reclamation.

This summer, I'm making a conscious choice to cultivate joy, and I want to share the simple practice I'm using right now to retrain my nervous system.

The Practice: Centering Joy

Every night before you go to sleep, tell your partner, your kids, your pets, your houseplants, your journal, or your own inner wisdom:

The one thing that brought you the most embodied joy that day.
Three things you are genuinely looking forward to the next day.

Claim those joys, no matter how small!

This simple practice changes your biology. It shifts your attention and invites you to see the world through fresh eyes.

Before you know it, you'll be finding joy everywhere you look (and feeling less pain, too).

If you try it, reply to this email and let me know what you brings you great joy. Claiming it amplifies its frequency, and I'd love to witness it with you.

And, if you want more joy in your life and are ready to build a nervous system that can actually hold and feel this kind of full-bodied presence, I'd love to support you.

Here are three ways I can help you attune your nervous system so you can experience the fullness of life again:

Summer Qigong Series: Cultivating Heart-Centered Joy

Qigong is a moving meditation and energy practice. In the summer, practices balance the fire element and open the heart to authenticity, presence, and connection. On Saturdays, we practice outside in the beautiful Queen City Park, or you can join by zoom. Monday practices are online only.

→ Practice with us.

CranioSacral Therapy & SomatoEmotional Release:

If you are being blocked by fear, pain, fatigue, or old protective patterns, this hands-on, somatic work creates a safe container for your wounds to finally speak. By letting hidden emotions be felt, heard, and physically supported, the energy that has been stuck can start to flow again, restoring your capacity to experience the fullness, and joy, of life again.

→ Reclaim your joy. Book a session.

The 90-Day Nervous System Reset:

If you are ready to heal your nervous system and revive your life, this comprehensive, personalized program is your roadmap. Together, we will rewire the patterns that are keeping your nervous system stuck, expanding your capacity and resilience so you can live your life fully on your terms.

→ Get your life back. Book a free consultation to map out your personalized plan.

Wishing you many moments of great joy this summer.

In love and solidarity,

Rachel

Doctor of Physical Therapy & Integrative Pain Specialist

Healing begins when your nervous system feels safe. Rewire your nervous system and break the cycles of chronic pain, depletion, burnout, and overwhelm so you can be fully present for what matters most in your life.

Start with a free Nervous System Attunement Strategy Session