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In this episode of The Nourish Nervous System, I am joined by Karen Canham, board-certified wellness practitioner and founder of Karen Ann Wellness, for a deep and grounded conversation on nervous system regulation, somatic healing, and what it truly means to heal beyond willpower.

Karen shares her personal journey — from recovering from anorexia, to climbing the corporate ladder, to ultimately finding her way into nervous system work, somatic experiencing, and parts work therapy.

Together, we explore how embodiment can become a powerful doorway into healing, resilience, and authentic leadership.

This conversation weaves together polyvagal theory, somatic parts work, and the lived experience of learning to move from chronic stress and reactivity into regulation, clarity, and connection.

In this episode, we explore:

• Karen’s path from eating disorder recovery to nervous system–based healing work
• Why the nervous system is the foundation of true resilience (not just stress relief)
• The role of the vagus nerve and how regulation supports healing and capacity
• Healing through awareness instead of willpower
• What somatic parts work is and how it helps integrate emotions with compassion
• How to work with emotions rather than control or suppress them
• The nervous system “ladder” and understanding states of shutdown, regulation, and activation
• How nervous system regulation supports leadership, relationships, and co-regulation
• Why resilience isn’t about staying calm all the time — but moving fluidly between states
• A simple, accessible embodiment practice you can begin today

Karen also reframes leadership as an essential life skill — one rooted in clarity, compassion, and presence — and shares how nervous system regulation can create powerful ripple effects in families, workplaces, and communities.

Guest Information:

Karen Canham is a board-certified wellness practitioner and founder of Karen Ann Wellness, where she helps individuals and organizations move from stress and reactivity into regulation — clear, confident, and connected.

Website: https://karenannwellness.com

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 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