The Nourished Nervous System

Kristen Timchak
  • 5.0 (22)
  • Alternative Health
  • Updated Weekly

An exploration of  stress, the nervous system, and resilience through the lenses of Ayurveda, Somatic Practice, Herbs, Neural Plasticity and much more!   

  1. 3d ago

    It Was Never About the Food: On the Path of Healing Disordered Eating from the Inside Out with Amber Caudle

    Send us Fan Mail Today's guest is Amber Caudle — chef, author, speaker, and coach devoted to helping women heal their relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.  She is the founder of The Source Cafe, a health-focused restaurant in Southern California, and the author of Hungry: Finding Food Freedom and Reclaiming Body Peace. Amber's story is one of the most honest I've heard — decades of a very public career nourishing others while quietly struggling behind closed doors, and the long, non-linear journey toward something she describes not as being cured, but as being on the path. This conversation felt very close to home for me personally, and I think it will for many of you too. What we cover: Amber's story — 30+ years of binging and restriction, exercise obsession, diet pills, laxatives, drugs and alcohol, and the exhausting performance of looking healthy and successful while deeply unwell, and what finally cracked things openFood as emotional language — the core reframe of Amber's work: the food was never the real problem. It was the language available for much deeper unmet needs — safety, connection, worth, rest, and belongingWhat our cravings and behaviors are actually communicating — every impulse toward binging, restricting, or emotional eating as a divine message that something is out of alignment, and how to get curious instead of shamefulThe shame piece — why this lives so deeply in the shadows, how shame actually perpetuates the cycle, and what begins to happen when we name what's happening with honesty and self-compassionHow nervous system regulation changes digestion — the science of eating in a sympathetic state, why up to 60–70% of our digestive capacity is cut off when we're in fight or flight, and why slowing down is one of the most powerful things we can do for our relationship with food and our bodiesThe practice of slowing down — what this actually looks like in practice, the pattern interrupt, talking out loud, naming what's happening, and why even pausing before a binge is meaningful progressBiohacking can't replace the basics — why red light therapy, cold plunges, peptides, and supplements become Band-Aids when the foundation of rest, nourishment, hydration, connection, and nervous system safety isn't in place firstAging strongly — what this means to Amber at 50 and why she feels more vital now than she did in her 30s and 40sThe resonances between Amber's work and Ayurveda — you are not what you eat, you are what you digestA note on this conversation: If this topic touches something personal for you, Amber's work is a beautiful place to start — and specialized support is always available.  The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness helpline is available at 1-866-662-1235. Connect with Amber: Website The Source Cafe, Hermosa Beach, CaliforniaBook — Hungry: Finding Food Freedom and Reclaiming Body PeaceLinkedInInstagramResources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    It Was Never About the Food: On the Path of Healing Disordered Eating from the Inside Out with Amber Caudle

  2. Aug 6

    Shedding the Skin: Who You Are Becoming in Perimenopause

    Send us Fan Mail We are at the height of summer here in Maine — that peak of the pendulum swing before it begins its long arc back toward the quiet of winter. And I've been feeling that shift in my own body, that sense of the tide beginning to turn. It felt like the right moment to talk about something I've been sitting with for a while. We have no shortage of conversation about the physical symptoms of perimenopause. And those symptoms are real and deserve to be taken seriously. But I rarely see the other side of this transition named — the awakening, the shedding, the emergence into a version of ourselves that is more whole, more embodied, more able to speak our truth and follow what we actually need. This episode is about that other side. What we cover: The pendulum of the seasons — how the arc of summer into autumn mirrors the arc of our own lives, and why recognizing those rhythms matters in a culture built around samenessPerimenopause as portal — why this transition is not just a hormonal event but an identity shift as profound as puberty or becoming a mother, and why the disorientation of it makes complete senseThe snake shedding its skin — what it feels like to have previous versions of yourself fall away, and why the essence underneath was always thereThe archetypes: maiden, mother, virgin, crone — how we move through different versions of ourselves at each major hormonal threshold, and why none of those previous versions ever fully disappearsThe midlife virgin archetype — not sexual initiation, but wholeness. The person who is whole unto themselves, whose validation comes from within rather than without. Like virgin wool, virgin forest, virgin olive oil — undiluted, pure unto itself.Doing from being — why this season isn't about doing less, but about the doing coming from a place of being rather than the being being a result of what you doThe ripple effect — how the women who are navigating this transition consciously are doing it not just for themselves but for every younger woman watching, and for the cultural narrative around what midlife actually means for womenThe invitation — who are you when you're not people pleasing? What actually lights you up? Who is emerging on the other side of this fire?Resources & people mentioned: Kimberly Ann Johnson — mother circle training, The archetypes of maiden, mother, virgin, and crone in women's wisdom traditionsResources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    Shedding the Skin: Who You Are Becoming in Perimenopause

  3. Jul 30

    The Hidden Cost of Masking: Neurodiversity, the Nervous System & Energy Healing with Nicole Theron Parks

    Send us Fan Mail "You're so successful — you must be fine."  But what did it cost to get there?  In this conversation, psychologist and energy healing coach Nicole Theron Parks shares her journey to being diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and OCD at 32, and what she discovered on the other side of that diagnosis: that the exhaustion, chronic pain, and decades of anxiety weren't character flaws — they were the cost of trying to fit into a world that wasn't built for her.  This is a rich, layered, deeply honest conversation — about what it costs to mask, what it feels like when the wellness world's advice doesn't fit your nervous system, and why energy clearing has offered something that talk therapy alone couldn't reach. What we cover: Nicole's story — growing up in a small traditional town feeling like she was observing everyone else from the outside, the emotional abuse she named while the adults around her denied it, and the high school experience that turned her autism from a difference into a disabilityThe diagnosis at 32 — why getting a name for what she'd been experiencing her whole life felt like finally being able to breathe, and the profound release of shame that followed: "It wasn't my fault"What neurodiversity actually means — why the Rain Man stereotype leaves so many people undiagnosed, what it looks like to be "silently drowning" while appearing successful on the outside, and why "you got a doctorate, so you must be fine" misses the point entirelyIs the anxiety inherent, or is it the system? — a fascinating conversation about whether anxiety is part of neurodiversity itself, or whether it's largely a product of trying to exist in a world that wasn't built for neurodivergent peopleWellness practices and neurodivergent nervous systems — why the pressure to have a perfect morning routine, journal every day, and heal on a timeline can actually cause more harm than good, and what a more flexible, shame-free approach to healing looks likeThe connection between neurodiversity and chronic pain — Nicole's own journey with chronic migraines, the pattern of control and self-suppression she traced beneath them, and the "at what cost?" question that runs through this entire conversationEnergy clearing — how Nicole describes it as moving the folder to the trash rather than opening it every day, why it works gently in the background without requiring you to re-live memories, and how it helps clear layer by layer in a way that talk therapy alone couldn'tA guided energy clearing meditation for anxiety — Nicole leads us through a full practice connecting above and below, clearing anxiety patterns from the body, and filling in with light and safety. Have your headphones ready — this one is genuinely beautiful.A message for anyone who has been gaslit by a doctor, therapist, or the people around them: there are practitioners out there who will believe you, accommodate you, and meet you where you.Connect with Nicole: Website: https://www.nicoleparkescoaching.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicoleparkescoaching/1:1 Energy Healing Packages:  https://www.nicoleparkescoaching.com/servicesResources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    The Hidden Cost of Masking: Neurodiversity, the Nervous System & Energy Healing with Nicole Theron Parks

  4. Jul 23

    Not All Yoga Is Medicine: Nervous System-Centered Yoga Therapy with Liz Albanis

    Send us Fan Mail Today I'm sitting down with Liz Albanis — a senior yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and personal trainer based in Canberra, Australia, who has spent over 14 years exploring one of the most important questions in the wellness space: when does yoga help, and when does it actually harm? Liz works with people who don't feel supported in traditional yoga environments — people with injuries, trauma, nervous system dysregulation, or who have simply walked out of a yoga class feeling worse than when they walked in. She brings something rare to this work: a deep understanding of both the science and the ancient wisdom, combined with her own lived experience of complex PTSD, surviving two house fires, and discovering that a practice designed specifically for her nervous system changed everything. What we cover: Who traditional yoga leaves behind — why the modern Western yoga class, however well-intentioned, can be inaccessible, overwhelming, or actively harmful for a large portion of the population — and why this is not the student's faultThe penicillin analogy — why yoga poses, breathwork, and even meditation are not universally safe, with specific examples including fast-paced breathwork and yoga nidra, and who needs to be especially carefulWhat actually creates safety in the body — why candles, incense, and soft music don't automatically create a safe space, and what grounding, the ocular cardiac reflex, and eye movement actually do to the nervous systemTrauma stored in the fascia — the concept of psychosomatic posturing and how a skilled yoga therapist reads the body from the moment someone walks through the door — blink rate, breath pattern, nostril dominance, posture, skin color, nail bedsLiz's personal story — how Bikram yoga helped her quit a 14-year smoking habit in three months, how two house fires 20 years apart shook her nervous system to its foundation, and how yoga therapy brought her backWhat a trauma-informed assessment actually looks like — the intake process, discovery call, Ayurvedic questionnaires, contraindication screening, and the two-way street of building a treatment plan with a clientBottom-up vs. top-down healing — why talk therapy and medication alone are not enough for trauma and chronic pain, and why working with the body is essentialThe bee breath (Bhramari pranayama) — Liz's go-to practice for nervous system regulation, including the Hasta Mudra, the ocular cardiac reflex, and why she does it in trafficThe beautiful resonances between yoga therapy, Ayurveda, and marma points — including the connection between pressing on the eyes and vagus nerve stimulationFree resources from Liz: Bee breath video and freebie: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/freebiesRelax & Restore freebie: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/freebiesPrograms mentioned: Release, Relax, Restore — three-signature program combining yoga, mindset, fitness, and nutritionLife Force Yoga — accessible yoga for mental healthSleep programWellness Designed for You — one-on-one personalized programTeachers & traditions mentioned: Jo Phee — Liz's yoga teacher, Singapore-based yin yoga and yoga therapy educatorTom Myers — fascia and myofascial releaseAmy Weintraub — LifeForce Yoga for mental healthEMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)Bhramari pranayama (bee breath)Connect with Liz: Website: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizalbaniswellnessau/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lizalbaniswellnessauResources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    Not All Yoga Is Medicine: Nervous System-Centered Yoga Therapy with Liz Albanis

  5. Jul 16

    Tending the Fire: Yamas & Niyamas to Balance Pitta Dosha This Summer

    Send us Fan Mail This is the summer edition of something we explored earlier this year with kapha dosha — bringing the yamas and niyamas, yoga's ethical and personal observances, into conversation with the season we're actually in. And right now, we are in pitta season. Fire and water. Heat, intensity, drive, sharpness, focus — all of it turned up. Pitta's gifts are extraordinary. The clarity, the capacity to make things happen, the warmth. But when pitta goes out of balance in the height of summer  — the fire can start to scorch the very life it's trying to build. These five practices are the medicine. What we cover: Ahimsa (non-violence) — how pitta's perfectionism and self-criticism are the most common forms of self-harm we never name, why Ayurveda recommends exercising to only 60–70% capacity in summer, and a simple practice of just noticing the moments you override your body before trying to change anythingSatya (truthfulness) — the practice of learning to hear the voice of what is actually true for you beneath the voice of obligation, habit, and expectation, and how body-led movement like Somatic Stretch and Shake creates a small safe container to begin that listeningBrahmacharya (moderation) — why pitta is drawn to intensity and how the short, brilliant Maine summer perfectly illustrates the urge to consume everything at once, and what it means to direct energy into balanced endeavors rather than burning both ends of the candleSaucha (purity) — the nervous system cost of a cluttered space, why pitta season is naturally detoxifying without any imposed cleanse, the foods that are cooling and cleansing right now (including a beloved herb sauce recipe), and movement as a lymphatic practiceSantosha (contentment) — the research on why our brains are genuinely unreliable estimators of how much big achievements will make us happy, the impact bias named by psychologists Dan Gilbert and Timothy Wilson, what the hedonic treadmill actually does to us, and why collecting small daily moments of contentment — what the Japanese call Sho-Katkou, small but certain happiness — may be one of the most powerful things a pitta person can do Links mentioned: Somatic Stretch and Shake — free class on YouTubePitta season Somatic Stretch & Shake class coming soon — join the email list to stay in the loop: Email NewsletterResearch mentioned: Impact Bias — Gilbert, D. & Wilson, T. (1998). The tendency to overestimate how much future events will affect our emotions and for how longHedonic treadmill — Brickman, P. et al. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social PsychologySho-Katkou / micro-happiness — Small but Certain Happiness in Daily Life: Structure and Relation with Well-Being. Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer Nature, 2025The Big Joy Project — UC Berkeley study with 17,598 participants across 169 countries on micro-joys and wellbeingResources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    Tending the Fire: Yamas & Niyamas to Balance Pitta Dosha This Summer

  6. Jul 9

    Your Breath Is a Superpower: 9D Breathwork, the Subconscious Mind & Rapid Transformation with Tabatha DeBruyn

    Send us Fan Mail Today's guest is Tabatha DeBruyn — a transformational breath master, certified 9D Breathwork facilitator, rapid transformational hypnotic therapist, and author of Ordinary to Extraordinary. Tabatha has spent years weaving together neuroscience, breathwork, hypnotherapy, NLP, and somatic healing into a body-first approach to transformation that is producing results people describe as integrating years of therapy in a single session. Her path is anything but straight — from 15 years as a high school teacher, to building a multi-million dollar international wellness business, to becoming a primary caregiver for her mother during a decade-long illness, to discovering that even with all of her tools, she was quietly carrying grief, anger, shame, and functional depression she hadn't fully felt. What shifted everything was her first somatic breathwork session — and this conversation is her sharing that story and that medicine with your nervous system. What we cover: Tabatha's personal origin story — how caring for her mother for a decade, losing her, and discovering she had been suppressing enormous grief led her to the breathwork practice that changed her lifeThe physiological sigh — a live guided breathwork practice you can do right now, anywhere, that shifts the nervous system from sympathetic to parasympathetic in a single breathThe science of breath and the nervous system — why most people are in fight, flight, or freeze most of the time, what shallow mouth breathing does to the body, and how nasal breathing changes everythingDownregulation vs. activation — the difference between calming the nervous system and intentionally activating it, when each is appropriate, and what euphoric breathing actually feels like9D Breathwork — what the nine dimensions are, why layering breath with music at 432 hertz, binaural beats, hypnotic scripts, NLP, and frequency accelerates results in a way no single modality can aloneThe snow globe analogy and the reticular activating system — why you have to regulate the body before you can change the mind, and the neuroscience of why 9D Breathwork produces such rapid resultsThe subconscious mind — why 95% of our behavior is driven by programming laid down between ages zero and eight, and how somatic breathwork opens the door to changing it. Free resources from Tabatha: Click here for A 7-minute cinematic introduction to 9D Breathwork – A 5-minute nervous system reset – A 7-minute guided morning routineBook a complimentary 30-minute callBook mentioned: Ordinary to Extraordinary by Tabatha DeBruynConnect with Tabatha: WebsiteInstagramResources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    Your Breath Is a Superpower: 9D Breathwork, the Subconscious Mind & Rapid Transformation with Tabatha DeBruyn

  7. Jul 2

    Rest Your Gaze: Pitta Dosha, Eye Care & the Practice of Turning Inward

    Send us Fan Mail This episode started with an accident — or what felt like one. I went to the eye doctor, had my eyes dilated, and sat down to write my newsletter only to find I couldn't see my computer screen. So I closed my eyes, started voice-dictating, and something unexpected happened: I dropped inward in a way I rarely do during a regular workday. The forced pause became a teaching. That experience sent me deep into a topic I've been wanting to explore for a while — the relationship between pitta dosha and the eyes, and what it means not just physically but philosophically when we learn to rest the outward gaze. What we cover: Alochaka pitta — the subdosha of pitta located in the eyes, responsible not just for physical sight but for perception, discernment, and the ability to distinguish what is right from what is wrong. When it goes out of balance, the effects show up in both the body and the mind.Why summer intensifies eye strain — summer is pitta season, and the combination of environmental heat and the fire already present in our eyes means alochaka pitta is especially vulnerable right nowScreen time and the eyes — the research on digital eye strain, blue light, reduced blink rate, and circadian disruption — and how Ayurveda would frame all of it as pitta and vata aggravation through the misuse of the sense organsPractices to support eye health — eye palming, feeding the vision with natural beauty and greenery, herbal compresses with chamomile, rose, lavender, and eyebright, rose water, netra basti, netra suddhi, and the 20-20-20 ruleHerbs for the eyes — triphala internally and externally, its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and what the research shows, as well as a gentle honest look at eyebright's traditional use and emerging sciencePitta vision and the world — the gift of pitta's focused, forward-moving gaze that drives action and builds things — and the shadow of what happens when prana is always streaming outward through the eyes without restVata vs. pitta vision — why vata carries the intuitive, spirit-connected inner vision while pitta carries the focused, purposeful worldly gaze — and why we need bothPratyahara — the fifth limb of yoga as genuine eye medicine. The research showing that sensory withdrawal reduces anxiety, modulates stress response, and activates the brain differently than other relaxation techniques — and why closing your eyes is one of the most direct ways to call your prana homePractices mentioned: Eye palmingHerbal eye compresses (chamomile, rose, lavender, eyebright)Rose water eye sprayTriphala eyewash and internal useNetra basti & netra suddhiThe 20-20-20 rulePratyahara — eyes closed or soft gaze in meditation and daily lifeResearch & references: Maharishi Ayurveda — The Five Subdoshas of Pitta: mapi.comAggarwal & Saba (2024). Digital blindness: the hidden cost of excessive screen time. EXCLI JournalHaghani et al. (2024). Blue light and digital screens revisited. Journal of Biomedical Physics and EngineeringPeterson et al. (2017). Therapeutic uses of Triphala in Ayurvedic Medicine. Journal of Alternative and Complementary MedicinePMC review: Mind-Stuff and Withdrawal of the Senses — Pratyahara researchResources Mentioned:   Prana Boundary Meditation Deep Rest for Perimenopause Meditation Somatic Stretch & Shake 20 Minute Practice Resources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    Rest Your Gaze: Pitta Dosha, Eye Care & the Practice of Turning Inward

  8. Jun 25

    What "Feel Your Feelings" Actually Means — and Why Most of Us Are Getting It Wrong with Chelsea Horton

    Send us Fan Mail Today's guest is Chelsea Horton — a board-certified dance and movement therapist, somatic practitioner, educator, and founder of Healing Embodied, where she trains wellness professionals and leaders to integrate somatics, creativity, and emotional healing into their work. Chelsea has a master's degree in dance and movement therapy and has worked with over 2,000 clients, specializing in relationship anxiety, shame, and nervous system healing. She is also one of the most alive, funny, and genuinely embodied humans I've had the pleasure of talking with — and her story, from evangelical worship leader to pole dancing somatic therapist, tells you everything you need to know about what it actually looks like to come home to your body. What we cover: Chelsea's path from conservative Bible college and worship leader to dance movement therapist and somatic coach — and why religious trauma, earth-shattering heartbreak, and the saving grace of dance were all part of itWhat "feel your feelings" actually means — and the concept Chelsea calls "thought-feeling fusion," where we think we're feeling our emotions but we're actually just rehearsing a story about themSensation without explanation — the practice of staying with pure bodily sensation without needing to label, justify, or explain the emotionWhat it looks and feels like when an emotion has truly been processed versus managed or suppressed — and why the body has a natural arc of completion when we get out of the wayThe shame and anxiety cycle — why shame is not an emotion but a belief system about our fundamental worth, and how anxiety functions as shame's exhausted bodyguard, always scanning for evidence that we are not enoughWorking with shame somatically — externalizing the shame voice, activating the inner advocate, and the groundbreaking work of David Bedrick (The Unshaming Way)Creativity as healing — why creativity is not a talent or skill but the most fundamentally human thing we do, and why it is essential — not optional — to nervous system regulation and emotional processingThe Artist's Way, morning pages, and a shared love of authentic movement — a beautiful tangent about reclaiming creativity in midlife and motherhoodWhat practitioners most commonly miss when adding somatic tools to their work — and why learning to trust your own body and creativity is the foundation of being present with clients Books & resources mentioned: The Unshaming Way by David BedrickThe Artist's Way by Julia CameronBeautiful Oops by Barney SaltzbergDr. Russell Kennedy — "sensation without explanation"Connect with Chelsea: Website InstagramFacebookOur free resource library for helpers, healers, creatives and leaders Resources: Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal 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

    What "Feel Your Feelings" Actually Means — and Why Most of Us Are Getting It Wrong with Chelsea Horton
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About

An exploration of  stress, the nervous system, and resilience through the lenses of Ayurveda, Somatic Practice, Herbs, Neural Plasticity and much more!   

Information

  • Creator
    Kristen Timchak
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    165
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Nourished Nervous System
  • Show Website
    The Nourished Nervous System

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