Coregulation Conversations

Sarah Histand
  • 5.0 (16)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Semiweekly

Exploring nervous system regulation, somatics, strength, and our relationship with nature to build capacity, connection, and possibility.

  1. 1d ago

    The Mental Health Benefits of Being Outside

    Show Notes In this episode, I’m out on a fall hike in the Chugach exploring a question that feels central to so much of what we do here: why does being outside feel so good for our mental health and nervous systems?  We explore some of the nervous system processes that might help explain the magic — starting with orienting and the way being outside naturally asks us to use our senses, pay attention to our environment, and stay connected to what’s happening around us. I also talk about how outdoor experience itself is a skill, and why all that sensory information can sometimes feel stressful before our bodies become more practiced at interpreting it.   From there, we get into bilateral stimulation, rhythm, and coregulation — including what happens when we move both sides of our bodies, find our own rhythm, or fall into a shared rhythm with other people. And finally, we explore some of the harder-to-explain gifts of being outside: beauty, awe, connection with the land, and the ways nature can model how to move through change, intensity, and cycles. This episode is an invitation to notice what happens in your body when you spend time outside — and to get curious about all the ways the land, movement, beauty, and rhythm might be supporting you. Timestamps 00:00 — The mental health benefits of being outside 02:00 — Finding more to say after a radio interview 04:00 — Fall events + getting ready for winter training 08:00 — Somatics, winter training + upcoming community events 11:00 — Why being outside supports the nervous system 12:00 — Orienting: using our senses outside 15:00 — Outdoor experience as a nervous system skill 17:00 — Orienting + resourcing in nature 19:00 — Why modern life gives us fewer chances to orient 21:00 — Bilateral stimulation + movement 23:00 — Rhythm, shared rhythm + coregulation 25:00 — Finding safety in your own rhythm 27:00 — Nature as a model for moving through challenges 29:00 — Trees, rivers + seaweed as somatic resources 31:00 — Beauty, awe + the nervous system 33:00 — The social impulse to share awe 34:00 — Closing reflections + how does being outside support you? Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast

    The Mental Health Benefits of Being Outside

  2. Sep 3

    Embodied Athlete: The Nervous System Behind My Athletic Comeback - Part 2

    Show Notes In this episode, I continue last week’s conversation about the nervous system shifts that have supported the athletic breakthrough I’m experiencing this summer — and what it feels like to return to challenging days in the mountains from a very different place.  I dig deeper into four pieces of this shift: feeling safer in my body, learning to discharge stored activation, uncoupling activation from threat, and practicing settling, integration, and enoughness. We explore how these skills have helped me move into challenge without automatically overriding my body — and even find pleasure, power, and joy inside of hard physical effort.   We also talk about why this work is so much more than a cognitive understanding. Nervous system change is physiological and relational, and often requires patience, practice, and experiences of safety and coregulation as our bodies learn new patterns.   Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast This episode is an invitation to consider what might become possible when we approach fitness, adventure, and challenge from a place of greater capacity and connection with our bodies. Timestamps 00:00 — Part two + the embodied athlete 06:00 — An athletic breakthrough after a slower season 08:00 — Untangling athletic ability from worth + belonging 10:00 — Returning to long days in the mountains at 44 12:00 — Moving from capacity instead of override 15:00 — #1: Feeling safer in the body 17:00 — Orienting, resourcing + noticing safety cues 19:00 — #2: Discharging stored activation 21:00 — The gas stove metaphor + nervous system baseline 24:00 — Bottom-up discharge + the importance of coregulation 27:00 — In-the-moment vs. stored activation 29:00 — #3: Uncoupling activation from threat 31:00 — Sympathetic activation as power, momentum + motivation 33:00 — Finding pleasure inside hard physical effort 36:00 — #4: Settling, integration + enoughness 38:00 — Learning to feel safe and soft at the same time 40:00 — Titrating into deactivation + slowing down 42:30 — Patience, practice + relational healing 45:00 — Bringing the four pieces together + closing reflections

    Embodied Athlete: The Nervous System Behind My Athletic Comeback - Part 2

  3. Aug 27

    Embodied Athlete: The Nervous System Behind My Athletic Comeback

    Show Notes In this episode, I’m out on a ridgeline near Eagle River reflecting on an unexpected athletic comeback I’ve been experiencing this summer — and the nervous system work that I think helped make it possible.  At 44, I’ve found my way into trail running and longer days in the Chugach in a way that feels more joyful and sustainable than it has in the past. I share four pieces of nervous system work that have supported that shift: feeling safer in my body, releasing stored activation, uncoupling activation from threat, and learning how to recognize enoughness and settle after effort.   We also explore the difference between simply understanding these concepts and the slower physiological process of actually repatterning the body — plus why integration, rest, and the space after a big wave of experience are such important parts of the process. This episode is an invitation to get curious about your own relationship with movement, activation, and capacity — and what might become possible when feeling powerful and energized can also feel safe. Timestamps 00:00 — Trail running in the Chugach + an athletic breakthrough 03:00 — Finding trail running at 44 05:00 — Celebrating one year of Coregulation Conversations 07:00 — 10 years of Mind & Mountain 10:00 — Public lands, advocacy + protecting wild places 12:00 — Four nervous system shifts behind my athletic comeback 13:00 — #1: Feeling safer in my body 14:00 — #2: Discharging stored activation 15:00 — #3: Uncoupling activation from threat 16:00 — Activation + safety, power, play, and pleasure 17:00 — Physiological repatterning vs. cognitive understanding 18:00 — Access, investment + making somatic work more collective 19:00 — #4: Enoughness, satisfaction + settling 21:00 — Learning to feel safe slowing down 22:00 — Aftercare, integration + space after the wave 23:00 — Closing reflections + caring for ourselves, our people, and the land Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast

    Embodied Athlete: The Nervous System Behind My Athletic Comeback

  4. Aug 24

    What I Learned About My Nervous System This Summer

    Show Notes In this episode, I’m up on a ridgeline in the Chugach reflecting on two big things I’ve learned about my nervous system this summer — after several years of intentionally slowing down, healing, and changing the way I approach challenge.  First, I explore the difference between moving from capacity vs. override. I’ve been having some of my biggest and strongest days in the mountains, but what feels most different isn’t necessarily what my body can do — it’s that I’m able to do hard things without relying so heavily on pushing through, overriding my body’s signals, or disconnecting from what I’m feeling.   Then, I talk about the other side of the cycle: a surprising stretch of deep fatigue that showed up in the middle of an otherwise high-energy summer. We explore what can happen when we trust those slower, more inward phases instead of rushing to get out of them — and the unexpected insight that emerged for me on the other side. This episode is an invitation to get curious about your own cycles of capacity, challenge, and rest — and to consider that the slower seasons might be doing important work, too. Timestamps 00:00 — Nervous system observations from a big summer 03:00 — Moving out of a slower season 05:00 — Athleticism without overriding the body 07:00 — Capacity vs. override 10:00 — Push/pull, freeze + the cost of pushing through 13:00 — What moving from capacity feels like 15:00 — More capacity, less fear + internal conflict 18:00 — Finding the gold in harder seasons 20:00 — An unexpected 10-day stretch of fatigue 23:00 — Trusting the body's cycles instead of linear progress 26:00 — Moving with low energy instead of fighting it 28:00 — The insight that arrived after the wave 30:00 — Slower seasons as part of nervous system processing 33:00 — Learning to trust wintering + hibernation phases 35:00 — Supporting a process vs. trying to rush it 37:00 — A preview: navigating fear with more capacity 39:00 — Closing reflections Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast

    What I Learned About My Nervous System This Summer

  5. Aug 13

    Astrology as Coregulation with Leslie Tagorda

    Show Notes In this episode, I’m joined by my friend and astrologer Lesley Tagorda for a conversation about astrology as a tool for coregulation, self-understanding, and coming back to who we are underneath all the conditioning about who we should be. We explore Lesley’s decolonial approach to astrology, how our birth charts can help us understand and reclaim parts of ourselves we may have learned to suppress, and why astrology can offer another way of relating to the rhythms, cycles, and seasons happening around us. A big part of our conversation centers on the moon sign as a guide for nervous system care. Lesley walks us through all 12 moon signs and shares different ways each one might find nourishment and regulation — from movement for Aries moons and sensory comfort for Taurus moons, to connection for Libra moons and exploration for Sagittarius moons. We talk about these practices not as luxuries, but as ways of understanding what our individual systems may need to feel emotionally supported. We also talk about breaking out of fear-based astrology, working with challenging seasons as temporary cycles, and what can happen when we stop fighting parts of ourselves and start reclaiming them as strengths. This episode is an invitation to get curious about astrology as another lens for understanding your nervous system — and to experiment with the forms of support that help you feel more like yourself. Timestamps00:00 — Introducing Lesley + astrology as coregulation03:00 — Astrology as cycles, rhythms, and energetic weather05:00 — Lesley’s background + decolonial astrology08:00 — Birth charts + coming back to yourself12:30 — Why your moon sign matters for emotional security14:00 — Astrology for Changemakers + the “Big Four”18:00 — Astrology, cosmology + reconnecting what colonization separated20:00 — Polynesian navigation + relationship with the stars26:00 — Moving away from fear-based astrology30:00 — Finding gifts inside challenging experiences38:00 — Astrology through difficult seasons + remembering they’re temporary41:00 — What happens when we stop fighting ourselves47:00 — Nervous system care for your moon sign48:00 — Aries + Taurus moons50:00 — Gemini + Cancer moons51:00 — Leo + Virgo + Libra moons52:00 — Scorpio + Sagittarius moons53:00 — Capricorn + Aquarius + Pisces moons55:00 — Working with the moon’s current sign + lunar cycles58:00 — Astrology for Changemakers + reclaiming leadership01:00:00 — Circular leadership + everyone has something to contribute01:01:00 — Closing reflections  Resources Preorder Astrology for Changemakers Leslie's Website  Leslie's IG Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast

    Astrology as Coregulation with Leslie Tagorda

  6. Aug 5

    Inspiration as Coregulation

    Show Notes In this episode, I explore a different way of thinking about coregulation: not just as something that helps us settle, but as something that can inspire, energize, and expand what's possible.  I share the story of following ultrarunner Sophie Grant's incredible journey across the Alps and noticing how witnessing someone else's courage, joy, and determination shifted my own nervous system state. Rather than feeling comparison or pressure, I found myself feeling genuinely inspired—and that inspiration became fuel for my own adventures. Together, we explore inspiration as a form of positive coregulation, what it feels like in the body, and how we can intentionally seek out the people, stories, and experiences that help us access this uplifting state. We also reflect on the ways we might become that source of encouragement for others. This episode is an invitation to notice what inspires you, to savor the feeling when it arrives, and to let it carry you toward whatever adventure is calling next. Timestamps 00:00 — Introducing inspiration as a form of coregulation 01:30 — Following Sophie Grant's Via Alpina journey 03:30 — How inspiration changed my nervous system state 05:00 — Coregulation isn't only about calming down 06:30 — Upregulation through joy and inspiration 08:00 — A new personal hiking record 09:30 — Letting inspiration fuel growth 10:30 — A somatic practice: noticing inspiration in your body 12:00 — What does your body want to do with this energy? 13:30 — The rhythms of inspiration and creative cycles 15:00 — Intentionally seeking inspiration 16:00 — Becoming a positive influence for others 17:00 — Closing reflections Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast

    Inspiration as Coregulation

  7. Jul 29

    Eco Bliss + Eco Grief

    In this episode, I reflect on my recent time in Alaska's Arctic and the profound experience of returning home with both a deeper love for wild places and a deeper awareness of how much they are changing.  Through the lens of eco bliss and eco grief, we explore how awe, beauty, heartbreak, and love can coexist in our nervous systems. I share the experience of traveling through the proposed Ambler Road corridor after weeks immersed in untouched wilderness, and how witnessing the contrast opened up new layers of grief, advocacy, and connection. Together, we practice noticing what happens in the body when we connect with a place we love, and then gently explore what it feels like to hold both love and grief without becoming overwhelmed. Rather than trying to solve these feelings, we explore how somatic awareness can help us carry them with greater capacity and compassion. This episode is an invitation to honor both your love for the places that matter to you and the grief that naturally accompanies caring deeply—and to let that love become fuel for meaningful action. Timestamps 00:00 — Returning from the Arctic + introducing eco grief 02:00 — Two weeks immersed in Alaska wilderness 04:00 — Traveling through the proposed Ambler Road corridor 07:30 — Helicopters, development, and witnessing change firsthand 09:30 — Eco bliss and eco grief as companion experiences 11:30 — A somatic practice: connecting with a place you love 14:00 — Noticing how love lives in the body 15:45 — Exploring the sensations of eco grief 18:00 — Finding your own pace with difficult emotions 19:30 — Holding love and grief together 21:00 — Pendulation between beauty and heartbreak 22:30 — Building capacity instead of shutting down 24:00 — Grief as love that still has somewhere to go 25:00 — Advocacy rooted in love rather than fear 26:00 — Closing reflections + carrying love into action Resources Defend the Brooks Range Website  Defend the Brookes Range Instagram Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast

    Eco Bliss + Eco Grief

  8. Jul 20

    Summer Somatic Skills Series: #4 Letting it be Enough

    Show Notes In this final episode of the Summer Somatic Skills series, we explore the practice of letting it be enough—the nervous system skill of recognizing when it's time to settle, even when there's still more we could do.  Summer has a way of inviting us into endless possibility, long to-do lists, and the feeling that we should squeeze in just one more adventure, one more project, or one more mile. In this conversation, we explore how choosing "enough" isn't giving up—it's creating space for our nervous systems to complete a cycle and truly rest. Along the way, I share stories from a recent Arctic backpacking trip, reflections on cultural conditioning around productivity, and practical ways to help the body feel safe when stepping away from something that isn't perfectly finished. This episode is an invitation to practice enoughness—to trust that sometimes stopping before everything is complete is exactly what allows us to keep showing up for what matters most. Timestamps 00:00 — Closing the Summer Somatic Skills series 01:30 — Sending rain, coolness, and co-regulation across distance 03:00 — Reviewing the first three summer skills 05:00 — The backside of the nervous system wave 07:00 — Why summer never feels "finished" 09:00 — Skills that transfer beyond the season 10:30 — Cultural conditioning around productivity and achievement 12:30 — Why "enough" can feel unsafe in the body 14:30 — Supporting ourselves through the discomfort of slowing down 16:00 — An Arctic backpacking story: choosing camp before the goal 19:00 — Letting a beautiful campsite be enough 21:00 — Settling the nervous system after effort 22:30 — Perfectionism, completion, and the myth of "done" 25:00 — Practicing "enough for now" 26:30 — Orienting toward safety and support 28:00 — The joy of missing out instead of the fear of missing out 29:30 — Closing reflections + listener questions welcome Submit your questions for the Q&A [here] Photos and links from this episode:www.mindandmountain.co/podcast

    Summer Somatic Skills Series: #4 Letting it be Enough
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Exploring nervous system regulation, somatics, strength, and our relationship with nature to build capacity, connection, and possibility.

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