The Powerful Tool of Nervous System Regulation with Amanda Nova

The Powerful Tool of Nervous System Regulation with guest Amanda Nova

In this episode we get to collaborate with Amanda Nova as she shares ways to regulate the nervous system, as well as WHY that is a good idea in the first place, and what can easily landslide in our health if we get out of balance.  Amanda is an expert in nervous system regulation and a holistic health practitioner, sharing practical tools and wisdom on health vitality, stress management, hormone balance, and gut health. We also discuss how chronic stress can lead to physical and emotional conditions, the role of the vagus nerve in nervous system regulation, the importance of gut health in overall well-being, and methods for detoxing the body for optimal health. We can’t really over-emphasize the value of self-care in maintaining health, but that may mean something different than the commonly used references to “just taking a bath.” Let’s break it down to it’s roots and begin healing from there in powerful, yet bite-sized ways throughout the day. 

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

02:02 Guest Introduction: Amanda Nova

05:07 Amanda's Journey from Illness to Healing

13:56 The Role of the Nervous System in Health

18:00 Understanding the Lymphatic System

27:34 The Importance of Nervous System Regulation

36:15 Understanding Chronic Stress and Its Impact

36:32 The Importance of Nervous System Regulation

36:47 Dealing with Job Stress and Personal Challenges

37:13 Building Resistance to Stress through Self-Care

38:34 The Struggles of Balancing Multiple Roles

39:03 Rediscovering Self in the Midst of Life's Demands

39:18 The Reality of Self-Care Amidst Life's Responsibilities

39:45 The Impact of Self-Care on Personal and Professional Life

47:16 The Importance of Boundaries in Self-Care

55:04 The Role of Hormones in Stress and Health

59:43 The Connection Between Gut Health and Overall Well-being

01:01:48 The Importance of Detox in Maintaining Health

01:03:11 Conclusion: The Interconnectedness of Stress, Hormones, and Gut Health

Amanda’s website: https://www.nebulasoul.com

   ( for her free e-book, titled  Even My Adrenals Are Tired, or to check out her courses on the vagus nerve, gut and hormone health or nervous system regulation, go to the menu tab and click shop.)

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello and welcome to the WhatReally Makes a Difference
podcast.
I'm your host, Dr.
Becca Whittaker.
I've been a doctor of naturalhealth care for over 20 years
and a professional speaker onhealth and vitality, but
everything I thought I knewabout health was tested when my
own health hit a landslide and Ibecame a very sick patient.

(00:22):
I've learned that showing up forour own health and vitality is a
step by step journey that wetake for the rest of our lives.
And this podcast is aboutsharing some of the things that
really make a difference on thatjourney with you.
So grab your explorer's hatwhile we get ready to check out
today's topic.
My incredible guest network andI will be sharing some practical

(00:45):
tools, current science andancient wisdom that we all need,
no matter what stage we are atin our health and vitality.
I've already got my hat on andmy hand out, so let's dive in
and we can all start walkingeach other home.
Hello and welcome to the WhatReally Makes a Difference
podcast.
I'm your host, Dr.

(01:06):
Becca Whittaker.
I've been a doctor of naturalhealth care for over 20 years
and a professional speaker onhealth and vitality, but
everything I thought I knewabout health was tested when my
own health hit a landslide and Ibecame a very sick patient.
I've learned that showing up forour own health and vitality is a

(01:27):
step by step journey that wetake for the rest of our lives.
And this podcast is aboutsharing some of the things that
really make a difference on thatjourney with you.
So grab your explorer's hatwhile we get ready to check out
today's topic.
My incredible guest network andI will be sharing some practical
tools, current science andancient wisdom that we all need,

(01:51):
no matter what stage we are atin our health and vitality.
I've already got my hat on andmy hand out, so let's dive in
and we can all start walkingeach other home.
I'm so excited today tointroduce you to our guest,
Amanda Nova.
I actually found her onInstagram.
So, you know, every once in awhile scrolling pays off.

(02:14):
I was searching up nervoussystem regulation and looking
for people that were teachingtools that were easy to use and
that were relatable.
And Amanda does so much work inthat space, sharing information
with people.
She shares it for free.
It's amazing.
Accurate information.
And I have found a lot of thethings that she's shared to be

(02:36):
really, really helpful.
She is so knowledgeable about somany systems in the body and
shares information in a reallyrelatable way.
And from a place that Iunderstand.
So she had Lyme disease exposureto mold that created a real mold
illness.
And she had ankylosingspondylitis along with all of
the things that autoimmunestarts to destroy in your body.

(02:59):
And after years of trying tosolve it, only the medical path,
she decided to dive into Allkinds of other modalities and
discover for herself what couldhelp make a difference.
So she has studied Ayurveda,herbalism, applied kinesiology,
breathwork, traditional Chinesemedicine, acupressure,
embodiment and somaticpractices.

(03:20):
And she also got her master'sdegree in clinical nutrition.
So she works with a lot ofherbs, and genetics and
lifestyle for disease.
Prevention and also for diseasestates.
So I had a fascinatingconversation with her.
It made me once again, gratefulfor a format in which I can have

(03:40):
deeper conversations with peoplethat, you know, you watch their
things on Instagram or readtheir books.
And on this format, we can askmore questions and dive more
deeply.
I think you're going to enjoyit.
So without further ado, I giveyou Amanda Nova.

Track 1 (03:59):
I am so grateful to be able to share this conversation
with Amanda Nova today.
I found her on Instagram.
She has so much to say inbeautifully cultivated ways
about nervous system regulation,hormone regulation, gut
regulation, and detox andlymphatic flow.
And truthfully, if I was tothink of the four things that

(04:22):
physically can make a hugedifference, it would be those
four things.
So I am really grateful that yousaid yes, Amanda, to coming on
the show today, and I'm excitedto get into the conversation.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (04:35):
Thank you.
I'm excited to be here.
Thank you for having me.

Track 1 (04:39):
So I have heard more about your story than my
listeners may have already, andI know you came from a place of
Lyme disease, ankylosingspondylitis, all kinds of things
that are really hard and thatoften people are told they are
not going to heal from.
I know that discouragement andthat frustrating place, and I

(05:02):
also know your bio now and thethings that you've learned and
are sharing so well.
So I'm really interested to hearthe story of how you went from
being so ill yourself intocoaching other people.
Can you give me kind of a sketchof how that went in your life?
Because you have so manydifferent things you're

(05:23):
certified in.
I know that doesn't come withouta story.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1511 (05:26):
I know, I know.
It's, it's so interestingbecause I have a lot of
certifications.
I, I have a master's degree inclinical nutrition.
However, I did not go to schoolfor this originally.
I actually worked in brandmarketing for a really long time
for over a decade.
And I worked for big companiesand startup companies, and

(05:50):
that's really where a lot of mybackground came from.
And then You get sick andsomehow your life takes a
different path.
So I was always interested inhealth and wellness, but in a
much different way.
I also was a personal trainerand I was a health coach back
before it was popular.
Now everybody's a health coachBut I did it back in 2013 I

(06:15):
think, or 2012.
And I was into it, but in adifferent way.
'cause I worked in the food andbeverage industry and I really
just wanted to know and work forhealthy food brands.
And I started having chronicpain back in 2015.
So it's been almost about 10years now.
And back then I just thought itwas a workout injury in my lower

(06:37):
back and I started exploring,you know, what that could
possibly be.
I started getting all of thesechiropractic adjustments and you
know, making things worse.
But I was gaslighted, I.
Constantly because I was like,oh, you're too young to have
anything wrong, so it must be amuscle issue, or, you know, a
disc issue.

(06:58):
And so it kind of put me ontothis journey of really having to
advocate for myself and reallyhaving to learn what was going
on in my body.
So I, it took a very long time,but I went on this journey and
educated myself to really becomemy own healer.
And I, so I studied herbalismand I became herbalist.

(07:20):
I studied kinesiology, which ismuscle testing, so biochemical
kinesiology.
I hardly even remember half ofthe things that I've studied at
this point.
Right?
I was kind of pulling all ofthese, these things together.
Um, I spent some time studyingAyurveda, traditional Chinese
medicine, and, um, I became abreathwork facilitator and, and

(07:40):
Kundalini and, and all of thesedifferent things and yin yoga.
The from, that's all that I canremember now, right?
And I went to school to get mymaster's degree, but while this
was going on, I was, I wasreally having to be my own
healer.
So I was just learning differentthings because I truly believe
that healing or, or going intoremission, right?
Because it's not necessarilygone, you know, people have

(08:02):
different belief systems on whathappens.
I tend to believe that healingis not linear.
So we go through phases where weget our Lyme or our mold into
remission and it can then pop upagain, say you get covid or
something happens and it kind ofcomes back.
So for me it's always been aboutmanaging my illness, managing my

(08:24):
symptoms so that I can functionday to day and helping it into,
into remission.
So I've been on this journey ofa, figuring out what was wrong,
which I didn't find out until 2020 is when I learned that I had
Lyme disease.
Learned that I had lived inchronic mold since 2015, so this

(08:45):
was like all happening, right?
And then mold sits on top ofLyme, and then the ankylosing
spondylitis, which isinflammatory arthritis that
starts in, in the spine, livesessentially in the spine.
I didn't find out until, I thinkmaybe 21, it was a little bit
later, but the mold in the Lymecaused the as.

(09:08):
I just happened to besusceptible to having it because
my father has psoriaticarthritis.
So I was susceptible to gettinginflammatory, an inflammatory
condition.
Had I not had the Lyme and mold,I don't know if I would've ended
up with the autoinflammatorycondition and.
In order for me to heal intoremission and, and be where I'm

(09:28):
at now, I had to work on thenervous system, work on the
hormones.
I had to pull all of thedifferent levers that I had, and
I couldn't find a doctor who hadall of those different things.
So I became

Track 1 (09:43):
All right.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1 (09:43):
that practitioner for myself and
then, you know, and then becamean educator for, for others.

Track 1 (09:50):
Oh, that's so beautiful.
I wanna go back to the beginningof your story to highlight
something because I feel likewhen our bodies start to break
down sometimes, and it sometimesit's hard to find answers as to
why it could be so frustratingwhen we go to different doctors
or talk to different people, andespecially if you are younger

(10:12):
when this is happening, whenthey look at you and they tell
you, nothing is wrong.
It feels terrible.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (10:18):
Yeah.

Track 1 (10:20):
I also had Lyme and did not know it, and I, in college
it manifested, I didn't realizeit was Lyme then.
I thought it was a repetitivestrain injury.
I played the cello about eightor nine hours a day and my arms
started to hurt.
So that tells me, I mean, I wasplaying cello too much, but it
did not recover with rest.

(10:40):
And I remember going from doctorto doctor with my father and he
was kind of, of the school ofwe, we don't go to the doctors
unless we're bleeding so to gowith me, which saved me I think,
truthfully, from a lot ofnonsense growing up.
But when we would go and doctorswould look at me and tell me
nothing was wrong, or look athim and tell him it was all in

(11:01):
my head.
I feel this just kind of fire inmy belly every time that I hear
that has happened to otherpeople.
But what I think is interestingabout that perspective now.
It is difficult as a provider tofind out what is really going on
with every patient and divinginto it.

(11:24):
You have a series of things thatdiagnoses usually present with,
and so many people are gettingso sick where the traditional
indicators of an illness arecrossing over with other
autoimmune conditions wherehormone dysregulation is going
crazy, where nervous systemdysregulation is going crazy
that I think it's honestlygetting harder and harder to

(11:45):
diagnose people because symptomsare, are flying all over the
place.
I mean, when I had my big healthcrash a few years ago, I saw
three very high poweredneurologists and all they could
do was really like, send me totheir other neurology friend
because all of the symptomscrossed over each other.
I think.
I think your story and my storyhas so much overlap.

(12:08):
But what I'm realizing is themore I talk to people, our
stories overlap with so manyother people,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (12:15):
and I think I, and I always say too,
like, you know, when you are apractitioner that's helping
someone heal through thesethings, it's, it's almost like
there's all these symptoms,right?
And you wanna manage thesymptoms, but also.
It's, it almost doesn't matterwhat the diagnosis is.
And I learned that too.
And, and it actually almostharmed me in some ways because

(12:38):
once I had my diagnosis, right,'cause I had more than one, that
became my identity.
And then I was living in thisplace of like, well I have Lyme.
And I was like, Lyme was like mything and Ankylos and
spondylitis and I was like inthat.
And I almost had to abandon thata little bit in order to, to
heal.
And what I found is that at Theroot cause of most of these

(13:04):
things, whatever it is, is somesort of stress, chronic stress,
whether it's environmental,which could be toxins or
illness, right?
It could be physical.
People are getting covid andthen all of a sudden their mono
from 20 years ago is coming backonline.
You know, it's, or theseemotional stressors of, I'm

(13:24):
seeing people who come to me andthey had a trauma, you know,
early on in their life, and nowyou know, they're in some state
of chronic stress and then allof a sudden their Lyme comes
out.
So I am noticing that like thereis so much crossover, but there
is this common denominator atthe root of it, which is like,
it's not necessarily the tick,right?

(13:46):
It's, it's that there is thischronic stressor on the physical
body causing all of thesesymptoms.

Track 1 (13:53):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
A million times, yes.
I don't think we could overstatethat enough because it was
frustrating for me not to have adiagnosis, mostly because I knew
something was going on and noone could figure out what it
was.
And I guess I mostly didn't wantthat experience again, of

(14:14):
somebody saying, I'm making itup, right?
I was like, no, put your fingeron it so that I know what to do.
Just tell me what it is and thenI can run with it.
But again, once you get thediagnoses, man, if you go to
groups where people have Lymedisease.
Or enclosing spondylitis or, Ihave a thing that happens with
me called myalgia.

(14:34):
Encephalitis, which is where mybrain and spinal cord swell and
the muscles hurt, all of themYou go to the groups for these
things and it is really hard tofind light or motivation for
healing.
It.
It's like you can enter a worldwhere that is all there is and
that is all there ever will be.

(14:56):
To highlight and agree with whatyou were saying.
Whatever it is, there are somethings that we can do that end
up being the things that helpour body anyway, but I think two
things are also true about that.
Number one, it helps ourday-to-day life to learn how to
regulate our nervous system.
Our hormones, our gut, and ourdrainage systems.

(15:19):
It just does no matter what wehave, we need to detox.
We, our hormones controleverything about how we feel and
function.
Pretty much our gut controls,how we detox, how we process the
bacteria that are in our guthelp or hurt us with heart
disease, brain function, every,like, everything and nervous
system regulation that does itall.

(15:40):
So not only are we making lifebetter no matter what we have,
but we also can help ourproviders to be able to
diagnosis, to diagnose somethingto help us, you know, like give
a direction to go if we aredoing what we can in our life in
the first place.
When I was dysregulatedeverywhere, it was hard to even

(16:01):
find a starting point.
And I remember when we wouldstart, maybe if we started by
going after we, we knew I hadsome kind of infection, but we
couldn't find what it was andwhen they would start Doing
herbal protocols or parasiteprotocols or anything?
I, my symptoms would get muchworse at first, and I realize

(16:22):
now it's because my detoxchannels were not open.
I had to do a lot more activework with my lymphatic work work
and with my gut.
Both of those systems needed to,to be better before I could even
attack the disease.
Does that make sense?

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1511 (16:38):
I mean, you can't, the, I always
start with the detox as well.
Like I always start with thedetox, but you have to be doing
the lymphatic work with thedetox because the lymphatic
system is your body sewersystem.
It is how our body eliminatesthings.
I mean, we, and we have lymphnodes right in our gut too.

(16:59):
So it's, everything is allconnected.
And I don't think that peoplealways realize how connected
these systems are, but youcan't, you cannot methylate
properly and get things out ofthose pathways if you are not
opening those lymphaticchannels.
And a lot of people think theirbodies just detox normally.

(17:21):
They're like, I don't need toworry about that.
But when you are sick or youhave toxic overload, you're not,
those pathways are not open.
They, you're not detoxingproperly.

Track 1 (17:30):
E exactly what I like about your work, and so I, what
I wanna talk about inconjunction with this is.
You give people things that theycan do that they don't have to
be a doctor for, and they don'thave to, you know, they can do
in between their appointmentswith their naturopathic foot
practitioner or theiracupuncturist or chiropractor or

(17:52):
medical doctor or whatever itis.
The work that you do withlymphatics, let's just start
there.
So can you explain what thelymphatic system is?
I know you said it's like yoursewer system but can you explain
a little bit more deeply forpeople who might not be aware,
the what the lymphatic system isand then what you can do at

(18:14):
home?
Some options that you can have.
I know they can check yourInstagram for more specifics
about how to do these things,but what they can do at home.
And then if you need more helpwith detoxification, so if
there's specific phases in yourliver detoxification that are
not working correctly, or if youneed more follow up on the gut,
then people can work.
With doctors for more of that,but wow.

(18:36):
Whatever we can do to helpourselves, especially if it's
inexpensive and it feels good,let's do that.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (18:40):
100%.
I'm so, so, so big on, onself-healing and, and I am also
big on medical healing.
'cause I do think they have towork together.
I, I love working with doctorsand other practitioners because
you need both of those things.
I mean, if you break your leg,you're not gonna, you know,
hopefully you're not gonna doreiki on and do just energy.

(19:01):
Like, I mean, I, I believe inthose things, but you know what
I mean?
Like, it has to work together.
So our lymphatic system is oursewer system, meaning that it is
the way our body moves wateraround is our lymphatic system.
We have the lymph nodes.
All over our body from our headall the way down our legs.
So they are everywhere.

(19:22):
So that means that they areimpacting every single system in
the body when our lymph nodesare not Draining properly.
We have excess water weight, wehave swelling, we have
headaches.
Also, things like anxiety anddepression can happen if we are

(19:42):
not properly draining ourlymphatic system.
And we can also get sick.
So if, you know, if you maybeare somebody who you get a cold
and it's lasts forever, it'sbecause you're not properly,
your body's not properly gettingrid of those things, or you're
coming in contact with a toxinbecause we all are all the time,
right?
If we're just living in theworld, right?

(20:04):
Your body can't eliminate thosethings properly if your
lymphatic system isn't workingproperly.
Our lymph nodes have twodifferent layers.
We have a layer that is rightunder the skin, and then we also
have what's called deeplymphatic, our deep lymphatic
layer, which lives in, in thegut.
Luckily we can support our lympheasily at home by doing

(20:28):
different things.
So for that sort of lightlymphatic layer that's, that's
at the surface level, lighttouch, massage and also things
like sweating or jumping on arebounder can really benefit it.
So things like dry brushing, ifyou've heard of dry brushing,
which is literally just a brushthat is dry you can, you just

(20:51):
brush on your body and youalways wanna be moving towards
the heart so you can dry brush.
I do a lot of cupping, solymphatic cupping, which is
putting oil on your body, whichyou're already kind of getting a
nice little lymphatic massage bydoing that.
And then I have these cups whereyou actually use them to help
move the lymph.

(21:12):
You can, again, sweating.

Track 1 (21:13):
I was just gonna say, I'm gonna pause you right there
to explain a little bit more ofthat.
So, cupping for anyone whohasn't heard of it, you've
probably seen the big, likecircle bruises on athletes in
the, in the Olympics andacupuncture.
We get that from acupuncturewhere they can put it over areas
that have scar tissue or otherproblems.
But I love the way that you dothe cupping, which is more

(21:37):
gentle.
You're not gonna get those crazybruises if anybody has heard.
That they have their place too,but that's not this

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1 (21:43):
Yes.

Track 1 (21:44):
So moving it through and dry brushing.
I used to hate, people wouldsuggest it when I was doing
cleanses'cause I had gut issuesbefore I got really sick.
But I hated the like bristlyfilling at first.
You can get the bristle brushesin like the makeup section in
lots of stores.
But when I got a little softerbrush, I just learned if you're

(22:06):
really sensory sensitive, runyour hand over the brush and
find what works for you.
But wow, my body started tocrave it.
I do it every morning before Iget in the shower, you know,
'cause my skin is accessible.
But you wanna do it before yourskin is wet.
Make sure it's really dry.
But wow, once you really startmoving the lymph, I could feel
the congestion that was aroundmy ankles that was back behind

(22:29):
my knee that goes around thelymph nodes by our armpits.
And that's a big place that wewanna keep open and moving.
It can decrease our incidence ofbreast cancer.
It makes us smell better'causethose lymph nodes collect, you
know, stuff from our sweat.
So just a little word of thosetwo things.
You use silicone cups whenyou're doing the cupping.

(22:50):
Is there a reason you like thoseversus glass cups?

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (22:53):
So, so just a little bit of
background on, on the cuppingthat I do.
So.
Back when I, so I've had acouple of surgeries on, on my
back and after my first spinesurgery, I went to a massage
therapist and personal trainerwho used to use those cups on me
for muscular pain and, andrelief of tension.

(23:14):
And I had got them myself.
And I started doing this massageand then I started realizing,
wow, this is actually moving mylymph.
And what I loved so much aboutit is that when you dry brush
it, it is very light touch andall you need is very light touch
for the, the lymphatic system ingeneral.
But a lot of people with drybrushing, you'll feel like, I

(23:34):
don't know if I'm doing anythingright.
Like you said, like it kind oftakes a little bit of a, a time
to then be like, wow, I'mnoticing a difference with the
cups.
You actually notice a differenceright away.
I think like, because it's alittle bit deeper than, than the
than the dry brush.
So.
The reason why.

(23:55):
So in traditional Chinesemedicine, you use glass and they
stay in one place.
The lymphatic cups with thesilicone, they actually can
glide a lot easier than if youwere using glass.
So it's a little bit of adifferent cupping than using the
glass.
You don't actually wanna createbruises all over your body,
though.
If you do leave a cup in onespot, you can have that, you

(24:18):
know, you can accomplish that.
The whole point of the glasscups is that you are bringing
the blood flow to that area,which helps with circulation.
It's not exactly as much focusedon the lymph as doing the
gliding cups, where that'sreally more cellular healing.

Track 1 (24:36):
Okay, perfect.
Because we have glass cups thatwe've used for scar tissue and
problems around joints as, as inour chiropractic office, but I
also noticed they don't glide aswell.
So that's, that's confirmingDebbie here.
Another note about lymphaticsystem, another thing you can do
to support that is lymphaticsystem doesn't have its own

(24:57):
pump, like our heart does forour circulatory system, like our
craniosacral fluid has in thecraniosacral system.
How it moves is usually by ourmuscles flexing around it.
Our muscles kind of massage.
So the way I think about it isif you're moving more often, you
know, moving, stretching, yoga,using a trampoline or rebound

(25:21):
bound or something like that,your muscles really moving that
out can really help.
I think that's a big reason whywhen a woman that I grew up
around when she was sick, shewould literally just strap on
tap shoes and put on a board on,on her floor and start tap
dancing when she was sick.
And I'm like, what are you doingWhy aren't you resting and

(25:42):
laying down?
And she said, I learned, I'velearned since I was young that
if I will get up and dosomething where I move even just
a little bit and then they backdown and then move around again,
that I get over it much faster.
And I learned that from someemergency room doctors that I am
friends with during COVID.
They said what they reallystarted to notice with COVID

(26:06):
especially is if you stay inbed, more likely dead, get up
and move.
And a at least every when theywere severe, they would try to
get them up.
They learned by, by the end ofthe big.
COVID hit, they would get peopleup at least every hour or two to
at least walk around the wardand back down for as long as
they could, because if theydidn't, they wouldn't be able

(26:28):
to.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (26:28):
get stuck.
That's so interesting.
And, and just another thing topoint out about the tapping,
which I think is interestingbecause the rebounding is a, is
a trampoline, right?
Where people are jumping up anddown for people that dunno what
a rebounder is and the lymphactually only moves in one
direction.
So the fluid in the lymph canonly move up towards the heart,
which is why we always move inthat direction.

(26:49):
So when you're jumping, it movesup, but it doesn't come back
down.
So that's why like when we'removing

Track 1 (26:55):
Hmm.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_151 (26:56):
or doing something where we are
kind of like jostling it alittle bit for it to come up,
that's also how we get it out.
So it's so interesting that shewas tapping because like they,
they do kind of like that up anddown movement

Track 1 (27:07):
Yeah.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1 (27:07):
bit.
I love that so

Track 1 (27:08):
Yeah,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1 (27:09):
It's so fun.

Track 1 (27:10):
it was cool.
I picture her now.
I bet she's still doing it andnow she's probably in her late
sixties.
It would not surprise me the bethat all if she just has the
board and the tap.
She's ready in the winter.
Okay, so you work on lymphaticregulation, but your biggest
thing you talk about is nervoussystem regulation and it just
makes me so dang proud of you,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (27:32):
Thank you.

Track 1 (27:34):
because my experience and also the research I'm
leaning into is pointing moreand more towards that is kind of
the elephant in the room thatpeople didn't know to talk
about, but that affectseverything.
Your nervous system affectsevery cell in your body.
No organs work without it.
No systems work without it.

(27:55):
You can survive for what, one totwo seconds without your nervous
system being online when people.
break that connection.
Whatever is past it is lost.
The nervous system is a hugedeal, but it regulates more than
just our breath and our gut andour liver and our big toe.

(28:19):
It regulates so much of how wefeel when we go into one way
that it works, which is our,what we call fight or flight,
our sympathetic system or we,it's now called fight, flight,
freeze or fawn.
And I'm glad that they haveexpanded that because there are,
those are real reactions or whenwe are in our resting and

(28:41):
digesting kind of mode orparasympathetic system.
So can you speak more about howyou leaned into that, how you
found it was valuable, and thenwhat are some of the things you
think most important for peopleto know about nervous system
regulation?
Why you would do it and how youcan do it.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_151 (29:04):
So like you said, the nervous
system affects every singlething in our bodies, and our
nervous system really is Whenit's regulated is what is
helping us to be in a placewhere we can heal.
If we are dysregulated, wereally can't heal.
Right?
It's like sort of thatungroundedness, when we are in

(29:24):
fight or flight, it's, it'simpossible to, to heal.
And I'll, and I'll explain alittle bit why, but for me, I
got into it really setting thevagus nerve and really becoming
just an expert on the vagusnerve.
And the reason is because thevagus nerve is really the switch
between the parasympathetic andthe sympathetic nervous system

(29:44):
states, as you had said.
Right?
So between that sympatheticstate where we are activated.
Or the parasympathetic.
And I always think p for, forpeaceful and, and right.
That's how I kind of rememberthat, that rest and digest, the
vagus nerve is the switch.
So the vagus nerve you hear somuch about, and it's so buzzy,

(30:05):
but it is the nerve that, youknow, starts in our brain and it
goes all the way down and itimpacts so many different
organs.
It touches almost, almost everyorgan.
And that's why it's, it's knownas this wandering nerve, right?
It's a, it's a branch and so ittouches our gut, it touches our
liver, it touches our lungs.

(30:25):
So our nervous system really iscontrolling how our heartbeats,
how, how we breathe, how we stayalive.
Our, I always tell people thatour nervous system Is there to
keep us not only alive, but itis there to protect us.
So when we go into sympatheticstates, when we encounter a

(30:47):
stressor, the sympathetic stateis protection, right?
It's to activate us.
But what happens is, is that allof our body's energy starts
running to the peripheral, um,limbs, right?
So that we can fight.
And our pupils, they, theydilate so that we can see
better.
Like we actually become in thisactivated state.

(31:10):
Everything that happens to ourbody, our heart pounds, our,
our, our breath, right?
Everything that happens, happensso that we can protect ourselves
from a stressor.
So it's actually a good thing.
However, we are supposed to beable to get into that
sympathetic state and then comeout of that sympathetic state.
When we are in chronic states ofstress, we are chronically in

(31:34):
that fight, flight, or freeze,or fought.
Because all the energy is stillgoing to the limbs and to
protect us.
There is no energy going to thedigestive system.
There is no energy going to theliver.
So we are unable to detox.
We are unable to digestproperly.
What people don't know, when wetalk about the, the vagus nerve

(31:57):
and we talk about the brain gutconnection, is that if our
nervous system is dysregulatedand our vagus nerve isn't
functioning, we cannot digestour food properly.
So we are constipated.
People often will findundigested food particles in, in
their stool.
There's so everything is, isconnected.
So people that have heartpalpitations or their heart rate

(32:20):
variability, which is theability right to your heartbeat
fast and then come back down toa normal heart rate, that is all
impacted by the nervous system.
So for me, Personally, I was sodysregulated after Lyme and
mold, like, I mean, justcompletely like a cat in a hot

(32:43):
tint roof, right?
Like everything was making menervous.
I was not digesting everything.
I, my heart was poundingconstantly.
My temperature, my body wasdysregulated.
Everything was dysregulated.
So in order for me to heal thosethings, yes, there was the
element of detox.
But until I got my nervoussystem under control, I couldn't
get my hormones balanced.
I couldn't get anything on, youknow, I couldn't heal at all.

Track 1 (33:07):
I would love to add in there.
The symptoms you're talkingabout are really common symptoms
that people don't really knowwhat to do about if you're
getting cold and you cannot warmup.
That's a nervous systemregulation thing.
It can have to do with hormones.
But hormones are also a part ofregulating the nervous system.
If you are reacting to tons offood, to everything that goes in

(33:29):
your body, yes, there's guthealing.
It's also a nervous systemthing.
When you're running from a tigeror you're under attack, you're
not gonna be eating ice cream orstuffing in really heavy carby
foods.
Your body is not digestingwhatever, whatever you are
putting in.
So sometimes when people arehaving food reactions, they get

(33:50):
more stressed with the foodreactions they have, which is
actually increasing thatstressed zone and making it so
you're less able to digest, evenif you had the right gut
bacteria and you had the rightenzymes.
That's, and, and blood pressure.
Blood pressure regulation is athing that I still struggle
with.
I had low blood pressure in thefirst place, but then in, in

(34:12):
going through all of this thisstuff the last few years, then I
further lost the ability tobring my blood pressure up.
So tons of dizziness potsdisease is what they call it,
but it's basically when my bloodpools more in my legs, then
comes back up to my head when Istand up.
And I've learned that's alsoreally common.

(34:32):
Or yes, heart palpitations, allthe things that we associate
with something being bad in oursymptoms of our daily life where
we, people can't figure it out.
Temperature regulation, all theother things we've talked about,
if you trace it back to anervous system regulation, often
they are really intelligentdecisions the body has made.

(34:56):
If we were running from a tiger.
And we have to look at that asand really take a moment for it
because our bodies areintelligent.
They aren't stupid or trying tohurt us or just unable.
But if we are constantly puttingourselves in situations where we
either are unsafe or we feelunsafe or never getting, giving

(35:20):
ourselves the opportunity togenuinely come back down out of
the stress, then our body isdoing exactly what it is
designed to do.
It's not fighting against us, wejust have to kind of learn the
code of what it's trying to dofor us and then make more
helpful decisions if we don'tlike feeling like that all the
time.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (35:41):
And I think the problem is too, is
that we are no longer in asociety where we are running
from tigers regularly.
And so the tiger has become anemail like, your boss sends you
an email, right?
Like it's a sick relative.
It's, it's become these thingsthat are not, they're not small

(36:03):
things, but they're everydaythings that you're dealing with
on a regular basis, which makesit really challenging to come
out of fight or flight becauseit's kind of like being
waterboarded a little bit.
It's like you try to come outand then it's like something
else happens.
And you know, if you're in a jobthat you, that really causes you
to feel.
Unsafe.
You know, maybe you're worriedthat you're gonna lose your job.

(36:25):
So every single day you feelunsafe.
That's how you get chronic disdysregulation.
And really the only way to dealwith that is to be always
working on your nervous systemand do nervous system
regulation.
I mean, yes, you wanna takeyourself out of these
environments and you wannaremove it, but that's not always

(36:46):
an option.
I mean, I always tell peoplelike you, yes, maybe you want to
look for a job where you feelbetter, but.
For a lot of people, there's nooption to just up and quit your
job, right?
Or just move your home or say toyour relative, sorry, you're
sick.
See ya.
Like you can't do that, right?
So you have to be just cognizantof taking care of yourself and

(37:10):
regulating your nervous systemregularly.
And what that also does is itbuilds up resistance to stress.
So the more you work on yournervous system and the more you
work on your vagus nerve, themore that you strengthen that
like any other muscle, you know,just working.
It really helps you to be ableto deal with, with stress big

(37:31):
and small.

Track 1 (37:33):
That is so beautifully said.
Yeah.
I think when my symptoms startedin earnest, and most people I
know that are experiencing a lotof dysregulation, it is those
things that seem small.
But don't feel small at the sameat, at the time.
And also stack up.
So maybe you don't sleep well,you get up late, that means
you're late for work.

(37:54):
You have to hurry and rush andyou're trying to slam breakfast
in as you go.
Maybe something stressfulhappens at work.
Maybe you're worried aboutlosing your job.
Maybe there's like a manager youdon't love or you have a job
where you have to be on pointthinking about others and
managing a lot of differentdirections at the same time than
we have a lunch break and maybewe have to fight traffic, or

(38:14):
maybe we get a stressful phonecall or whatever.
We could do our day and thencome home.
And if we have relationshiptrouble and there's an argument
or we have a, you know, fourchildren to run to five
different sports while we'retrying to cook dinner, those are
always like, I, I think of thatas, as always points when I'm on
point.
Always.

(38:34):
And I used to think, well, yeah,I wanna be on point, always,
like always doing my best.
This is the best version ofBecca that I can be showing up.
But really what I meant.
in, in my reality was my best ofeveryone's version of me.
How do I be the best for whateverybody wants me to be?
I wanna be the best employee foryou, the best mom for you, the

(38:55):
best wife for you, the best,whatever.
And I think somewhere like somany other people, I lost just
actually being Becca and it waswhen I found my way mentally and
spiritually back to being myselfover other people's expectation.
Then I started to be able togive myself the time to

(39:18):
regulate.
I hear so much frustrationcoming from, especially
middle-aged women becausethey're the ones I talk to a lot
and open up with when they thinkthey say.
I think I feel like self-care orways I could regulate myself is
just another thing I'm failingat.
Like how are you supposed to doself-care while you are also.

(39:38):
Shuttling children and workingfull-time and doing your
finances and taking care of thehome, like it's just one more
thing to fail at.
And I think if we can shift thatparadigm a little bit to, this
is the most important thing isregulating your own self.
Because until you do that, youare not really showing up well

(40:02):
in the world anyway, and you endup getting sick and then you end
up going down, or your financescrash, or your relationship
crashes, and that doesn't reallyend up helping the world as much
as you thought it would.
Does that make sense?
We end up giving so much morewhen we can show up from a place

(40:23):
of being actually ourselves.
And what I've learned is whenI'm in the place of granting
that some importance.
Like, not, not as your wife,what do I need to do right now?
But as myself, what do I needright now?
Am I really amped?
Do I need to take five minutesto just not, okay, dinner is not

(40:44):
quite done yet, but I can feellike I am feeling really anxious
or I am feeling reallydysregulated.
Everybody.
I'm gonna pause I'm pausingdinner for right now and I'm
just gonna go in my room for aminute and learning what to do
at that point.
Learning some breathingtechniques, learning some ways
to refocus your mind, learningsome things to you teach

(41:07):
acupuncture points that arenervous system regulating,
learning tools like that to giveyourself a little bit.
It doesn't mean you have to takean hour bath at lunch every day,
and it doesn't mean you cannever have stressful
conversations.
It means that you are bringingyourself back as the important
person in your life.
The main one, the one that yourealize if you stay regulated,

(41:31):
you can continue to show up inyour life in a kind, regulated
way with tools to share andperspectives to give.
If you get dysregulated, you'regonna be snappy, ornery, you're
gonna burn out.
And it's, it's, it's for whatit's like for an idea of what
you should be and you lose whoyou are.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024 (41:51):
you're no good to anybody at that
point.
Like you can't pour from anempty cup.
Right.
And so that's, I, I'm so So 100%in, in agreement with what you
said, because like, we wanna bethe best, the best, you know,
partner, the best, you know,mom, we wanna be these people,
you know, the best businessowner, you know, the, you wanna
be all of these things.
And then if you get sick, you,you can't be that.

Track 1 (42:15):
Yeah.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1511 (42:16):
I don't know if you've noticed
this in, in your experienceworking with people who are sick
and, but, but I have that manyof them are type A, my, myself
included, people who

Track 1 (42:26):
Yes,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-20 (42:26):
working, working, working, and then got
sick.
And what I noticed about myselfis that I really was raised to
work, work, work, go, go, go.
And that's, and that's what Iwas always doing.
And for me, it was never okay totake a break or not show up or

(42:47):
call out unless something waswrong.
And then suddenly my body.
Manifested an illness, right?
So that I could take a break.
That was the only way I wasgoing to allow myself to take a
break.
But guess what?
I still had to work and I stillhad to go to graduate school.
So I did not actually have achoice to stop doing that.
And that's a lot of people.

(43:07):
So then it's really your bodyscreaming you to take a break.
you know, I always say topeople, there's a lot of
information out there about selfcare.
It doesn't, to your point, itdoes not have to be taking a
bath for an hour, going to get amassage.
It doesn't have to be glamorous.
It has to be what works for you.

(43:27):
You have to take what works foryou and leave the rest, what I
teach, you know, breathingexercises, acupressure points,
those are things that you cando.
In a minute, you know, go to thebathroom and, you know, do box
breathing, which is, you know,counting to four, taking a
breath in, right?
And then exhaling, you know,holding for four, exhaling for

(43:49):
four.
Like, those are things that youcan do really quickly that can
take care of yourself so thatyou can recenter and come back
as your best self.
That you don't have to feellike, oh my God, this is another
thing on my already crazy to-dolist that I just don't wanna do.

Track 1 (44:06):
Yeah,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (44:07):
Like, it should feel good.

Track 1 (44:10):
I think self-care is a secret that I hope does not
remain a secret of what itreally actually means.
It means caring about yourself.
I mean, really, if you like flipthe words around so when I care
for myself, then I maybe wouldmake a little bit more time to

(44:32):
eat so I could chew instead oflike slamming it in while I'm
driving in traffic.
Or caring for myself cansometimes mean I am putting down
my phone right now, even thoughI know there are more emails to
handle.
I know there are more textgroups to respond to for the
children's sports.
I know there's all that, but I'mputting my phone down and I'm

(44:53):
looking at my daughter and I'mtalking to her while she's still
young enough that she also wantsto talk to me.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (44:58):
Yeah.

Track 1 (44:59):
like self, self care just means caring for yourself
and that looks different atdifferent times.
It means that instead ofsacrificing what you know, feels
good to you and you know, helpsyou, instead of sacrificing that
for some, for like your to-dolist, which will never end.
You take a little bit of timeand you do what you know helps

(45:22):
you and then that a.
Helps your family, yourbusiness, your creativity, your
ki like, it, it helps you bemore you, but also I think is
one of the very best anti-aging.
Like I, I don't even like thephrase anti-aging.
We are aging, we're intended toage, and in many cultures it is

(45:44):
a beautiful process.
It isn't a magnificent loss.
Like we fill it here and it alsoisn't as rocky as we fill it
here.
And I think that's because thethings that are shown now in
research for helping you to agemore gracefully, they are the
things that help you live bettertoday.
It's caring for yourself.
It's increasing your community.

(46:05):
It's talking to your friends.
It's making time for when youeat.
It is taking the five extraminutes in the bathroom to do a
breathing exercises.
It's, it's the things that makelife good now that turns out
regulate your nervous system,help you age more gracefully and
can help your body calm down.
I mean, there's not a loss.
It's not another Failure thingon your list, it's an invitation

(46:29):
to come into the things thatactually really make a
difference.
It doesn't cost you money.
It doesn't cost you a massivetime.
It's, it's your life.
It's inviting yourself back intoyour life.
That's how I see it.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (46:41):
and to your point too, like what
about just laughing, calling upsomebody that makes you laugh or
watching a funny show?
I mean, it's, it doesn't have toalways be the same things.
And you need different things atdifferent times throughout your
life and different times throughthe day.
And so the main thing that Ialways tell people is, you know,
you gather the tools, right?

(47:02):
You learn things that you seeand you pick up things and, and
you take what works for you.
But the best thing that youcould possibly do is just check
in with yourself in the moment,right?
It only takes a second to say,what do I need right now?
And.

Track 1 (47:15):
Yeah.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (47:16):
And the other thing that I think
none of us, especially womenwere taught growing up is, is
boundaries.
And boundaries is coming in solarge right now because you
can't care for yourself withoutsetting those boundaries, right?
Like, so my thing is too, likeif social media, let's say
scrolling through social mediamakes you feel bad and watching

(47:37):
a sitcom that you've seen amillion times makes you feel
good and safe.
'cause you know what's gonnahappen and you feel it makes you
laugh and fills you up.
Don't spend that half hourscrolling through social media
and then feeling bad afterwards.
Just do a quick check-in oflike, what do I actually need
right now?
And put up a boundary of I'm notgonna do something that makes me
feel better.
I'm not going to read the textmessage that came from the

(47:57):
person that Al always upsets meuntil the next day when I'm in a
better place.
Right?
Like, it's just putting thoseboundaries up and to manage your
yourself better so you feelbetter.

Track 1 (48:08):
I'll share the best advice that I have ever been
given about boundaries.
It's from a mentor of mine namedErnest Morrow, and I struggled
with boundaries because I wasused to pushing.
You said the people you find areat the highest percentage and
people you work with aredrivers, I would say it's
drivers and pleasers.

(48:29):
that end up

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (48:30):
100%.
Yeah.

Track 1 (48:32):
yes.
That end up overdoing and thencrashing.
Right.
So I'm a lovely combination ofboth of those things and my
problem with boundaries andothers that I find is can you
push to that thing?
Can you take that text?
Well, yeah, probably.
Can you stay on your feetlonger?
Probably.
Can you, you know, respond toall of these emails even though

(48:54):
you really need to get up andmove and your butt's numb and
your legs hurt, and your jawhurts?
Yeah, probably like I can do.
So many things, but I end uppushing.
I was having a hard time findingthe line between a healthy push,
which pushes, you know, likepushes into productivity, but
not too far or going way toofar.
All I knew was how to produceand push for the level of what I

(49:17):
wanted it to be, and he helpedme understand that the new
information in my life and whatI have been earnestly trying to
work on.
And that is when you're sayingyes or no, it's, I can do that
thing and stay myself, as in Iam in the place of abeka for me.

(49:39):
Like what do I wanna do rightnow?
What fills in flow for me rightnow where I can stay in a place
of sovereignty and in a placewhere I'm not doing a million
things for everybody else.
It's what I know I'm supposed tobe doing in that day.
I can do this thing and staymyself, or I cannot do this

(50:00):
thing.
And stay myself.
So maybe I could answer thatemail except I'm starting to get
tired and I'm starting to getOny and it's probably not gonna
be my sovereign self respondingto that email so I can and stay
myself I can't and stay myself.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1511 (50:18):
I love that so

Track 1 (50:19):
And that for me made that boundary line a little less
ambiguous.
And ironically, it also meanswhen I focus on staying myself
on staying regulated would bethe nervous system word for it.
But when, when I do that, I endup being more productive because
I'm doing things in flow andbecause I'm doing things while I

(50:40):
still have myself, which means Ihave my creativity, I have my
regulation, I have better ideasand then I know when to stop to
reel it back in.
If I'm starting to get reallytired or ornery or feel draggy,
or I know if I eat, it's gonnamake me bloat.
Then I stop for a minute and Itake a little time.
And then I go back in and I endup being just far more

(51:03):
productive.
But at the end of the day, I'mnot completely gassed.
I think it, it was wonderful

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024 (51:08):
You're not, you're not fried.
And, and yeah.
I mean, when you're Respondingto things when you're activated
and you're in that sympatheticstate too, like that's when
mistakes get made.
Like that's how I wouldexperience too, is like I would
do things so fast that because Iwas always trying to produce
more, and when you're sodysregulated in that way,
mistakes get made.
Yeah.

(51:29):
You can be irritable withpeople.
So I do think for healing, forliving, for showing up as who
you authentically are in yourlife, is managing the nervous
system.
And you can really do that withbreath work.
So learning breathing exercisesthat are really, really simple,

(51:50):
you can do that with things likeacupressure.
You can do that with things likesinging and laughing.
Those two things can work.
The vagus nerve, which againimpacts the entire body as well
as the nervous system.
So it's all different kinds ofthings and it's just finding
what.
Works for you.
What feels good in your body?

(52:12):
For me, the biggest thing is, isbreath work and breathing.
And I make that a priority.
I don't have a lot of time for alot of things right now.
I'm in, you know, infant stagecoming out of newborn.
You know, my, my baby is five, alittle over five months and I
really had a big learningexperience while being pregnant

(52:34):
about boundaries and, you know,coming into postpartum 100%.
And so all I really have timefor is to pick and choose,
right?
Like, am I gonna shower?
Am I gonna eat?
Am I gonna breathe?
And I, you know, what am I

Track 1 (52:47):
Yes, yes.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (52:48):
Like, you're kind of, you do this like
opportunity cost, and, you know,besides personal hygiene, which
we try to, you know, keep onpoint.
I don't have

Track 1 (52:58):
That is just honest.
That is just honest.
I don't know a single motherthat doesn't, you know, have to
weigh if she showers or not atthat stage,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1511 (53:08):
I mean, I,

Track 1 (53:09):
or look at your clothes and realize how many like forms
of go are there and be like,well, I guess the days in which
I was pretty are paused for amoment.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (53:17):
I'm someone that was like, you know,
always like, yeah, like, take asalt bath.
Now I take baths with my babybecause that's how I have,
that's how I can take a bath andalso have room for something
else, right?
I'm like, like I know.
I'm like, oh, my husband grataker.
And now I could like, you know,spend five minutes in the bath
by myself, you know?
So like, it's just, you know,figuring out what those things

(53:37):
are.
And so I always make time tobreathe and that's just, that is
what works for me.
And so it's just finding thosethings for you, and you do have
room for those things becauseyou can find pockets.
Here and there in the car.
I tell a lot of people, sing inthe car, scream in the car.

(53:58):
I, when I was at a really badplace in, in my life, I used to
drive upstate and on thehighway, and I would just sing
my heart out and I would justscream at the top of my lungs.
And I'm sure that

Track 1 (54:09):
Hmm.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_151 (54:09):
by were like, who is this
psychopath that's screaming intheir car?
But,

Track 1 (54:14):
I love being the crazy dancing singing lady when I am
by myself in a car.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1511 (54:19):
a maniac.
But like, those are the things,right, of like, okay, like you
can find a way to fit it intoyour life and, and just, and
just feel good.

Track 1 (54:30):
Yeah.
Oh yes, a million yeses.
I know I have taken most of ourtime on nervous system
regulation, but that is becauseI think it deserves most of the
time there are more and morepeople beginning to speak about
it, but I think it deserves agood deeper dive.
You do have two other areasthough, that I know you speak

(54:52):
about, and I'm wondering if wecan give at least a few minutes
to each of those.
I love that your course iscalled what was it Nourishing
Your hormones or,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (55:01):
Oh, the Course.

Track 1 (55:03):
yes.
So how, what are ways thatpeople can nourish their
hormones?
Much of my audience is, youknow, male and female in their
forties and fifties, latethirties, and things are really
starting to change in theirhormone levels and in their life
in that regard.
So what are some things you cando to nourish your hormones

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_151 (55:26):
So hormones are connected to
everything as well, which iswhy, you know, I try to cover
these things that are all sortof intertwined in a way.
And I work with a lot of womenwho are perimenopausal or, or
menopausal and you know, so forpeople who are still cycling and

(55:46):
menstruating, it's really aboutlearning your cycle and where
you're at in your cycle.
And there's different ways tosupport both lifestyle and food
wise and, and beyond that I workwith a lot of women who are
about to be put on hormones orwho are put on hormones.
And so what I think is importantfor people to know both men and
women is that you can supportyour hormones with food.

(56:09):
And, and herbal supplements.
It doesn't always have to beshots of testosterone for, for
men who are aging, it doesn'talways have to be estrogen
pills, although those things canbe supportive from a medical
perspective, there are thingsthat you can do.
So I think just getting, youknow, some information on your
body, what you need.

(56:29):
So if you do need more estrogen,there are things that you can
eat.
You know, things like pumpkinseeds, things like yams.
You know, there are differentfoods that you can eat that are
supportive.
And also doing some of thisnervous system work and the
stress work because our hormonesare balanced via how our
adrenals are functioning, whichare our stress.

(56:52):
Glands.
So again, making sure thatyou're in this state of
parasympathetic can be sonourishing to your hormones.
Um, and lastly again, becauseeverything's connected, detox is
a really big thing.
So a lot of people are estrogendominant because so many toxins
act like estrogen within thebody.

(57:14):
And so a lot of people will haveall these symptoms that we're
talking about and maybe theyreally don't have Lyme, but they
have estrogen dominance or they,there's a big connection between
mold and Lyme and then ending upin hormone imbalance because
everything, right, it's like adomino effect.
So

Track 1 (57:32):
yeah.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-20 (57:33):
detoxing can help get the estrogen out of
our bodies.
So again, working on thelymphatic system, working on
detox can help us to move someof those things out.

Track 1 (57:45):
Oh, that's such a great recap.
I have done episodes alreadywith doctors who have done a
deep dive into hormones, andthat was one of the themes I
think that really comes acrossis your stress levels relate so
much to your hormone regulation.
That adrenal glands, they arecalled adrenal because of

(58:05):
adrenaline that they secretewhen we are stressed.
But if you are not givingyourself nourishment, then in
the adrenal glands, then itderegulates your hormonal system
also, and our society teaches usotherwise.
It's like.
oh, if you're tired, then makesure you pick up some coffee

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024 (58:28):
Right.

Track 1 (58:28):
in the morning.
And then also make sure youdrink some more at lunch so that
you can be productive in theafternoon.
But sugar and coffee are two ofthe biggest things that are,
that hit our adrenal glandshard.
So instead of having the naplike they would do in South
America in at that time of earlyafternoon, then we try to charge

(58:50):
it back up, which destroys ouradrenal glands.
Then they get more dysregulatedand they're trying to just, you
know, sort of squirt out thebasics that they can do to give
us what we need.
And it is not enough to regulateour hormones.
Then they fall apart and we feeleither overly emotional or
overly bitchy or, or, or justvery foggy thinking, which

(59:14):
doesn't help us produce anyway.
It's like when you really zoomout in the cultural teachings,
they're crazy making, and Ithink that's what It has made
us.
It is crazy where when you focusin on taking care of yourself,
if you self-regulate a littlemore, that helps your nervous
system, helps your adrenalglands, help your hormones, and

(59:36):
as we'll talk about next, alsohelps your gut.
So can you give me the basics ofwhat you teach about the gut?
Because I'm interested in that

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (59:45):
Yeah.
So, so I will say too, that somuch of, of what I teach at the
core is really about chronicstress and the way that our
emotions manifest within, withinthe body.
So I actually have, I just wrotean ebook on chronic stress in
the adrenal system and, and howit affects the hormones and all
of that stuff.
And the

Track 1 (01:00:05):
Oh, what is that called?
And how can, oh, sorry.
What is that book called and howcan people get a hold of it?
I can put it in the show notes.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_15 (01:00:14):
Are Tired, my Chronic Guide to
Stress and Adrenal Fatigue, andthat is on my website.
So it's an ebook so anybody canget it and download it.
Super easy.

Track 1 (01:00:25):
That's beautiful.
Even my adrenals are tired.

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_1 (01:00:28):
Even my, even my adrenals are tired.
Like everything is fatigued,right?
Like, okay, even my adrenals.
And that's what's going on.
And I talk a lot about how thedifferent hormones are impacted
and just the, just the waystress works.
On a physiological bodyphysiologic, physiological
perspective.
Hello.
I'm I'm getting there.
And it's four o'clock here inNew York, so I'm, I'm, my brain

(01:00:50):
is starting to go.
But yes, the gut, I, I do talkabout, about the gut.
I don't talk about the gut asmuch as I used to in the gut is
super duper important.
The only reason why I don't talkabout it as much anymore is
because so many people talkabout the gut.
And I'm so grateful for thatbecause we need to be talking
about it.
But you know, as I was sayingearlier about not having time to

(01:01:11):
digest, when the nervous systemis, is acting up, I mean,
everything is really happeningtogether and the gut is
producing our neurotransmittersand our hormones, right?
Majority of our serotonin, whichyou know, is a neurotransmitter,
is produced within, within thegut, as you know.
And, you know, I learned thatthat bacteria in the microbiome.

(01:01:34):
Can really impact anxiety anddepression, mental health
issues.
I don't think people reallyunderstand that there's that
physical conditions and mentaland emotional conditions are
really start there and then itgoes right back to the vagus
nerve, right?
The nervous system.
And it's, it's all connected andgut health, the, the way that I

(01:01:55):
look at healing everything is,is detox.
Get everything out that, thatneeds to get out and then, you
know, go and heal and rebuild,right?
So that's the same thing withthe gut.
You know, you remove the thingsthat are causing inflammation
within the gut, like, you know,intolerances and, and it's not
always just gluten and dairy.
I have clients who do tests andthey're, we have blueberries,

(01:02:17):
give them inflammation withintheir gut, right?
So there's so many differentthings, but just, you know,
removing those things and thengoing in and rebuilding the
lining of the gut and, andrepopulating with, with good
bacteria.

Track 1 (01:02:32):
Yeah.
Ah, perfect.
Well, if the name of the show iswhat really makes a difference,
I think the theme of Ourconversation is what really
makes a difference is helpingregulate your nervous system and
making sure you can detox.
Then your body knows what to do.
I think we can trust our bodiesto know what is the most

(01:02:54):
intelligent decision it can makein the state we are in.
And the surprising informationis we have a lot to do with the
state that we're in.
The more that we learn aboutcaring for ourselves and the
more that we learn to make thata priority and the better tools
we have.
So it, it isn't the old messagesof just take a bath and try to

(01:03:15):
calm down like so that it isusable tools within our day.
Then the more we can make adifference for ourselves, which
helps our doctors help us,whichever kind of doctors we're
using and which helps us age andwhat's helps us be there for our
family.
So if I had to pick the thingthat makes a difference.
It would be that.
And if I had to pick a person tofollow, to watch in little

(01:03:37):
minute and a half snips, and trysome things to see how it feels.
It would be you, Amanda.
So will you, I will share all ofthis in the show notes, but can
you tell people how they can getahold of you, what your website
is, what your socials are,

amanda-nova_2_01-10-2024_ (01:03:51):
Sure.
So my social is Amanda NovaWellness, and I have all
different kinds of virtualclasses on the nervous system.
I have one called Find YourNerve, which is a workshop of
really, really great and all thetools and I just teach it all.
And my website, I just changedit.
It's called Nebulous Soul, whereI am going to be really teaching

(01:04:13):
people how to remove the thingsfrom their body that are causing
pain and suffering.
So you can find all the stuff onmy Instagram and also on my new
website.

Track 1 (01:04:25):
That's beautiful.
That's beautiful.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us today.
And I look forward to whereit'll go and the people that can
be introduced to your work.
Thank you so much.
Um, see why I was lookingforward to that.

(01:04:47):
I love talking to people whocare about helping other people
and know what it is like to sitin the seat of a patient and
then figure out the things thatreally make a difference,
helping you move out of it.
If I could create a cliff notesof that conversation, I would
say it is that.
Our nervous system is regulatingour body all the time, and it's

(01:05:10):
normal and even necessary to goin stress responses and then to
come back out of them and gointo rest and regulation.
But when we don't, when we havechronic stressors, and we don't
regulate back down out of them,So remember that a chronic
stressor doesn't necessarilymean just too much on your to do

(01:05:33):
list or too many hours at work.
A chronic stressor can bechronic pain, which is there
like static in the backgroundall the time, or an illness that
your body is constantlyfighting.
Um, even perhaps under the radarlike mold, Lyme, breast implant
illness, um, mono, all kinds ofthings like that can create a

(01:05:55):
chronic stress in the body.
So when you're balancing, youknow, so when you're balancing
what you can do in a day, if youare fighting an infection or
you're dealing with chronicpain, remember that takes up a
certain amount of your bandwidthand puts you already in the zone
of a stress response.
So bringing that back down iseven more important and Even

(01:06:18):
more helpful.
Truthfully, we talked about selfcare as a way to do that.
And we do not mean Just takingbaths more often though.
That's really great Rememberself self care can be short bits
of things that you do to giveyourself rest or to show care

(01:06:39):
for yourself for more Uh,interesting and effective
nervous system regulationtechniques, um, acupressure
points and self massage andlymphatic flow and all of the
things that help with that, tuneinto her website.
She has wonderful classes orfind her on socials and I will
have all of those links in theshow notes.

(01:07:01):
I'm really grateful to have nextweek's guest on as well.
So just to get you thinkingahead about it.
Her name is Dr.
Liz Letchford, and she is agenuine expert in the field of
myofascial unwinding.
She has a master's inbiomechanics, in kinesiology,
and she's an athletic trainer,but she is just so much more

(01:07:22):
than that.
She teaches one of the mostconscientious, kind.
Um, and deeply effective methodsthat I have ever come across for
trauma and tension release inyour body.
Um, some of us know what itfeels like to store trauma in
your body or to store stress inyour body and, or have injuries

(01:07:45):
that just do not seem to healor, um, place on your body that,
you know, gets injured a lot,um, constantly bumping your knee
or constantly hitting your head.
She teaches why that can happenand why injury or trauma can
actually block our feeling ofbeing embodied, why we sort of
disconnect from our body andthen the stress and the tension

(01:08:07):
and the injuries build up.
So she teaches a method abouthow to go into your body to work
with it, to help it release.
And it is one of the.
Best regulation tools that Iknow.
So I think it's wonderful to bespeaking to both of these women
so closely together becausetheir information relates to

(01:08:28):
each other.
We also go into a lot of otherjuicy bits of information, like
why female athletes get hurtmore often than male athletes.
And the answers may be verydifferent than you have been
taught, according to herresearch.
Um, We also talk about courageand what part courage has to do
with healing our own trauma orstressors.

(01:08:49):
We talk about boundaries and wetalk about some really
fascinating ways in which shelearned boundaries and can share
them.
She is the creator of a thingcalled Body Church, and she is
releasing lots of reallyinteresting courses.
She's just one of my favoritepeople.
Truthfully, I'm so honored tohave her on our show and I'm

(01:09:09):
excited to tune in with you nextweek.
So I'll see you then.