Cozy Hobbies to Support Your Nervous System
Sara Childers (00:01.646)
Welcome back to another Metabolic Wisdom podcast. My name is Sarah Childers and I am your host. So today I actually wanted to do a little bit different episode than what I have been doing. So I wanted to do something a little bit cozy, a little bit fun. I actually asked on my Instagram what people would like to see and I gave a poll with a few different choices.
And the choice that won was hobbies that regulate the nervous system. So that is what we are going to be talking about today is hobbies that regulate your nervous system. And we're going to kind of talk about it in the context of women's health and just my vision as a holistic dietitian who believes in women really embracing their fully feminine
divine design. and what that even means, we'll kind of go into it in the podcast episode, but, yeah, I wanted this to be a fun episode because I feel like, especially right now in the health and wellness space, everything is just so perfectionistic, high pressure, either like fear-based shaming, you know,
very rigid and like even in the last few weeks or months honestly for myself when it comes to just health on social media whether that is a long form platform like youtube or podcasting or even short form which i think is a little bit more annoying like instagram
and TikTok, everything just feels so gimmicky. Everything feels so like marketing something to you. Like I was listening to a podcast the other day and not going to say which one it was, it was very popular health podcast. And it was like, it felt like just rapid fire marketing. Like it felt like, what's your favorite product? What's your favorite this or that? And it's like,
Sara Childers (02:25.086)
Primally Pure. this or that. it's like the whole conversation was basically like just a ploy to get people to like click on their links and buy stuff. And that's pretty much the opposite of what I want to do with my podcast and the things that I put out into the atmosphere. I want things to be like lower consumption, cozy.
make you feel good and inspired but not be super high pressure. that's what we are talking about today. hobbies that regulate your nervous system. I think we should start by covering, why are our nervous systems dysregulated in the first place?
And I kind of feel like the answer to that goes back to the whole entire introduction that I just got done with. Social media, the wellness space, I think us constantly in consumption mode or in output mode, whether that is we're constantly consuming either short form content.
we're consuming media, we're consuming a lot of like fear based, marketing based, cause you know, marketing, especially anywhere like social media, it targets your fears, it targets your emotions, it wants to drive a response, it wants to trigger a reaction from you. So like we're constantly being exposed to that. Also,
Not only are we usually in consumption mode on our phones, on our TVs, on our computers, but when we put those things off, usually, especially women, are then in chronic output mode when they're outside of their devices. They're either consuming too much or they're working, they're driving people, carpooling to meetings, sports, curricular activities.
Sara Childers (04:50.063)
or they're hurrying to clean, to make a meal. And I feel like we've kind of lost that part of ourselves that just has like a calm presence. We've kind of lost the part of ourselves where we're just sitting back and resting. feel like hustle culture and trying to do all of the things has really gotten our nervous systems a little dysregulated. Cause when you're constantly
either in over consumption mode with like social media or when you are in constant work work hustle mode, you're not leaving time to rest to kind of recalibrate and to support your nervous system. So over time people just have this high output of cortisol and their vagus nerve or their central nervous system just becomes a little bit dysregulated and we can even see it in like
burping after meals, and exhaustion, and hair loss, and having acne, and imbalanced hormones, and gut issues, trouble digesting. Like those are signs that our nervous system is a little dysregulated. And everybody can be in like a different stage of dysregulation, but I think just our state.
of being in society right now just doesn't support our body's ability to just sit back and rest and to just sit back and be. We have jam-packed lives and I think the American dream really causes people to just overdo it. And I feel like I've experienced that and so in the last year
because I make goals every year. And this year I did have goals for my business and last year I had goals for my business and I felt like I hustled really hard. But I did get to a point this year where I was like, I need to slow down a little bit. I need to reflect a little bit because I felt myself losing the part of me that is healthy and is regulated and
Sara Childers (07:13.87)
is what actually inspired me starting my holistic nutrition business. I think that I've always been somebody who is very creative and has a lot of hobbies, but also loves to be outside and to breathe the fresh air and to exercise and take care of myself. But I think the very things like that that I felt made me so healthy were things that I actually lost in pursuit of helping other people or...
kind of self-sacrificing just a little bit to get where I want to be in life. And so I think that this episode is pretty timely. And as women, when we think about how we rest or how we restore ourselves, like I don't think that when...
we are looking to regulate our nervous systems. I don't think our first thing should be to rot on the couch and binge watch a Netflix show or to scroll on our phones or to just indulge in a crazy meal. I think if we make patterns of that, that's gonna be our reward for everything and we're never gonna feel good after that. And it just makes a really vicious cycle. And none of those things are actually
nourishing to our body and good for our nervous system. They're actually really bad for our nervous systems and not good for our bodies. So I'm going to go through this list that I have compiled and I have a certain way that I've organized everything. So in inspiration of us being fully feminine women and embracing our feminine design, I also wanted to
kind of incorporate the fact that like women are really cyclical beings. So when I say that we're cyclical, men are not very cyclical. They have the same 24 hour hormone fluctuations every day and they're not very seasonal like us. Like women have different, course, menstrual cycles and go through
Sara Childers (09:34.498)
different phases of a menstrual cycle each month. So you have, and it actually reflects the seasons. So you have your follicular phase, which is your inner spring. You have your ovulatory phase, which you're ovulating. That is your summer. And then you have your luteal phase, which is your inner fall. And then you have your winter phase, which is your menstrual.
cycle and since women are cyclical beings I feel like I think it's good to focus on different things at different times just to listen to your body. I think this is going to be hard if you're on traditional birth control but if you're not and you're able to kind of listen to what your body is doing like if you feel more tired before your period and if you're on a regular cycle and you have a regular monthly period ways you can support yourself during that time.
Or if you feel like after your menstrual cycle, if you have a burst of energy, like being able to take advantage of that energy, we're just very cyclical beings. But also I did these in categories of the phases of your menstrual cycle and the seasons because I love like a seasonal hobby. I love something to look forward to with each season. I think it anchors us. think it anchors
our nervous systems of course, but I also think it anchors just our rhythms, our daily rhythms, our life. And so I kind of categorize these into the season that they go into so that if you didn't want to be super rigid and change up what you do week by week each month, because I feel like that is kind of rigid and hard, then you could just take these and kind of embrace each
hobby in each season. example, like if you didn't want to just do Pilates during your ovulatory phase, you wanted to do it all the time, maybe that instead of just doing it once a month or a few times a month, maybe you could do it seasonally, like during the summers. That's just kind of, that's kind of a bad example, but you, you get where I'm
Sara Childers (12:03.694)
I'm gonna kind of go through this list though and explain why I put each thing on each list and I would love your feedback because in my mind this made sense but you know it may not make sense when you're listening to it but I'm gonna start
with the fall season because right now it is October and I'm personally doing so many hobbies right now in October. And I think it's very interesting because in each season of the year but also in each season of our menstrual phase we as women have different
energies. have different ways that we're feeling and I think that this is something interesting to take hold of and to observe in your own life because if you're not paying attention to it then you you won't you won't know if this is how you feel or not but but I was looking into the phases of the menstrual cycle and also just
the seasons and fall is one of those seasons, your luteal face, where you're more inward, you're more detailed, you're more contemplative, and you also are nesting. Now, when I read this, I was like, oh yeah, 1000 % because right now it's fall and all I want to do is make like a cozy soup or a cozy pasta.
I want to decorate my house for fall, also kind of nesting and getting ready for Christmas and decorating and I'm rearranging some things. And I kind of was reflecting the other day on how, you know, the past few months has gone, how spring and summer, what we did during those months. And then also I feel like it's just a time where you're finally able to like get cozy and wear a sweater.
Sara Childers (14:23.454)
just enjoy the little things and I think being reflective and contemplative kind of triggers us to kind of let go of some things and I think that's super representative of what is happening in nature. You know the leaves are falling, nature is shedding itself of things it doesn't need and preparing for rest in the winter.
so that in the spring things can spring forth and sprout like they need to. So kind of thinking of that, some things that you can do in the fall that really regulate your nervous system are going to be sitting in a dark room and meditating. So this is something I've made a lot of clients do lately. And I talk a lot about it in my fully feminine program, my four month program where you work on me one up.
work with me one-on-one because we do a little bit of work on our nervous system in there. And so many people have raved about this. I usually send out to clients a 30 minute somatic meditation that really helps people to realign their vagus nerve and to get in touch with their bodies. And what we kind of tell them is to sit in a dark room, listen to it.
or just sit in a dark room by yourself and meditate. And that's not really a hobby, but it's a practice that you can do where when you're feeling over overstimulated or even when your kids are feeling overstimulated, just tell them, just take a minute. Like let's just take a minute. Let's go into a dark room. Let's put on either a meditation or let's just sit in silence or maybe listen to some worship music or something and just
detached from everything. So good for the nervous system. Another thing I put on here is getting out and gardening. So right now is the fall. It's a good time to remulture beds. It's a good time to start. I kind of put this on here because I'm starting my landscaping right now. And it's a good time to do those perennial bulbs or annual bulbs like
Sara Childers (16:52.312)
hydrangeas.
tulips that are gonna spring forth in the spring and just different things like that. Fall is actually when you plant them or transplant them or whatever so that they can grow and spring forth. I think fall is perfect, especially when you are in the South to actually get outside and enjoy the weather because it's so hot in the summer and I hate to sweat and
I think fall is fun for like a nature walk or camping. We went tent camping a week ago and it was amazing. It was the best. We slept outside in our tent. had a provincial, tent camping spot and so no internet, no, no electricity, no nothing. it was just us and nature. And I remember I,
went and did like a little nature walk and I collected a bunch of acorns like things that were falling on the ground. I was looking at a lot of leaves I was looking at and touching like a lot of the moss around our campsite and I feel like especially if you have kids like doing a little nature walk in like a nature journal in the fall is such a good way to get outside and to regulate your nervous system and have something to do outside because I feel like a lot of times we go outside
And if we're not like doing an activity, we're like, what are we doing? We're just sitting here. I don't know. We're just walking around. But if you have something to kind of guide you, I feel like there's a lot of things that you can either download from the internet or you can make up your own where you're kind of gathering things, collecting things, looking at what nature is doing. And I think that's a good way for us to kind of get outside of ourselves a little bit. Another thing, of course, is going to be
Sara Childers (18:53.154)
Baking or cooking so like of course in the fall you're nesting a bit more Now we're finally getting into like the heavier savory dishes so like a good Pasta crockpot meal soup like if you like or are somebody who wants to get into sourdough I think the fall is a perfect time because obviously you have more occasions probably to make sourdough for but also
I feel like in our own bodies as women, we're just more prone to start new things in the fall like sourdough or something cozy that gives a good payoff when we're hungry.
Another thing you can do in the fall, which is also your luteal phase. So when you're kind of getting ready to rest, this is like speaking cyclically, like with your monthly cycle, this is before your menstrual cycle. So when you're feeling a bit more tired, when you're just like not feeling your best and really wanting to support yourself in small ways, I feel like one thing that you can do like hobbies that regulate your nervous system would be getting into some sort of handcraft.
where you're doing something with your hands. And the reason I think that this is such a good idea in the fall is because you might not have the energy to go out and do all the things you did in the spring and the summer. You are kind of coming into yourself, you're getting ready for winter, you're getting ready for rest. And I think in the fall and in the winter, doing a handcraft is so good. Like...
sewing, embroidery, crochet, knitting. Right now I am hand sewing a bunch of Christmas ornaments and it's just been the best. I got into beading and necklace making and then I was doing a little bit of painting and it's just been great. And I think that as somebody who has work that is heavily mental based like
Sara Childers (21:03.322)
I use my brain to make meal plans. I use my brain to solve problems with people's health. I use my brain to run my business. if you, I've heard this quote before and I never forgot it because I just thought there was so much wisdom in this, but I was listening to a pastor and entrepreneur, Jeffrey Jeff Bethke, I think that's his name, a few years ago and he was talking about how if you,
He was talking about Sabbath and he was talking about ways you could like actively rest on your Sabbath. And he said that if you work with your hands, it's good to rest with your mind. And if you work with your mind, it's good to rest with your hands. And not many of us women have a manual labor job. Not many of us are in construction or welding or mechanics or anything like that. Most of us women have
occupations where we are resting or we're working, excuse me, with our brain. We're working with our brain so it's good for us to probably rest with our hands. So having something creative like that, even if you're just buying like a little beginner embroidery kit from Hobby Lobby or something, or even doing like a handcraft with your kids, just joining in on the fun, I feel like that could be such a good way.
you like to paint I think that could be good I'm not good at painting but you know if you are good at painting or if you're not you want to be a beginner by all means I just think that having that hand creation like creating something beautiful with your hands that is super restful it forces you to be super present and that is really good for your nervous system
I've mentioned seasonal decorating, flower beds, stretching and strength training. feel like it's a good time in the fall to do that. as a former personal trainer, it's getting into bulking season. Like if you want to start your, if you want to have like a seasonal routine, I think Pilates, strength training, long walks and stretching are a great thing to do in the fall.
Sara Childers (23:23.596)
because you're not really in this like cardio bunny mindset where you're like, I'm getting ready for the summer bod or whatever. but you're kind of maintaining your muscle tone, building it up. but stretching from the long summer that you had. I think extra stretching with that would, I think that would be great for as far as right exercise regimens go. but even something like super nourishing, like
sauna or a warm bath as like a ritual not so much a hobby I think those can be great things to do in the fall.
Sara Childers (24:05.826)
And also this kind of goes fall and winter, but reading at night with candles to fall asleep really well and just to get the best sleep of your life. I feel like that is such a good hobby. Like I, I followed this influencer or I did a while ago and I think this is about a year or two ago when she posted this, but I thought it was such.
good challenge. Her and her family did a sundown challenge. So her and her two young kids and her husband, maybe I think she has three kids actually, it doesn't matter, did a sundown challenge where at night or when it got dark they just used candles and they played games or read books or honestly just went to sleep at night and to
kind of get away from the screens, away from the blue light, away from the over-stimulation. And I think in the fall and in the winter, that is a perfect time to do that. And even if you don't want to do this all the time, doing this during your luteal phase and your menstrual cycle, really good to do. Avoiding the over-stimulation because the fall and the winter are times for nesting and rest. And if you're able to
cut out the blue light, cut out the screens, do candlelight that. I don't know if y'all have ever done this, but I've done this before where I light candles and I'll just read, nothing will make you sleepier. Nothing will make the melatonin be produced like candlelight at night. And there's a reason it gets dark earlier in these months. It's because nature wants you to rest. It wants you to go to sleep. So.
Those are some things that you can do in the fall. I'm gonna kind of go into the winter because that's the next season after the fall. And you're kind of continuing with this whole resting with your hands, reading by candlelight, just focusing on rest and reflection. I think it's fun in the winter, especially when Christmas and the new year comes.
Sara Childers (26:19.052)
to do a lot of reflection and a lot of journaling. And journaling is so good for the nervous system because we hold so much in our bodies, so much anger, emotion. And if you can journal during these months, I think that's so valuable. That is a good hobby to regulate your nervous system so that you're not keeping all this inside. I mean, you could see a therapist, you could do all the things, but if you just want to start out with journaling, I think that's a great way to get into
just regulating your nervous system on a budget, honestly, since we're trying to think low consumption here. But you could reflect from the past year, things that went well, things that you want to do better, things that you want to let go of. And then obviously we love a vision board for the next year.
I think just having the winter as a time of reflection and like getting ready for the next season, so important, so good. I also think that winter, since you might be spending a lot of time by candlelight or Christmas light, some things that can be so cozy and really good for your brain and your nervous system would be like puzzles.
sudoku, crossword puzzles, things like that. Like so valuable. I recently started playing mahjong. I feel like that could be a good thing to do during the winter. Like when you're inside and you're just wanting to be cozy. It's honestly, the fall and the winter is just the best. I love it. Truly. I think those are my favorite seasons. But,
But yeah, stuff like that. If you are wanting to find a way to regulate your nervous system a little bit more while you're doing your day to day, there's this thing called binaural beats that you can look up on Spotify and the frequency, I've talked about frequency before, but the frequency of this music,
Sara Childers (28:40.374)
binaural beats helps you to stay focused and supports your nervous system because it has a higher frequency and I think that would be a great thing to listen to. I personally love classical music or like instrumental jazz music just in the background while you're doing things so that you're just not feeling like sometimes if we are left alone with our thoughts that's great.
but sometimes it's not so great. So if you're like not in the best head space, I think something like the bioneural beats so you can focus better or classical or jazz music or worship music, you know, so you can get out of your head and listen to something but not be super distracted would be great. I had on here a cozy audio book or regular book for the winter, but honestly, like the biggest thing that I want
people to do during the fall and the winter is to just not multitask and avoid overstimulation as much as possible. And I think that if you're... I think sometimes as women, because we're so good at multitasking, we abuse it a little bit and we think, I'm just gonna listen to this podcast or this audiobook while I cook dinner and also...
type up this thing for maybe like an email for work and you know while I'm at it I may also like have something else on in the background like trying to do like four things at one time.
I have gone on a journey in the last few years of realizing that multitasking is actually not productive at all and it wrecks your nervous system and doing too much at one time just isn't good for you. So I think if we could leave that behind that would be great but something that you could do during the winter other than hobbies like
Sara Childers (30:54.048)
you know, your regular hand crafts and just being cozy and cooking and all that could be laying on the floor on a heating pad with your legs up on the wall. Now this is not a hobby, but this is something that you can do every day and it's so good. Laying on a heating pad, whether that's on your back or on your ovarian region and putting your feet up on the wall, elevating them. That is so good for your nervous system.
It's so good for you. helps with lymphatic drainage, blood circulation, your nervous system, of course, as I said, but can also be great for your back muscles if you have the heating pad on your back or really good for your ovarian region, especially if you're on your period or getting off your period, about to start your period, being able to have a warm womb.
really helps with all that. So those are some things you can do in the fall and in the winter. I also think that just if you're following this yearly, just embracing the seasons as much as possible is important. Let's talk about spring. Spring is so fun. I feel like spring is one of the funnest things. Spring is where the energy is exploratory, creative, everything is rising, we're exploding.
playful, you have just tons of energy and and that's really how spring kind of presents itself in nature like things are just physically like springing up out of the earth. So this is where you'll have a lot more energy to do things like starting to bike or hike or get outside and maybe start a new physical hobby like if you wanted to start Pilates or start your workout journey or you know
whatever that may be for you, as far as physical goes, this is a great time. And cyclically, this is right after your menstrual cycle. So after your menstrual cycle is usually when you have tons of energy. I think during those times of the month, take advantage of the energy and do something physical.
Sara Childers (33:09.826)
But I think with the nature of things like springing forth, I think trying something new is always important. Whether that is something physical or maybe you are trying like a new hobby like gardening. think, I mean, gardening has endless health benefits. You're in the sun, you're getting vitamin D. You literally make more serotonin, more happy hormone when you touch grass and when your hands touch dirt.
There are certain hormones that surge when we are touching dirt and when we're gardening that literally make serotonin, oxytocin, all of the good hormones that keep us from being depressed and anxious. that's when that happens. So obviously I think spring gardening, getting ready for the summer, starting seedlings inside, or even just like
tending to the garden that is going to maybe spring in the spring like or like two months or things that are seasonally in the spring. And of course this is the time to enforce your goals whether that is like decluttering your home, know the spring clean out organizing rearranging. I think in the spring or even like
if you wanted to do this monthly after your menstrual cycle, just journaling a lot about like your goals, what you want to do for the next few weeks or the next month, or if you're in the spring and you're like, okay, I want to prepare for the rest of the year, writing down your goals, writing down your visions, all the things. Reading an inspiring book. I think something
that dysregulates our nervous system is sometimes can come in the form of just consuming bad content. Like whether that's a book, whether that's social media, whether that's a movie or a show, like I think just filling your mind with some positive things, whether that is an inspiring book, the Bible, whatever, just having some time for that.
Sara Childers (35:34.926)
Also, I think spring would be a good time to like find ways wherever you can to create some sort of something that's beautiful, whether that's like a spring floral arrangement or a wreath or I don't know, just things like that. think anything creation based could be so good. think in the spring, this upcoming year, I think I'm going to be doing a lot of sewing personally.
Then we have summer which is ovulation and this is where we're feeling more magnetic, social, creative. I mean I think literally all times we're feeling pretty creative but during ovulation we feel more social. also
feel as though...
I'm losing my train of thought, y'all.
Sara Childers (36:43.98)
we're feeling a little bit more playful as I said. So I think doing things that might be out of our comfort zone a little bit, that would be a good time for this, whether it's in the physical summer, just in your ovulation point in your cycle. So some things I wrote down were humming, singing, or speaking affirmations. And I do, I cannot sing very well. I suck at singing, but humming, singing,
speaking positively literally stimulate your vagus nerve which is your central nervous system and it helps to calm that part of you and it literally helps to realign your nervous system and I know these aren't technically hobbies some people do have singing as a hobby and I think that's good but I think it's very interesting when
These things literally help with your nervous system. So like even just putting some time in your day to maybe go on a drive. I love to go on a drive and listen to music and sing along with it. And maybe that could be great for you. Or if you are cleaning or doing something like putting on something that's positive, that's good, that you can sing to, or I personally love to get on the elliptical or go for a run.
listen to something that I literally will sing along to as I'm running or going on the elliptical I'll be like yeah which I suck at singing I'm always alone when I do these things but again we're feeling social during this time so I think during the summer is a great time to host or to go visit a friend or to really schedule in times to do things with the friends so whether you're learning a new hobby like mahjong or something you can
schedule a time with your girlfriends to learn that or if you want to ask like a friend or family member or something to go walking outside with you or you know, obviously people a lot of people have their annual beach trips, you know that really help anchor them anything social is going to be a good idea and I think that's why in the summer you see people out and about doing all the things because
Sara Childers (39:05.55)
You can just feel it in the air.
Sara Childers (39:10.274)
I think also this is something we should do every month, not just during the actual like season of the summer, but because in our ovulation phase, we feel more social. think something that could regulate our nervous systems could be just doing something for somebody else, calling a friend, asking them how they are, having like a long phone conversation with a friend or a family member.
encouraging somebody else. Thinking outside of yourself does so much for your nervous system. Like, and we live in a very toxic and like narcissistic and self-absorbed culture, self-serving culture, and it's very hard to find anything outside of that. So I think creating that opportunity is not only good for the person you're serving.
but it aligns with our values as a fully feminine woman who wants to serve God, also it's getting outside of yourself, regulates your nervous system because there's nothing more fulfilling and nothing that will make you happier than serving another person. So whether that is having like a long conversation on the phone with a friend and listening to them and being, you know, maybe not their personal therapist, but a listening ear and just honestly,
Giving somebody the time and the space to just be themselves and you just not saying a thing about yourself not adding in anything about yourself like that is such a good time for that or making something for somebody else like making a necklace for a friend or maybe Cooking a meal and say calling a friend and being like hey, I'm coming over. Let's share this meal together
You know, I think that could be a great thing to do during this time and doing something for somebody else just so healing, just so healing. Other things that would be good are things like Pilates or somatic yoga, something really relaxing, breathing exercises. So I feel like in the summer.
Sara Childers (41:35.726)
You know, when we are feeling more energetic, sometimes we can start to multitask. We can start to do a lot of all at once. And that's when our nervous systems get a little haywire. So I think breathing exercises or just finding time to just sit in the silence. It's good. But yeah, these are just a few things you can do. Um, I would love to get into pottery. I think
At any point, just doing something with your hands or going outside no matter the season or the weather, exercising and moving your body and doing something for somebody else and either speaking positively, praying or whatever, those are five things that you should be doing at all times that are really anchoring for the nervous system. And if
I were to give you any one last tip about hobbies during, you know, the different seasons and also...
having hobbies that regulate your nervous system.
Our world has...
Sara Childers (42:55.502)
really just been immersed in productivity and hobbies, the reason we have hobbies, the reason we have the arts, music, actual art, like paintings, pottery, all these things, all these beautiful things that we have for enjoyment in this world, hobbies and the arts.
remind us that life is not just about productivity, but it's about presence and it's about enjoyment. And so I think if you can find an art form that you enjoy, whether it's like journaling or crafting something or pottery or my sister said the other day that she wanted to scrapbook, like some things.
that you can make with your hands that is like just so the essence of a woman and you don't have to do all these like tradwife homemaking type of things but really experimenting and finding what you like and just running with it is important but also no matter if you like it or not getting out in nature getting outside observing the world around you and
being outside of yourself, that is what's gonna help with your nervous system. And all of like the breath work and the humming and the yoga and the stretching is just a nice add-on that really supports things in between. But yeah, I hope that you enjoyed this podcast, probably pretty long. I really don't look forward to seeing how long this podcast is, but if you enjoyed it, please give it a up, like and subscribe, all the things, and I will be back next week.
with another cozy episode, I think I'm going to either do...
Sara Childers (44:53.661)
ways to prepare for conception or whatever came in second to my Instagram poll. Love you guys, see you later.
