The Art of Slowing Down: Nervous System Support Before the Year Ends
As the year begins to wind down, most women find themselves doing the opposite—everything around you speeds up (and because it’s so easy to get caught up in the vortex when it’s spinning around you), so do you. Work deadlines pile up (and literally appear out of no where, am I right?!). Social calendars fill (to.the.brim). Family responsibilities stretch to their limits. And in the middle of it all—you can feel your nervous system quietly begging for a pause. Or perhaps the quiet begging is a loud nagging at this stage—wherever you’re at, know that you’re not alone in this.
You may notice it as irritability, fatigue, or that scattered, racing feeling that makes it hard to finish one thought before jumping to the next. It’s easy to assume that pushing harder is the only way to ‘get through’, but here’s the truth: rushing drains more time in the long run—than it saves in the short term. Time lost because you’re fatigued and can’t enjoy the kid’s birthday party, time lost because you’re burnt out and bed-ridden, time lost because you made mistakes while you weren’t thinking straight and now you have to fix them all.
Moving at the Speed of Burnout
When you move at the speed of burnout, your nervous system never gets the memo that it’s safe. You stay in a low-level stress response—heart rate elevated, breath shallow, mind on alert. And while that state might help you meet a deadline, it also clouds your clarity, blocks creativity, and leaves your body depleted (with nothing left in the tank for the things that you actually want to do, or the people you want to spend time with).
The science is simple: your morning sets your tone. Cortisol, your body’s primary stress hormone, naturally rises at the start of the day. When you meet that natural rise with rush, your cortisol will spike higher than it needs to - hello again, stress. On the flip side - when you meet it with a few intentional breaths, your nervous system begins at a baseline of safety and ease, first. From here, you create the conditions for steady, calm and focus, all day long.
This November, and for the whole lead-up to the end of year, I invite you to begin your day with intention. Before you’e even rolled out of bed, and before the to-do lists start building in your mind—put your headphones on, a hand on belly, and take a few gentle intentional breaths first. This will truly set you up for a positive day ahead.
Your Morning Starts the Night Before
Here’s one thing that you may not have taken into consideration - your morning starts the night before. If you wake up and immediately start thinking of all the things you have to do (and start adding to the list), your mind instantly spirals. If you wake up and you’re in a rush simply because you have to decide what to wear, decide what to eat, and figure out the kids’ lunchboxes all before 7.30am - again, stress. Often, we can avoid so many of our stressors by being organised and picky about what we prioritise and place importance on. Here’s your guide to making sure you prepare yourself for an intentional morning tomorrow;
If it creates a mental clarity for you: try to make sure that all of the spaces you’ll be in, before you walk out the door in the morning, are clean and tidy-ish. This might mean doing the dishes, tidying your bedroom…
Put everything out that you’ll be using first thing tomorrow: outfit ✅ non-perishable breakfast items and bowls/cutlery ✅ workout gear ✅ headphones for morning ritual breathwork audio ✅
Start making a habit of good sleep hygiene (this is a whole other blog…tbc) which will set you up for a better sleep, and better start to the next day.
If you don’t have an intentional morning routine audio to listen to, purchase the Busy Woman Breathwork pack now so you can press play on the Embodied Morning breathwork tool tomorrow, as soon as you open your eyes! Built for your busy days, to start grounded, present and calm.
The Embodied Morning 5-minute practice guides you to start your day not from chaos, but from clarity. Through slow, rhythmic breathing, you tone your vagus nerve and bring your body into a state of grounded alertness—awake, but not wired. Calm, but not sluggish.
Because the truth is, slowing down isn’t lazy. It’s a level of leadership that this world needs.
You lead better when you’re regulated. You connect deeper when you’re calm. And you finish the year strong and soft, not by pushing harder to get more done—but by breathing more intentionally and allowing this to filter into every waking moment of your day.
Tomorrow morning, press play on Embodied Morning and let your breath show you a new way to begin.
