Fatigue doesn’t look the same in everyone. For some, it’s a heavy body that resists getting out of bed — even after what should have been a full night’s sleep. For others, it’s a mind that can’t concentrate, even with another cup of coffee. Some feel easily winded climbing stairs, while others describe a kind of burnout, where even small tasks feel overwhelming. The truth is, “low energy” has many textures — and each calls for a different kind of support.
The body responds to space before the mind has time to explain it: a breath that lengthens, a jaw that unclenches, a quiet sense that you can finally settle. Environments shape us — often more profoundly than we realize.
Sometimes stress arrives like a sudden storm. Other times it creeps up before we even notice it. In either case, it leaves its mark on the body. You may feel your heart pounding, palms damp with sweat, or your mouth suddenly dry. Sometimes the signs are subtler: a breath that won’t deepen, shoulders inching upward, jaw tightening, or a restless unease under the skin.
In those moments, it helps to have tools that swiftly dissipate tension so we can think more clearly and navigate with more grace under pressure. Among all the techniques I’ve studied, the physiologic sigh is the fastest way I know to curb the body’s stress response.
As summer wanes and classrooms fill again, our collective immune systems are asked to rise to the occasion. This is the season when colds and flus ripple through households, and when many people look for herbs that can fortify their defenses. Astragalus membranaceus, a golden root revered in Chinese medicine, is one of the finest immune tonics for this time of year. But what does it actually mean when we say an herb tonifies the body?
We’ve all had moments where the insight is there—intellectually, you get it—but something still won’t shift. You know you’re safe, but your body is bracing. You understand the pattern, but it still plays out. You’ve journaled, reflected, reframed… and yet.
Sometimes the issue isn’t lack of understanding.
It’s that your body hasn’t caught up.
That’s where somatic work comes in.