We dive into one of the most fundamental tools we have—our breath. Joined by expert guest and dear friend Theresa, we explore the science behind breath work and how intentional breathing can help us regulate our nervous system, calm down when we're overwhelmed, and respond as our best selves. Whether you're skeptical about "woo woo" practices or already have a meditation routine, Theresa bridges the gap between physiology and practical application, giving us accessible tools we can use anywhere—in the car, on the stairs, or when we catch ourselves holding our breath. You'll walk away with a simple, science-backed breathing technique you can use immediately.

Timestamps

1. 00:00 - Introduction and No Shame bus stop story
2. 03:00 - Why we're talking about breathing
3. 05:00 - Meeting expert guest Theresa
4. 09:00 - Understanding dysregulation and the nervous system
5. 16:00 - The breathing exercise walkthrough
6. 23:00 - Good, Better, Best versions of the tool
7. 27:00 - Interview wrap-up
8. 28:00 - Sara's experience using the tool
9. 32:00 - Moments of gratitude

Tell Us

What helps you pause and breathe during a busy day? Do you have a go-to moment or place where you remember to check in with your body?

If you'd like to share it with us, you can submit your Joy Moment at joyfulsupportmovement.com/submit.

Welcome to No Shame In Our Game, the podcast.

2

Does the podcast care how your home feels?

3

Not looks, the podcast

just cares how you feel.

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Sara: You feel?

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Yes.

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Lacey: I am Lacey, you're obviously

recovering from respiratory stuff.

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Host, here with Sarah.

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Hey, Sarah.

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Sara: Hi, Lacey.

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I had a fun thought this morning.

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Sorry, I'm just diving right in.

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the whole, no shame.

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So it was three fun-loving degrees at

our house this morning and our bus stop

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for my son is at the end of the driveway.

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And we do have a long driveway, but.

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We usually walk to the bus stop.

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Okay.

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I saw the number three

and I was like, nah.

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little voice inside of me

was like, don't be so lazy.

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Walk down to the bus stop.

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It's only three, you'll be fine.

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And I was like, no, I'm gonna have to

talk that shame voice down off the ledge.

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'cause you know what?

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I wanna be warm and drinking my coffee in

my car at seven o'clock in the morning.

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So I realized no shame.

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I love that we've expanded our scope,

and I wanna say for anyone listening,

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there's no shame in driving to the bus

stop when it's three degrees outside.

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Lacey: There's no shame here.

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Sara: No shame.

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Lacey: I am you can hear it in my voice,

the, struggles of respiratory illness

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in our household the past few weeks, and

because of that, I wasn't able to attend

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the recording for the rest of the content.

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The most part of today's podcast, it

was just Sarah and our guest, Theresa.

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I'm super excited to listen to it like the

rest of you, Sarah, is there anything else

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you would like to say before we jump in?

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Sara: I just wanna lean back into that.

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No shame.

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There is no shame in

learning how to breathe.

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Yes, I know it's automatic.

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Yes, I know.

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We do it all the time.

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Yes, I know.

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But we're all about providing

tools that are helpful.

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So before that little judgment

voice in your head goes

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like, I know how to breathe.

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You don't have to tell me how to breathe.

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I hear you.

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And.

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a very useful tool that I will tell you

at the end of this, after the interview

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with Theresa, I will tell you how I have

been using this tool very successfully

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since Theresa and I interviewed.

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so open mind and little Easter

egg for the end or cliffhanger,

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Lacey: Teaser.

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Sara: Teaser.

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Thank you, Lacey, with the words,

A little bit of teaser to stick.

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Stick around to the end to hear how I

have been using this breathing tool.

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Lacey: I mean, if there's anything

a respiratory illness does to you

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is appreciate breathing, so couldn't

come at a better time for me.

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Sara: I do like how that lined up.

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That was beautiful.

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Lacey: Awesome.

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Then let's just jump right in and, learn

about breathing with Sarah and Theresa.

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Sara: Today's topic I'm calling.

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No shame in learning how to breathe.

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We are bringing back, well, we're kind of

reintroducing for our, our loyal audience.

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she was a guest in, gosh,

was it season one, Theresa.

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Theresa Fallon: I think it was two.

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Sara: Season two.

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we had our guest, Theresa, who

is also a dear friend of mine and

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I'm bringing her back on as an

expert to teach us how to breathe.

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thank you Theresa, for taking time to

join us today and to help our audience.

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I'm noticing I'm already starting

to rush 'cause I'm excited and I'm

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like, oh wait, I need to breathe.

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Theresa Fallon: I am doing the same thing.

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Sara: if somebody's listening and you're

like, oh, I'm gonna turn this off.

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This doesn't apply to me.

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I know how to breathe.

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I invite you to listen, to learn

how to breathe in a different way.

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That is a useful tool.

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And the way this came

about was, Theresa and.

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Another No shame, uh, guest, Erin.

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We have a Marco Polo group.

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We call it our triad.

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And Theresa was doing a guided, well,

she was explaining her breathing

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meditation and I was driving to

work and listening to Theresa, I

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started to do what you were guiding.

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The breath and I realized I was

so relaxed Driving to work, I

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actually thought I should pull over.

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I am so relaxed right now, but I made it

to my parking spot and I parked the car.

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I could have honestly closed my

eyes and gone right to sleep.

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I was so deeply relaxed and I immediately

thought, yeah, breathing intentionally.

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So important, and I think it's really

over easy to overlook as a tool.

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And the reason your guided

meditation grabbed onto me was

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because you were explaining

physiologically the science behind it.

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So anyone who's going, oh, that's woo woo.

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I'm here to say, miss Theresa's

gonna give us some science today.

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Not too much.

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Don't worry.

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You don't have to have a medical degree.

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That's.

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That's Theresa's very special talent

is she's bridging the gap between this

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complexity of our bodies and systems

and understanding the importance.

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So, Theresa, I just said a lot.

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Why don't you say what's

on your mind right now?

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Theresa Fallon: I love that

you and Lacey are doing No.

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Shame in our game.

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Sara: Thank you.

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Theresa Fallon: I've thought of

it actually in the context of

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bridging that gap for clients.

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It's true.

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We can learn a lot about our

bodies and not feel ashamed that

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we didn't know it before, but

that maybe right now it's helpful.

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And so it's kind of like in

that little sweet spot that I

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use my anatomy and physiology.

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I would just call it passion.

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Like I love to learn about that and

have, since I was a small person and,

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I use it with my guests at A day spa.

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people will come in and they'll

know something about their body and

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there's no shame in learning about it.

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And we can do it in a quick

minute, and then you can still

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have session of relaxing that.

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Is typical for being at a day spa.

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I have loved that I'm in that situation,

and so you caught me on a day when I was

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personally having trouble regulating and

we were talking about, boy, it's really

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important to be regulated in our nervous

system in order to go on and do our stuff.

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and that was a trigger for me.

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I'm, my gosh, I'm so dysregulated today.

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Thank you, Erin.

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Thank you Sarah, for reminding me I

need to be, need to regulate myself.

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And for me it's, it's good to

go into the breath work and

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it doesn't always work for me.

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Like even though I know so much about

it, sometimes I am like women my age.

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I can't sleep through the night.

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I wake up and I'm like, shoot,

how am I gonna go back to sleep?

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And I'm like, well, why don't

you try your breathing thing?

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And I don't stick with

it, so it doesn't help.

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And other times it helps

me a hundred percent.

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So love to teach

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Sara: Teach.

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Theresa Fallon: at that, that

mindset of there's no shame in adding

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a layer of anatomy, physiology.

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And improving your already existing

meditation practice, jumping into

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it for a first time being like,

ah, maybe I'll give it a try.

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You know, people talk about this.

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Maybe I should try it.

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And I'd love to like layer on what I see

as another way, a way into our bodies.

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So, yeah.

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Sara: I love all of that.

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And before we get

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Theresa Fallon: Okay.

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Sara: I wanna still stay wide for just

a minute, to give people more buy-in.

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Maybe they can relate to some

of the things I'm gonna say.

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So one is, I think about how every time

I go to the chiropractor, he always

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gives me a little bit of a ribbing on,

Hey, do you remember how to breathe?

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Because my, I think he calls it, is

it my scalings up in my shoulder?

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Is that what those are called?

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Yes, my neck

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Theresa Fallon: Yeah.

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Sara: He said, you're really tight.

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He said, you're breathing

up in your shoulders.

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He's like, he always reminds

me to breathe down lower.

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And so, so I know it's important for how

it's actually, 'cause then the muscles

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get tight and then it affects my, my

bones and then I get out of alignment.

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Right?

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So there's this ripple effect.

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And then I've also just noticed.

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I hold my breath a lot.

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I start my day.

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I put a thousand things on my list, when

really, probably seven is realistic.

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Really, three is realistic.

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So I just start holding my breath, and

then there'll always be this moment in

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the day where I realize I'm breathing

really, really shallow, you know?

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And it doesn't feel great.

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And so.

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This to me, it's a tool in your toolbox.

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Like Theresa said, it's not gonna

work a hundred percent of the time.

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There really aren't silver

bullets in this life.

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But when you feel dysregulated, and we can

talk about what that word means, 'cause

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some people may not resonate with that.

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It's another tool that you

can use to feel better.

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So let's just think about it that way.

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It's a tool, it's an easy tool.

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And I love, this is our first

episode in January because.

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To me, we're going back to

that basic of breathing, right?

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That's the first thing we do when

we're born is we just breathe and we

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can still keep learning how to do it.

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So I wanna start in the conversation

so people understand the importance.

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Can you talk about dysregulation

and the nervous system?

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Give us like the simplest, like you're

talking to somebody in the grocery

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store, like the simplest explanation

of nervous system and dysregulation.

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Theresa Fallon: love words

and I love breaking them up.

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So regulation, , being regular, right?

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Dysregulation not being regular.

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We think we maybe have heard fight

or flight versus rest and digest.

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So dysregulated means you're out

of regular rhythm with, feel like

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we need to fill in the blank.

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Calmness, right?

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So it's unfortunate we just say regulate.

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It's like using an abbreviation

that doesn't quite tell everybody

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what we're talking about.

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Parasympathetic, sympathetic,

and essentially, I'm gonna

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reference Lacey here for a minute.

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Those are two parts of the autonomic

or automatic nervous system, which

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Lacey has referenced because she

has trouble with that in her body.

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An automatic means we don't

have to think about it.

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The body takes care of us in this way,

but we do have some agency around it.

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We actually can pause and be in our

body and make some choices about

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whether we are there or not, basically.

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With massage you have the opportunity

to reset a lot of things, including

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your breathing when you regulate

back to calm in your body.

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You tend to make an impact on

your muscles, like your scalings.

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understanding physiology, the

nervous system is a big project.

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And hopefully I've said some things

that like resonate with people.

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I think we should stop

there for just a minute.

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Tell me how that fits

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Sara: Yes.

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Well, so for our audience, I think this

will help give this context, is you taught

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physiology to massage students, correct.

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Theresa Fallon: anatomy and physiology.

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Sara: Anatomy.

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Theresa Fallon: of,

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Sara: Yeah.

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So I can, I used to, I used to

say to you a lot in Marco Polo is

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like, give me the freshman version.

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So what I'm gonna do is take everything

you said, and I'm gonna say, so

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our nervous system in our body, you

always say, gather, process, respond.

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So the nervous system in our body

is the part that's gathering.

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The information of everything that's going

on, so the dog is barking, the alarm's

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going off, kids are yelling, right?

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Your nervous system is

gathering all of that, or you're

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smelling burnt toast, right?

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So if you're dysregulated, then that

nervous, you're heightened, right?

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Like your nervous system

is like taking it all in.

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Does that sound accurate?

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Theresa Fallon: Yes.

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You're mm-hmm.

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Sara: then to be calm would be to let

all, all that input you're gonna then

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purposely and intentionally like calm

all of those inputs down to a baseline.

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Does that feel like a Okay summary.

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Theresa Fallon: And that's

a great place for us to like

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put a pin in it kind of thing.

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And also just like re-summarize it.

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But thank you for saying my, my gather

process, respond analogy because, , the

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nervous system is a whole system.

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It's complicated, right?

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So when we, when I say gather, it's

our senses are our five senses,

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like simply that are gathering

information from the outside world.

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And then somewhere in our body there's

gonna be a processing experience that's

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in our brain and in our spinal cord.

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And then we respond with that

information that's been processed

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and we take a step, right?

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Sara: Gift.

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Theresa Fallon: We respond, and I'm

gonna say this, I love saying this, if

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someone knows more than me, I would love

to hear more, so we could figure it out.

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We have three kinds of muscles.

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We have our skeletal muscles, we have our

heart muscles, and then we have something

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most people overlook and don't know

enough about, called our smooth muscles.

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So you can take it to the bank from

me who knows anatomy and physiology,

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that our five senses are processed,

and then we respond with some muscle

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action that creates a response.

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So we can then like now actually

practice this sort of thing.

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You talked about gathering, we heard the

noises, we smell this, the fire, and.

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We saw an angry face, five

senses, our brain processed that.

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That means something to us.

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So then we respond, we run, use

our muscles, our heart goes faster,

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and then adrenaline pumps smooth,

muscles found in places that release.

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It's in the microscopic parts

of our body, essentially.

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So blood vessels.

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Now I'm going varsity on you.

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I think so.

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Sara: Well.

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Theresa Fallon: there?

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Sara: Yes.

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And I think the way I wanna bring it back

to that freshman interpretation is what

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I heard you say is it's all connected.

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So why are we talking about the breath?

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Because it's all connected

and we don't even realize it.

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And we don't have to get a medical degree

just to know your breath is connected.

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To everything and to think about

this in a very tangible way.

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Why do we wanna learn this tool?

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Because the respond part, I was just at

some family gatherings where I was witness

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to some responses that were coming out

of a very heightened nervous system.

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and I've worked for years to not respond

from a very heightened nervous system.

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It's not easy.

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I'm not saying it, it's easy, but what

I've noticed is if I respond from a

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heightened nervous system, not calm, I

often am not proud of what comes out.

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So I've trained myself to walk away, and

then this is where the tool comes in.

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walking back to freshman level,

anyone listening who's like,

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okay, breathing's a tool.

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Okay.

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So throughout the day, our five senses

are taking in a lot, and so we get to

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intentionally use a tool to calm ourselves

so that we can respond as our best selves.

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what I'm gonna do now, and if

anyone's curious about more of this,

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Theresa loves to talk about this.

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we could do a whole hour of

question and answers with Theresa.

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So please submit any questions you have.

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We can have her back on, we can do

a special event, but let's go into.

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What you taught me on the Marco Polo, can

you kind of give us a brief overview of

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that breathing exercise or meditation?

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What do you even call it?

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Theresa Fallon: I don't know.

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I actually, I do kind of know.

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I like to think of it as a

way, in a way, into your body.

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I also love this.

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Remember I said it's an

automatic part of our body.

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We are so amazingly designed and.

307

We don't have to think about doing this.

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It happens all the time.

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If we get into our body, we

will get out of our thoughts.

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If we get out of our thoughts,

we stop thinking, ruminating,

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worrying the feelings.

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So back to what we need to do.

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what I taught you has everything

to do with your senses.

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I just basically said, let's pay

attention to what we're gathering.

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So that the autonomic nervous system can

help us with the way that we respond.

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We don't have to try to change it.

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We just have an opportunity to use

what we can control, Close my eyes.

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I will listen better.

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I close my eyes.

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I won't see the bad behavior.

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In my family member, I don't

have to leave the room.

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can look down because it takes out

one of my senses, which will gather

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too much information and overwhelm

processing center, and I'm likely to

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respond in a way I wished I hadn't.

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So closing the eyes helps.

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Then you can listen a little

better, close your eyes.

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Focus on the fact that you

will be noticing your breath,

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and we're gonna start noticing

how air comes into our bodies.

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We are gathering air, and that

also is a gathering moment.

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We have receptors our nose that

are connected to little tiny hairs.

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We have receptors in our mouth that

we'll notice or gather air coming in.

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They'll feel it like it's a

mechanicals sort of process.

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So breathing in through your nose or your

mouth, if you can feel air coming in.

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See like notice.

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You can do it through your

nose or through your mouth.

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I like to say, try to use just your

nose and close your mouth, and if you

337

can't do that comfortably, it's okay.

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Use both.

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Just see if you can notice it coming in.

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And now add another aspect of.

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Information about your face to your brain.

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a little grin, smile

while you're breathing in.

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Does it feel any different?

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Did you get more data

points for your brain?

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In fact, you did.

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Now your brain thinks you're

happy whether you are or not.

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It doesn't matter.

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You can trick your brain.

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So breathing in, I feel air grinning.

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I feel happy.

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You have receptors, neurological

fibers that are, we call it

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innervating, and then they're

bringing information to your brain.

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You're processing it.

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Then the information goes back.

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It's called a motor nerve

that creates a muscle.

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Action.

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We're doing it in our face with this

breathing in smiling, noticing with

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to my eyes while they're closed.

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See, dark.

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You're noticing your body.

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All of a sudden you have forgotten

about, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

362

in your body.

363

Now notice.

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The bones that are around your

lungs, they have muscles near them.

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Can you feel movement in your chest?

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Your ribs move, there's lots

of directions they can move in.

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They may move up.

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They may move out to the side.

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Can you notice both of them?

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One of them.

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It takes concentration.

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Keep your eyes closed.

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I caught it like I caught my breath.

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I notice it now.

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Go to the bottom of your ribcage, see if

you can feel a specific kind of action.

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Your ribs get pulled out to the

side and down into your abdomen.

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Try and find that muscle movement that's

going on in your body while you breathe

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in through your nose while you grin.

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If you caught that action even

for a moment, congratulations.

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That is not easy to do.

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If you stayed with it for a moment, great.

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If you need to try again, try again.

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And then for the sake of like

our audience, the time, I'm just

384

gonna say that was a fantastic

neurological event because, and

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I'll just now use my fancy words.

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Your trigeminal nerve innervates

in your nose and your mouth.

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It tells your brain that you

are safe and you have air.

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Go ahead, breathe, circulate the

blood throughout your whole body.

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Get it to your toes.

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Give it a good pump.

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I have a lot of air that just came in.

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That's what I saw in my brain,

and it told my phrenic nerve

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to innervate my diaphragm.

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Which is the largest muscle of breath.

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It pulls your rib cage down and out

to create big breath, as opposed to

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my scaling's doing all the work and my

intercostal muscles doing all the work.

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I have a big muscle that does a big job

with this, and we don't use it most of

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the time because we're in the sympathetic

nervous system in fight or flight.

399

Just keeping it going.

400

It's hard to use your diaphragm

if you're not feeling safe.

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You're lying down with a lamb.

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you're not fleeing from a lion.

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That's what happens.

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People who come massage, you have

to get into rest and digest in

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order for your muscles to relax.

406

that's what I do, and that's what I love

about teaching about this in this moment.

407

We can do it on the massage

table, we can do it in our car,

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we can do it in a quick moment.

409

We can do it when we're

trying to fall back to sleep.

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Sara: Thank you, Theresa.

411

I could listen to you, guide me to

breathe pretty much all day long.

412

I think what I wanna do now in order

to make this a really accessible

413

tool for our audience is create

sort of, a good, better, best.

414

What you just walked us through

would be the best version.

415

Theresa Fallon: Test.

416

Sara: not, we may not have enough

time, energy, resources to do that.

417

And so I wanna go to the opposite

side, which would be the good version.

418

And I will say for myself, the

good version, I remember I went

419

to walk up the stairs and I

just, for, uh, I caught myself.

420

I could tell I was breathing really

shallow, so I just stood still

421

for just a second and I imagined.

422

I didn't imagine my diaphragm.

423

'cause honestly, I can't really

picture what that looks like, but

424

I imagine it almost like, like a

lever, like a bellows or something.

425

Like, I imagined this lever, like

I imagined it moving down to like

426

pull the air all the way through.

427

So I didn't necessarily take the time to

go through the best version of the, of

428

imagining the oxygen coming in my nose.

429

And I didn't slow down that fast,

but I at least just managed to

430

think about where the breath was

going, how deep it was going.

431

So does that sound like a good version?

432

Theresa Fallon: If what I just

did was best, what you just talked

433

about was better and then good.

434

I would say good is closing the

eyes, breathing through the nose.

435

And don't worry about the body,

like, don't worry about the lungs.

436

they're always telling

me to focus on this.

437

Like chest, what?

438

Rise and fall of your breath.

439

That's actually what keeps me in

it it came in somewhere first.

440

about I focus on first step?

441

I'm aware of my nose and my mouth.

442

I would say close your eyes breathing

through your nose when you're on, like

443

in the middle of the stairway as a mommy.

444

Close your eyes, breathe through

your nose, close your mouth, smile.

445

That's it.

446

that would be amazing Step.

447

And it doesn't take long to do that

448

Sara: I like that.

449

Theresa Fallon: rest.

450

Sara: Okay.

451

So yeah, that's actually great.

452

I like we're developing this in

real time, so the good version.

453

So think almost top down.

454

Just close your eyes for a second, and

then just think about the air coming

455

in through your nose and then grin.

456

A little bit happy grin.

457

And then the next level up would be

to layer in that breath coming all the

458

way in, down, like through the body.

459

And then to layer it the next would

be to put all of those together.

460

Theresa Fallon: Well, I

think that's like varsity.

461

Sara: Yeah.

462

Theresa Fallon: know.

463

I mean, it is hard for me to do that,

464

People might be able to do that I mean,

I'm not giving people enough credit.

465

I like to visualize the physiology.

466

Maybe, I'm trying to think of it too

complicated, but if any part of that

467

helps, that's what's so great about it.

468

Sara: Well, and as a bonus feature,

what hopefully will happen, knock on

469

wood Lacey's, technical wizard, is

we will be able to have a standalone

470

guided meditation because we don't

have to remember all of this.

471

We can use our resources by pushing

play and listening to Theresa guide

472

us through this because yeah, to

remember all of that is a lot.

473

So.

474

The takeaway, I'm gonna make

it really small and simple.

475

we went big and we're gonna come back

real small a lot happens in our day and

476

we get overstimulated, overwhelmed just

a lot, and we can use breath as a tool.

477

To help us feel better.

478

And there are a lot of

great physiological reasons.

479

It's not woowoo.

480

There is actually a lot of complicated

varsity level things happening in

481

the body that Theresa touched on.

482

I liked that bit about the

trigeminal nerve, how the breathing

483

is actually really giving input.

484

We give our bodies so much input and so.

485

That breathing that we have control

over can input some calm and I think of

486

that phrase outside in and inside out.

487

And what I heard you saying was from

the in, like we can make a choice about

488

our breath inside that will make things

feel different going out into the world.

489

Does that sound like a good summary?

490

Theresa Fallon: Yes,

491

Sara: and I also wanna say side

note, I recently got one of

492

those fancy town watches that can

tell me what my heart rate is.

493

And I was reading about the lower

your resting heart rate is, it's

494

considered a healthier, the lower it is.

495

And so I was using my breathing to

see how I could lower my heart rate.

496

So now I have this kind of new

goal of controlling my breath.

497

To see where I can get my heart rate to.

498

So if that gives somebody else

purchase, if you like that

499

kind of gamification of it.

500

Thank you, Theresa.

501

Thank you for sharing

your morning with us.

502

Thank you for sharing everything.

503

You've learned your wonderful insight.

504

You are part of the joy

Ripple in this world.

505

Helping people in all the ways you do.

506

And so I hope you feel thanked and

appreciated for all that you do.

507

Theresa Fallon: And because my word

of the year, one of my two is receive.

508

Thank you Sarah.

509

Sara: That was such a beautiful

time talking with our friend and

510

loyal village member, Theresa.

511

She's been, she is, she

is all of the things.

512

She's now an expert guest.

513

She is a village member and,

she was also on season two.

514

So it might as well be the mascot

for joyful Support Movement.

515

Lacey: I mean, Theresa in my mind, yes.

516

Yes.

517

She's the best.

518

She, she sends me messages when she

likes what I write in the newsletter,

519

like she is a, a fave here for sure.

520

Sara: I thank her for sharing.

521

Her knowledge.

522

She, as you heard in the episode, has

always been curious about the body, how

523

the body works, she went to massage school

not to learn how to become a massage

524

therapist because she truly, after working

in medical industry for a while, wanted

525

to understand how the body worked I've

said this before, and I'll say it again.

526

massages are truly magical 'cause she

interprets and understands what's going

527

on in your own body better than you do,

and she understands what the body needs.

528

And so Theresa is magical with her hands

and her knowledge and understanding.

529

And so it was such a gift for her to

share this knowledge about breathing.

530

And I did give you a little teaser

in the beginning that I wanted to

531

tell you how I have been using this.

532

So know we got a little technical.

533

We, we went a little deep

and that's what I like to do.

534

It's that zoom in, zoom

out tool like we zoom.

535

We got really in the weeds there with

some stuff and some people that's gonna

536

be really interesting and some people

are gonna just kind of blank stare.

537

That's too much.

538

how I've been using the tool.

539

We zoomed, we zoomed back out and we

just, I don't know if that's in or out.

540

In Feels like you're

looking at the details out.

541

Feels like we're going very general.

542

So when Theresa said notice,

not but just notice when the air

543

is coming in through your nose.

544

So to me, if we have to break this down

to one simple, simple step, that is it.

545

And for me, I hold my breath a lot.

546

I make a list of a thousand

things in the morning.

547

I get going, I get chugging, chugging,

chugging like a steam train down the

548

tracks, and I'm just going so fast

that I notice I'm holding my breath.

549

And what I end up doing is

I breathe really shallow and

550

then I, my muscles get tight.

551

And then for those of you who've been

listing, also know I've been dealing with

552

face hives because that is my body telling

me I got too much stress in my brain.

553

So using that, that tool that

she said about just noticing

554

the oxygen coming in my nose.

555

And what I like about it is it's so

accessible, it's so simple, it's so easy.

556

I can do it while I'm doing other things.

557

I don't actually have to stop, but

when I do it, I do instantly relax and.

558

It's like good, better, best, right?

559

If I want to take it to the next

level, I'll close my eyes and take

560

another breath and just notice.

561

And then if I want to go

best, good, better, best.

562

If I want to go best, I close my eyes.

563

I take the breath, and then

I actually notice oxygen like

564

coming like all the way in.

565

Like you actually can expand

your belly as you breathe.

566

But honestly just noticing that oxygen

come in my nose, it has helped me relax

567

and I know it's helped me relax 'cause

I've laughed so much more this past week.

568

I've been laughing so much more,

so I know it's working for me.

569

Just thinking about how powerful

this podcast is, is no shame

570

in going back to the basics.

571

Learning about something you think

you already know about and learning

572

it in a different way, in a new

way, and learning it in a way that

573

it's a tool that's gonna help you.

574

And that's what we wanna do here.

575

And I'm so excited that this was the

first episode of the year, right?

576

Because breathing so

fundamental, fundamental.

577

it's so powerful, and I'm trying

not to get distracted by the amazing

578

cuteness a Miss Violet laughing.,

579

Like, and that's such a great

example, like babies don't, babies

580

don't hold their breath from stress.

581

Lacey: they

582

Sara: let it all, they let it all

583

Lacey: they're crying really

hard, sometimes they do.

584

So there is that moment.

585

But in the day to day,

no, they do not do that.

586

Sara: So I'm, I'm so thankful for

this tool and again, we always say if

587

this helps one person, and it already

helped me, so mission accomplished.

588

but if it can help another person

find one millisecond of relaxation

589

in their day of just noticing that

breath coming in their nose, then, then

590

we've, then we've mission accomplished.

591

And I am happy, and I think it's gonna

help more than one person, though.

592

Lacey: I love that.

593

that.

594

Well, let's go into our

moment of gratitude.

595

I would like to go first, and I'm trying

to figure out how to say this without

596

like being one of those people, like

we're working on stuff behind the scenes

597

and they're so cool and all this stuff,

We are working on something behind

598

the scenes, and it's very technical,

and if you, know me at all, and if

599

you've listened to this podcast, you

know, I love figuring out technology.

600

All right.

601

And I've always wanted, I don't know

if I wanna say, I've always wanted

602

to be like a coder, but I've always

loved diving in deeper into something,

603

understanding something when it comes to

technology and all this different stuff.

604

And I have been.

605

Doing that consistently,

like for the past three days.

606

And it is feeding my creative

soul in a way that I don't

607

even know how to describe.

608

I, I call it the nerd Olympics too,

where I figure out the logic of

609

something to make it do like what I want.

610

it's just, it has been.

611

So much fun, and I of course can't wait

to share it with all of our listeners

612

and village members and just the world.

613

But, I'm just, I'm enjoying

the process right now, man.

614

It is.

615

fun, it's fun for me.

616

it does feel a little bit, I, I said

this to Boer and my mom yesterday.

617

does in the Parks and Rec episode

where Ben White is doing claymation

618

and he is like, do you see what I did?

619

And it's like a thir,

like three second video.

620

It does feel a little bit like

that because there's so much that

621

happens in the background that once

it gets to the foreground it doesn't

622

look as exciting, but it's okay.

623

It is amazing and I'm enjoying it.

624

Sara: And what Lacey said

to me specifically was, I'm

625

following my excitement.

626

And to me that is such a key term

because if anyone remembers, Erin, who

627

we've had on as an expert, she taught

me as a coach to follow your excitement.

628

And when you said that, I was

just like, yep, go with it.

629

Spend as much.

630

'cause other things weren't happening.

631

'cause she was following your excitement.

632

And I'm like, yes, follow your excitement.

633

That's what we're here to do.

634

And so that really lit me up and.

635

Lacey: I, if there's something

I'm good at, it's being excited.

636

I, I, that is a strength I have,

so let's, let's make it happen.

637

Sara: And my moment of gratitude,

wait, what do we call them?

638

Moment of zen

639

Lacey: moment of

640

Sara: of gratitude.

641

this is actually a little bit

of a, a, what do you call it?

642

Like a live, a live update

for Lacey with our audience.

643

I know, I know.

644

Okay, so let's back up.

645

we are so thankful here at Joyful Support

Movement that we have an angel investor

646

who believes in the work that we're doing.

647

Who sees the vision of us helping

others and creating that joy ripple.

648

So we are so, so thankful and

blessed at this opportunity.

649

And part of that blessing and

following my excitement is there

650

is a lady on threads who I have

been, oh my gosh, what do I call it?

651

I don't, it's like following

almost like a little puppy dog.

652

Like, I'm like, Ooh, ooh.

653

What little treats is she gonna drop?

654

Like.

655

I just love her writing.

656

It has always resonated with

me, and Lacey sent me an email,

657

about a writing story, cor story.

658

I'm so excited.

659

I can't say my words.

660

Story creation, and you, you use it,

you share your own story as a way of

661

sharing what your company is and what

you're doing, but putting yourself into

662

it, which is something I am not good at.

663

I'm very, I hold everything

very, very close.

664

I'm not great at opening up unless

you ask me very direct questions.

665

So Lacey sent me about this and we are

able to use our angel investors' support

666

to send me to a storytelling class, a

virtually, virtually story with this

667

woman who I've been in awe of for a year.

668

I know her first name is Mackenzie,

and I actually forgot her last name.

669

Don't worry, I'll, you'll

hear about it again.

670

And what's.

671

What's cool too is I also learned

this decision making tool of

672

excitement, nervousness, and dread.

673

And I'm actually really nervous

'cause it's, it's pushing me

674

outside of my comfort zone.

675

But I'm excited.

676

I don't have any dread.

677

So sometimes when we get nervous,

we think maybe it's not the right

678

decision, but I'm learning to

like look for, is there any dread?

679

No.

680

I'm just super fricking nervous because

I don't know how to talk about myself

681

and not feel like I am making, trying

to make myself the center of attention.

682

Like I just don't know how to do that.

683

So.

684

Super excited.

685

It's gonna start in February.

686

it's once a week and I'm gonna

learn how to insert more of my own.

687

Like how did this company,

this business come to be?

688

What happened in my life to get us here?

689

And I am hoping that that

will resonate with people.

690

And we will, we will connect

with our ideal audience of people

691

that we can support and help.

692

know.

693

Lacey: I'm so excited for you, Sarah.

694

I'm excited for us, 'cause I've

said this to Sarah before, but

695

listening to Sarah talk about

support movement is magical to me.

696

And I think other people get that too.

697

And so anything that we can do to make you

feel more comfortable doing that, do it.

698

Let's do it.

699

I also,

700

. like to refer to Sarah

as the heart of JSM.

701

like the brain and she's like the heart.

702

, Any way we can show that heart

to more people, heck yeah.

703

yeah.

704

Sara: I am very, I am very,

yeah, I am very excited.

705

Lacey: Well, I think we need

to end this episode, Sarah.

706

Sara: Yes.

707

Lacey: Well, so much gratitude

and joy happening here.

708

so thank you, Sarah.

709

Sara: Thank you Lacey, and thank you Ms.

710

Violet.