Is Your Nervous System an Overfull Pantry?

We've all been there.

You open the pantry looking for one thing. Just the honey. And a packet of rice falls on your head.

Somewhere behind the spices is a jar you forgot you had. There are three open bags of the same pasta. Something at the back has definitely expired. You close the door quickly and tell yourself you'll sort it out on the weekend.

The weekend comes. You don't.

Your nervous system has a pantry too

Every day, you put things in it. The tense email. The rushed morning. The comment that stung a little. The worry you didn't say out loud. The night of broken sleep.

None of it is big on its own. That's the thing. It's a packet here, a jar there. You don't notice it filling up.

Until one day, there's no room left.

That's when the little things start to tip you over. A slow driver. A spilt drink. Someone asking "what's for dinner?" And you feel it rise in your chest before you've even decided how to respond.

It's not that you're failing at life. It's not that you're too sensitive.

Your shelves are just full.

Why the big clean-out doesn't last

When we finally notice, most of us reach for the big fix. The holiday. The retreat. The massive weekend reset.

And it helps. For a while.

But then Monday comes, and the shopping keeps arriving. Within a few weeks, the shelves are full again.

A pantry doesn't stay tidy because you cleared it once. It stays tidy because you clear a little, often.

A little space, every day

This is how I think about Vedic Meditation.

Twice a day, for 20 minutes, you sit comfortably and close your eyes. You use your mantra, and your mind settles on its own. Your body follows into deep rest. And in that rest, it starts to let go of what it's been holding onto.

You don't have to choose what to throw out. You don't have to work out where it all came from. You don't have to try. Your body knows how to clear the shelves when it's given the chance.

Some days you'll notice it. Some days you won't. But over time, there's more room.

More room to breathe. To respond instead of react. To take in whatever life hands you without everything tumbling out.

It's a bit like brushing your nervous system each day. Small, steady, and it adds up.

You're allowed to start small

If you read this and felt a little sigh of recognition, you're not alone. We've all got a shelf or two we'd rather not look at.

You don't have to sort it all at once.

You just need a way to make a little space. Every day.

If you'd like to learn how, book a free intro call or read about the four-day course. I'd love to chat.

Go gently 🤍

Jocelyn Lea