Your body often knows something’s off before your mind does. That racing heart? Tight shoulders? Stomach in knots? In this episode, we unpack the neuroscience behind those automatic reactions—and show you how to decode them.

Still dismissing your body’s signals as “overreacting” or “too sensitive”? Using Dr. Stephen Porges’ groundbreaking polyvagal theory, I break down your internal traffic light system—Green, Yellow, and Red Zones—and how they shape your mood, energy, and relationships.

🎧 Press play to learn how to stop spiraling and start working with your nervous system, not against it.

🔥 What Your Nervous System Is Really Trying to Tell You

✨ Shoulders tense before you realize you're stressed
✨ Stomach clenches mid-conversation
✨ Heart races before a presentation—even if you feel prepared
✨ These are biological survival responses, not personal failings

🎯 The Traffic Light Model (Green, Yellow, Red Zones)

🟢 Green: Calm, clear, open-hearted
🟡 Yellow: Fight/Flight—anxious, overwhelmed, hyper-alert
🔴 Red: Freeze/Shutdown—numb, withdrawn, burnt out

💡 Powerful Quotes

"These aren’t personality traits. They’re nervous system responses based on how safe or threatened you feel."

“Your nervous system is not broken. It’s responding to your environment, your stress levels, your past experiences, and your current capacity.”

“You’re not forcing yourself to calm down or pushing through when your system is saying it needs something different.”

🛠 2 Simple Tools to Work with Your Nervous System

• Window of Tolerance Mapping: A daily self-check-in
• Nervous System State Check-In: A Body–Mind–Heart awareness practice

🎁 This Week’s Invitation: Just notice what zone you're in throughout the day—no fixing, no forcing. The more skilled you become at recognizing your state, the better you can regulate your emotions, respond from your values, and stop being at the mercy of your triggers.

Next Week: The Courage to Disappoint—how fear of letting others down keeps us stuck in survival states.

💛 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear: You’re not broken—you’re beautifully wired for survival, and you can learn to feel safe again.

#neuroscience #nervoussystem #mentalfitness #emotionalregulation #polyvagaltheory #selfawareness

Until next time, Beautiful Souls...

Stay connected and keep growing with me:

✨ Instagram: @lulu.essey – Join the conversation and get daily insights!
✨ YouTube: Lulu Essey – Watch exclusive content, deep dives, and video podcasts. Need a quick boost? Check out my YouTube Shorts—powerful insights in under a minute!
✨ Website: luluessey.com
✨ Free Guide: Break Free from the Success Trap– Download my free guide

💛 If this episode resonated with you, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube and please SHARE this episode!

THANK YOU for being here. Sending you grace and love!

You don't need anyone's approval to rest, say no, or want what you want. This episode reveals the 5 permission slips you've been waiting for—and why the only signature that matters is yours.

Still waiting for someone to give you the green light to rest, say no, or want something different? This final Summer Superfood episode explores Self-Permission—the most powerful ingredient for mental fitness and authentic living.
🎧 Press play to learn how to reclaim your inner authority and stop outsourcing your life.

🔥 Why You're Still Seeking Permission Slips

✨ We've learned approval equals safety
✨ Fear of being called selfish (especially women)
✨ Confusing people-pleasing with kindness
✨ Terrified of judgment and criticism

🎯 The 5 Permission Slips You Need to Write Yourself

1. Permission to Rest Without Earning It - Rest isn't reward for productivity; it's a basic human need
2. Permission to Say NO Without Explanation - "NO" is a complete sentence
3. Permission to Change Your Mind - Growth means wanting different things
4. Permission to Disappoint People - You weren't put here to meet everyone's expectations
5. Permission to Want What You Want - Your desires don't need committee approval

💡 Powerful Quotes

• "Chronic people-pleasing isn't kindness—it's self-abandonment masquerading as virtue"
• "The permission you've been waiting for isn't coming from outside you, it's coming from within"
• "You don't need anyone else's approval to live according to your own values"

🛠 4-Step Process to Become Your Own Permission Slip Writer

1. Identify what you're waiting for permission to do/say/want
2. Write it down - "I give myself permission to..."
3. Sign your signature - the only one that matters
4. Honor it - practice trusting your own authority

Invitation: Write yourself ONE specific permission slip this week. Sign it. Honor it.

⏱️ Episode Timestamps

00:01 - Permission slips from childhood vs adult life
02:25 - The 5 permission slips most people need
08:46 - Why we're still seeking external validation
12:05 - 4-step process to write your own permission
15:51 - Your summer invitation to self-permission

💛 Share this episode with someone who needs permission to give themselves permission. Together we create ripples of authentic living.

#mentalfitness #selfleadership #permissiontosayno #peoplepleasing #authenticliving

Until next time, Beautiful Souls...

Stay connected and keep growing with me:

✨ Instagram: @lulu.essey – Join the conversation and get daily insights!
✨ YouTube: Lulu Essey – Watch exclusive content, deep dives, and video podcasts. Need a quick boost? Check out my YouTube Shorts—powerful insights in under a minute!
✨ Website: luluessey.com
✨ Free Guide: Break Free from the Success Trap– Download my free guide

💛 If this episode resonated with you, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube and please SHARE this episode!

THANK YOU for being here. Sending you grace and love!

Your gut’s not overreacting—it’s predicting. Discover your body’s 4 secret superpowers (plus the science that makes it real).

Your body is basically a walking, talking supercomputer and it's been trying to send you messages this entire time. Most of us? We've been ignoring the hell out of it.

We treat our bodies like inconvenient vehicles we're stuck with, something to manage or fix. But here's the reframe: Your body isn't just carrying you around. It's constantly gathering intelligence, processing information, and trying to guide you toward what's best for you. The messages it’s sending aren’t weakness—they’re wisdom.
This week’s Summer Superfood is Body Wisdom—and it’s not woo-woo, it’s neuroscience.

In this episode, I break down the 4 hidden superpowers your body already has… and the tiny tools to help you use them.

🎧 Tap play to learn how to decode your body’s signals, trust your gut, and reconnect with the wisest guide you have—yourself.

🔥 Discover Your Body's 4 Hidden Superpowers:
✨ The Bullsh*t Detector – Your gut can spot fake people, toxic situations & bad decisions before your brain catches up
✨ The Energy Reader – Read room energy faster than you can analyze it (hello, mirror neurons)
✨ The Stress Early Warning System – Tight shoulders, clenched jaw? Your body’s screaming “pay attention”
✨ The Need Translator – Constantly telling you what you need: rest, movement, nourishment, connection

🧠 The Science That'll Blow Your Mind:

• Your gut has more nerve endings than your spinal cord. It’s your enteric nervous system, aka your “second brain”
• Mirror neurons fire in milliseconds, reading emotional energy before conscious thought kicks in

🎯 4 Activation Techniques to Reconnect:

1. Body scan check-in – 30 seconds, head to toe, twice daily
2. Gut feeling audit – Ask your body before making decisions
3. Energy inventory – Track who/what drains vs energizes you
4. Movement medicine – Let your body choose what movement it needs

🔥 Quotes That Hit Different:

• Your body isn't being needy—it’s being informative
• Those signals you’ve been ignoring? They’re not weakness. They’re wisdom
• The more you listen to your body’s intelligence, the stronger these superpowers become

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Your Body’s Been Talking (You Just Haven’t Been Listening)
01:27 — Why We Ignore Our Body’s Signals
03:08 — Gut Feelings & Your Second Brain
04:35 — Emotional Energy & Mirror Neurons
05:32 — Stress Warnings & Somatic Clues
07:00 — What Your Body Really Needs (And Why You Ignore It)
10:46 — Why We Were Trained to Dismiss Our Bodies
12:15 — 4 Tiny Tools to Reconnect With Body Wisdom
16:04 — Build the Muscle of Listening (Before the Signals Get Louder)

Until next time, Beautiful Souls...

Stay connected and keep growing with me:

✨ Instagram: @lulu.essey – Join the conversation and get daily insights!
✨ YouTube: Lulu Essey – Watch exclusive content, deep dives, and video podcasts. Need a quick boost? Check out my YouTube Shorts—powerful insights in under a minute!
✨ Website: luluessey.com
✨ Free Guide: Break Free from the Success Trap– Download my free guide

💛 If this episode resonated with you, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube and please SHARE this episode!

THANK YOU for being here. Sending you grace and love!