From Hustle to Healing: What a Case of Lemons Taught Me About My Nervous System
Hosting my last retreat surprised me.
I’ve led many events over the years, but this time was different. I felt held. Nourished. Supported. It was the first time I remember thinking, “Wow… I feel like I got to go on retreat too.”
That experience in March marked the beginning of something big:
I slowed down. Really slowed down.
And when I did, I realized how fast I had been going… for years.
The Wake-Up Call
I took almost three weeks off this summer for a vacation, which was also restorative—but that couples retreat back in March? In that container was the calmest and most relaxed I’d felt all year.
And in that calm, a truth came through loud and clear:
If I was going to “go to the next level” in my life and work, something had to shift.
So I let myself go quiet.
I stopped sending email newsletters for a whole season—not because I didn’t care, but because I didn’t know what to say.
I needed to listen inward instead of broadcasting outward. And when I came back (with a fresh email list you can join here), I felt truly excited to share again.
💌 PS: If you’ve been longing for that kind of reset too, check out my Happy Mail subscription—it’s designed to help you slow down and reconnect creatively.
The Lemon-Scented Breakdown
One Friday, during my side hustle juicing lemons for a local hummus operation, I forgot my headphones. No big deal… right?
I usually love the simple, repetitive nature of the job. Peeling garlic, juicing citrus. It’s aromatic and meditative. But that day, in the quiet warehouse, something unexpected happened:
I noticed after a few minutes that my nervous system panicked.
Nothing “bad” had happened. But my body was loud: tense shoulders, shallow breath, buzzing anxiety.
I wasn’t calm—I was in fight or flight.
Thankfully, I had tools. I started humming (weird warehouse acoustics and all), and soon I felt grounded again.
Later, still rattled, I opened my laptop and typed a raw, simple question into ChatGPT:
“How do I heal my nervous system so that I feel safe? I want to feel okay.”
What followed helped me so much, I want to share it with you too.
Gentle Tools for Nervous System Healing
Here’s what I learned—and some of it, I’d already been doing without even knowing the science behind it.
🌿 1. Physiology First: Regulate Your Body Before Your Mind
Your body needs to feel safe before your mind can catch up.
Try these bottom-up tools when anxiety hits:
➤ Orienting Practice (5 min)
Look around and gently name what you see:
“There’s a soft blanket.”
“That plant has velvety leaves.”
“Sunlight is coming through the blinds.”
Let your gaze settle on something neutral or pleasant. This simple act signals: we are here, and we are safe.
➤ Voo Breathing (Peter Levine)
Make a deep “vooooo” sound on your exhale, like a foghorn. Feel the vibration in your chest. Repeat slowly 3–5 times. This calms the vagus nerve.
➤ Butterfly Hug
Cross your arms over your chest and gently tap your shoulders, alternating sides. Breathe. This soothing rhythm helps regulate your system.
➤ Safe Touch
Wrap up in a blanket. Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Say to yourself:
“I am with you. You are safe to soften now.”
💗 2. Emotional Embodiment: Feeling Before "Becoming"
You don’t have to fake joy or confidence—just try them on for a few seconds.
➤ Mini Somatic Visualization
Choose a feeling you want: grounded, confident, loved.
Close your eyes. Picture you, two years from now, feeling that way daily. Ask her:
“How do you breathe?”
“How do you stand?”
“Where in your body do you feel this?”
Now—just for 30 seconds—move like her. Breathe like her.
This isn’t pretending. This is practice.
✨ Gentle Reframe
“Healing doesn’t mean you never feel anxious.
It means when anxiety comes, you know what to do.”
Pheeewww! Powerful and simple right? I was relived and grateful to receive these words.
Some mantras I’ve been speaking to my body after this:
“Safety is not the absence of fear—it’s the presence of support.”
“I don’t have to earn love through perfection.”
“I’m learning to hold more joy, more connection, and more ME—gently.”
The Next Chapter: Gentle Reminders
After this season of deep nervous system healing, one thing became clear:
It helps to have gentle reminders. Tiny sparks of delight. Creative prompts. Beautiful tools that whisper: You are allowed to slow down.
That’s why I created Happy Mail—a monthly envelope of magic, designed to help you slow, feel, and make.
Each monthly kit has a different theme and they’re packed with tactile beauty: stickers, art, creative prompts, and surprises that ignite your senses.
You can subscribe for monthly creativity delivered to your door, or just try one envelope—either way, I know you’ll love it.
💌 Check out Happy Mail here
📝 Join my email list here to receive cozy weekly letters full of creative prompts, healing tools, and updates.
Let me know which tool in this post resonated with you. I’d love to hear in the comments.
Thanks for reading. Here’s to the perfectly imperfect journey.
With love,
Brennah D’Layn
✨ Happy Mail from Mud Lotus Arts
A monthly envelope of magic, mailed with love.
Each month, you’ll receive a carefully curated envelope of creative joy — filled with tactile treasures to spark your imagination, ground your nervous system, and reconnect you to your inner creativity.
✨This first month's theme is Natural Creativity, featuring nature-inspired ephemera, stickers, and images to ground and awaken your creative rituals
Your Happy Mail will include:
🌸 Hand-drawn sticker(s)
🖼 Original art print, postcard, or collage
📜 Curated ephemera (paper bits, washi samples, etc)
📝 A handwritten note from Brennah
💌 A surprise bonus item (different each time!)
🎁 Creative prompts & More!
🌿 FREE carbon neutral shipping included with subscription
🌿A tree is planted for every new edition
Perfect for:
✨Anyone who wants to feel inspired, not overwhelmed
✉️Stationery & snail mail lovers
🧠Neurodivergent creatives
🌙Keepers of little altars (and big feelings)
This is your monthly invitation to slow down, make beauty, and reconnect with your creative self.
➡️ First 10 orders get a bonus vinyl sticker!!
➡️Only 15 subscriptions available for the first round.
Full reveal video of month #1 on Patreon. Check it out here.
