Bonus Episode: Strengthening Your Parasympathetic Nervous System

This week, we’re exploring a topic that sits at the heart of emotional healing and nervous system regulation — your parasympathetic nervous system.

Your nervous system has two main branches:

• the sympathetic branch — your fight, flight, or freeze response
• the parasympathetic branch — your rest, digest, and restore system.

When your parasympathetic system is activated, your heart rate slows, your breath deepens, your mind clears, and your body finally feels safe enough to heal. But here’s the truth: many of us live in a chronic state of stress, stuck in fight or flight without even realizing it.

In this short and gentle bonus episode, we’ll walk through five psychology-based ways to strengthen your parasympathetic nervous system, including:
🌿 Breathwork as a psychological anchor — and why your vagus nerve plays a vital role.
🌿 Creating moments of felt safety.
🌿 Grounding through your senses.
🌿 Soothing your inner dialogue with self-compassion.
🌿 Building rituals of regulation that help your body remember calm.

This isn’t about eliminating stress — it’s about creating reliable pathways home to calm. Over time, those pathways become second nature.

🫀 Gentle reminder: If you’re navigating trauma, chronic stress, or emotional overwhelm, consider doing this work alongside a trusted therapist or somatic practitioner. And if you or someone you love is in crisis, you can dial 988 in the U.S. for 24/7 support.

✨ Share this episode with someone who needs a nervous system reminder today.
🍋 With love, Dr. Allison Sucamele — The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast.