Stuck in My Head, Saved by My Nervous System

This week hit differently.

I found myself staring into space, jaw clenched, mind racing. You know that feeling when you’re aware you’re spiralling but can’t seem to get out of your own way? That was me. In beautiful Bali, surrounded by sunshine and paradise, but mentally stuck in a loop.

A loop of guilt. A loop of pressure. A loop of not doing enough.

No matter how much I walked, trained, meditated, or journaled, I couldn’t shift it.

Until something clicked.

I reached out to a friend — someone going through their own personal spiral after a breakup. We didn’t fix each other. But we listened.

That moment, the human connection, broke the echo chamber of my thoughts. Then I went to yoga. Not the type where you chase a shape. The type where you feel. And somewhere between the opening breath and the final rest, something cracked open.

That’s when I remembered: healing doesn’t always come from effort. It often comes from surrender.

Later that day, I sat with street dogs. No agenda. No productivity. Just presence.

And that’s when I remembered the 4 questions I use in my coaching and riding work — but had forgotten to ask myself:

1. What’s going on with me?

2. What’s going on with my horse?

3. What’s going on between us?

4. What’s going on in the environment?

Most people obsess over #2 and #4. Riders change saddles, blame wind, swap bits. But the real transformation lives in #1 and #3.

If you don’t check in with yourself, your nervous system, your energy — then you’re missing the foundation.

This week, I needed the discomfort. I needed the stuckness. Because it cracked open something deeper.

And maybe, if you’re reading this, you’ve been feeling it too.

Don’t rush to fix it. Start by feeling it. Start by getting present. And ask the questions that actually matter.