When Pacing and Precision Take the Life out of Living
I talk a lot about nervous system regulation—about stability, pacing, and building capacity. These principles align closely with my years of self-help study and yogic practices.
These tools are invaluable. They help us come back from burnout, rewire patterns of overwhelm, and create the scaffolding for a life that feels safe. But what happens when stability becomes stagnation? When we become so good at keeping it together that we forget to let go?
One of the gifts of creating enough safety in your nervous system is a foundation sturdy enough to take more risks, to surrender to an unknown, to feel deeper feelings, and to test your edges. Otherwise regulation can become rigidity, and start to feel like another form of control, a cage disguised as calm.
- What if, instead of prioritizing regulation alone, we sought resonance—a dynamic attunement to both our internal rhythms and the world around us?
- When do we allow ourselves to trust the pull of something deeper than structure, and to give ourselves permission to step into the full-bodied experience of being alive?
- Where is the space for eros, juice, expansion, and wildness in the nervous system conversation? Where do we allow ourselves to get swept up, to move, to let go, to feel the full pulse of life moving through us?
The Sacred Third
There’s a sacred third between chaos and precision, a space where life hums with possibility. This is the space I want to live in,*the place where eros, wildness, and attunement co-exist in a dance of vitality. It’s not about swinging wildly into dysregulation, but also not living so tightly wound that spontaneity and creativity feel like distant memories.
This is the exploration I’m bringing back into my life and community. I'm bringing it into my relationship with my body, my marriage, my parenting, and my work. Already, I'm feeling more pleasure, play, and life force energy surging through me. Small, doable steps aren’t left behind—they come along too.
While I was at Council with Sarah Jenks, this medicine revealed itself to me. As I envisioned the most authentic, attuned and connective way to explore this within community, JUICE emerged—a 3-day retreat dedicated to experiencing the sacred third between chaos and holding it all together.
The name itself is interrupting my familiar ways of being. When I fall into old patterns of holding it all together, or old ways of relating to my relationships, I ask myself, "What would the vitality of juice do?" "What would the sacred third between chaos and holding it all together do?" These questions alone could be all the medicine I need.
This upcoming retreat will be three days (July 23-25) near my home in Maine. I imagine 30-50 people. Will you be one of them?
We will be diving into the space between control and chaos—the place where life feels real. We’ll play with expression, embodiment, and the raw energy of what it means to feel fully here.
Reply for details. The page isn’t up yet, but if you feel the pull, let’s connect.
Because life isn’t meant to be just regulated—it’s meant to be lived.
With great care,
Sarah
*I honor the cycles of life. At the moment, vitality is calling to me, but I know that there are times in life to hibernate, contain energy, cuddle up, turn off the lights, close the door and crawl. One may feel more pleasurable than the other, but one is not more important or better than the other. In these spaces, eros can still live, the place between control and chaos can still dance, but vitality may not be its wingmate. Wishing you the very best wherever you find yourself today. Onward with our cycles.