Episode 124: Embracing Wellness: Stress Reduction Techniques

In Episode 124 of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn Carter gently guides you through a deeply personal and profoundly helpful conversation about stress, its effects, and how to release it through practical and holistic techniques. With honesty and warmth, Autumn shares from her own life—including the emotional aftermath of a car accident and the everyday chaos of parenting four young children—to show how stress doesn’t have to control us. Instead, it can be a powerful signal to slow down, realign, and come back home to ourselves.

This episode explores the dual nature of stress, recognizing that while it can motivate and drive growth, it also carries the potential to harm our physical and emotional well-being when left unchecked. Through stories, self-reflection, and supportive encouragement, Autumn offers a refreshing perspective: stress is not who you are—it’s just one part of you.

Listeners are invited into a restorative body scan and breathwork practice, where they reconnect with their physical selves and listen to what their bodies are trying to say. This episode is filled with empowering questions to reflect on: Where do you feel stress in your body? What parts of you need to be heard? What do you need to add to your life—not just remove—to create lasting relief? And what would your most peaceful, well self ask for if it could speak?

You’ll walk away from this episode not only with grounding tools for daily life, but also with the reminder that you’re allowed to feel seen, held, and supported—even in the midst of the busiest seasons. Whether you’re just beginning your wellness journey or you’re looking for new ways to deepen it, this episode is a powerful invitation to pause, recalibrate, and embrace the kind of peace that transforms from the inside out.

One last thing to cover the show legally. I am a certified life coach giving general advice. So think of this more like a self-help book. This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist. So this podcast shouldn't be taken as a replacement for professional guidance from my doctor therapist. Or any other qualified expert? If you want personal one-on-one coaching for my certified coach. Go to my website, wellness and every season.com. 

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at wellness-in-every-season.ck.page and receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Moms Life's Mornings and Evenings." Plus, you'll get free guides, special offers on my programs, practical tips, personal stories, and so much more. Don't miss out on these valuable resources designed to help you thrive as a mom and as an individual. Join today and start your journey to wellness in every season!

Transcript

Episode 124: Embracing Wellness: Stress Reduction Techniques

[00:00:00] 

Introduction and Episode Overview

This is episode 1 24. 

Autumn Carter: Welcome to Wellness In Every Season, the podcast where we explore the rich tapestry of wellness in all of its forms. I'm your host, autumn Carter, a certified life coach, turn wellness coach, as well as a certified parenting coach dedicated to empowering others to rediscover their identity in their current season of life.

My goal is to help you thrive, both as an individual and as a parent.

Today we are talking about stress.

And there is so much to talk about with stress. So we'll see how much we can jam in here, but it literally takes years off your life. It ages us prematurely. It causes us to be sick when other people aren't sick. It can cause different body parts to fail. I was planting my emotions in my gallbladder.

It killed my gallbladder. Stress [00:01:00] can deteriorate relationships. There's so many negative sides to stress. We'll also talk about some positives to it in this episode. So if you know anyone around who is stressed out, we all do share this episode with them. Share the love and share with them your love for them and also.

My love. So let's dive in. 

Positive Aspects of Stress

Let's start by talking about some of the positives of stress that I know of off the top of my head. Without doing a ton of research, stress can motivate us, stress can help us to achieve sometimes overachieve. So there's this balancing game with stress. It can cause us to.

Reevaluate our life and to shake things up. It can cause us to make changes. It can keep us 'cause stress and fear are related. They're cousins. At least it can cause us not to do things that we wanna do. It can. What else is positive? I'm sure I'm missing things, so let me [00:02:00] know. 

Depending on where you're listening to this podcast, there is a chat feature, so let me know what positives you think there are to stress. So we know that stress can be a positive thing even more. We know a lot of the negative side effects, and there have been a ton of scientific studies on it, but let's push those aside for a second and let's talk about what symptoms.

Have come up in your life because of stress, and what do you want to do to first acknowledge it, but what do you wanna do about it? What do you wanna do to release some of that stress, to prevent it, to let go, to not hold on so tightly to the control reigns of your horse.

What do you think? Any thoughts come to mind?

Managing Stress: Personal Experiences

What has been helping me is meditation. I've been spending a lot more time in meditation and it has [00:03:00] been amazing, and I am starting to do yoga classes out in the real world instead of through YouTube. Shout out to yoga with Adrian. I love her stuff. I am doing it at my local gym and it's been amazing so far.

I already feel less stressed and it's been exactly what my body's needed post car accident in October. Um, I highly recommend spending the time listening to your body. What does it need to let go of the stress? What does it need? To thrive. That is what wellness is about, is thriving. What do you need to change or add into your life?

I would start with what do you want to add into your life instead of removing all the things? Because the nice thing is when you add things into your life, other things fall off, and what you choose to pay attention to, you'll spend more time on. [00:04:00] So the things that you don't want, that you don't wanna pay attention to, they fall off.

And all of us resonate with that if we're parents or have been busy at any time in our life. So everybody, even if you're not parent, you've been busy at some point in your life, but have you noticed the things you pay attention to you do more of? And the things that you don't fall away? And some of those things are self-care practices, like taking a bath.

Putting your feet up and reading a book for fun, not because it's part of a book club or a parenting book, or something that was assigned to you in school or whatever. When was the last time you went out on a date? Or out with friends and did something fun just 'cause you wanted to.

So what are you willing to add to your life to help you feel like a whole person to help you feel like you

are fun within yourself? Like you wanna spend time with yourself, like you. Are this dynamic person because we get, so even my shoulders are hunching up, thinking about stress. We [00:05:00] get so caught up in the day to day and it becomes this grind and we lose sight of the things that we are interested in, our hobbies, our things that we wanna learn.

Um, we lose sight of the fact that we are this four dimensional, complex. Amazing creature, let alone human. And we have all of these facets that make up who we are. We have all these experiences that we need to dedicate our energy towards. And I mean this in a. Exciting way, the things that we want to do.

I have a friend, and I was talking to her maybe a year or two ago, and she was telling me about her parents and how they put off retiring. They put off moving to their dream place, and when they finally did it, their health was so declined they could not live the life they wanted to live when they're [00:06:00] retired.

How many times do we put off things for later when really we should do them for ourselves? And maybe that's part of the reason why you're stressed. Maybe that's the outlet that you really need. Just some thoughts on that.  

Meditation and Body Scan Practice

Let's take time to do a meditation practice and.

Okay. Close your eyes if you can. If you can't just walk and do that, tune into your body or drive or whatever you're doing. I hope you're walking though if you're not able to sit around for this or lay, but do this moment where you just check in with yourself if you can't.

Close your eyes and see if you can, if you're walking, get your eyes a little bit out of focus if you're driving 10 and two, and eyes on the road. But let's start with a body scan [00:07:00] and we're gonna start at the top of our head.

And notice any areas that might need attention, some softening. I love head massages, so don't mind me while I give myself a head massage. I notice that I hold a lot of tension in my forehead? 

I grind my teeth at night. So how about through your jawline, your nose, and the yoga practice today? It was really interesting hearing the yoga teacher talk about the nose and making sure that you're softening through that area and softening your nostrils, I think is how she worded. And I was like, I've never really considered that 

Through your cheeks and cheekbones. Sometimes I find that. I need that little massage, so it's a reminder that I'm holding on tension through your lips, through your chin. How about your ears, especially during allergy season? Is there anything screaming at you in there? [00:08:00] How about your neck? My neck screams at me often still from the car accident.

Your shoulders, how many of you are parents? And have that nice little, just feels like you've worked out like super strong muscles, but it's actually stress muscles, not workout muscles or from holding children. I held all of mine on the right side, so I have nice knots in there. All right. How about through your, um, collarbone?

Your collarbone through your upper chest. This can be an area where emotions are held. If you feel anything, breathe through it, let it go. How about your arms, your biceps triceps, your lats are up here all the way through to your elbows. I don't remember the rest of my muscle names, so don't mind me.

Three or forearms. Here's another [00:09:00] area. Your fingers. How many of you hold stress through here if you're, you do a lot of typing, knitting, gardening, changing diapers, um, I'm sure shaking hands would also do it. What other things would do if you're a mechanic? What do your fingers need? All right, let's, let's go back.

So lower chest diaphragm area. When I feel stress, I feel a lot of tension. Lemme move the microphone with me in my diaphragm area. Is there anything through here if you are feeling any tension, place your hand there just for a minute and breathe through it. And then how about we're gonna do the front of the body and then we'll go to the back.

So, how about through your rib section? I have really long ribs, so I hold a lot through my sides. How about through your stomach area? There's so many organs in here, so much that can be held in this area. Your hips, your thighs. How are you doing so far? [00:10:00] We're gonna go scan all the way down through the legs to your knees.

Now the calves. The ankles and the feet. So many bones in the feet here. Your toes. Wiggle your toes if you can. If you're walking or running, you can do it a little bit in your shoes. Alright, now let's go up through the back. 

The back of the knee can hold a lot too. How about. Your hamstring area and your glute, your butt, anything there. There can be a lot of tension held there too. Can be a lot of tension held anywhere. A love handle area up through your back, your lower back, you can get to your mid back, upper back, back to the shoulder area.

If you're holding onto anything, let's do a quick little fun shakeout. If you're in public, it'll be extra fun. Who cares? [00:11:00] You're taking care of yourself. Okay, now let's do an even deeper check-in. Let's focus on our breathing for a little bit. We're gonna do some deep breathing.

And I'm gonna keep talking while you focus on your own deep breathing. Take a deep breath in. Hold at the top for about three seconds, and then deep breath out. Hold for three seconds. Deep breath in. Do that style, do it about four times. I'm gonna hold you to it on your own while you're focusing on your breathing.

Focus on relaxing. And maybe you're done by now. Maybe you're not. I'm not counting. So I don't know. Now I want you to do a check-in with yourself about how we have different parts of ourself. We have one part that gets angry really easily. We have one part that can get sad easily.

One part, that's joy. One part that is Who am I missing from the original inside out. We have [00:12:00] different parts of us. There are parts of us that are even stronger. It's something that I've been working with in somatics, so we have the part of us that is super loving. We have the part of us that is confident.

We have a part of us that is anxious, maybe that's where the stress comes in. We have a part of us that's accepting. We have so many different parts of us. Are there any parts of you that need attention, that need to be heard in this moment?

What are they saying to you? If so,

are there any parts that are screaming so loudly that you can't hear the other parts that need to be heard? This is something that I went over my somatics class last week. It was very eye-opening. Really love it. If you're ever interested in that, Amber Chapman, Google her. She's amazing.

Okay. Is there anything else that you are needing that you need to maybe schedule for yourself that you're missing, that is coming up for you during this time that is met just for you? Is there anything that you need to [00:13:00] release?

There is. Do so now.

And let's spend a minute visualizing, actually,

let's visualize the part of you that has no stress. Let's call this part of you, the bliss part of you or the whole, the well part of you.

What does this part of you look like?

For me? I imagine the sitting yoga pose with the hands up, the receiving, so the hands down is grounding. Hands up is receiving. So the receiving just peaceful that. [00:14:00] Happy alive state. That's the part that I visualize for me. What does that look like for you?

What is that part of you saying that they need more of?

What is that part asking you to do?

What more are you needing in this moment?

What do you need to apologize for to this part of you? It could be kind of a big one.

Let's imagine to close this out or visualize you hugging that [00:15:00] part. And just fully feeling seen and seeing.

All right, let's take another deep breath in together and a deep breath out. Okay. And let's move on. You had a lot of questions there that you can answer, so if you need to pause me and journal, great. Otherwise keep it in your head and we'll move on. So. 

Autumn Carter: Welcome. Are you craving moments that nourish both your soul and family amidst the blur of daily tasks? I understand that desire for a life that brings peace, balance, and joy, not just endless to-dos. That's why I created a range of programs that wellness and every season to help you transform daily routines into meaningful experiences.

Recently, I've launched a variety of offerings designed for busy budget conscious individuals, some free and others starting at just $7. Many can be completed in a few minutes or hours while others dive deeper into exploring your dreams, desires, and unique strengths. These programs focus on practical self-care, creating equity in your home, and building trust with yourself.

[00:16:00] Imagine stepping into your day with confidence and ease, feeling supported by a community on a similar path. Whether you're looking to reclaim time, pursue your dream job, or simplifying joy in the little moments, there's something here for you. All resources are available on demand at wellness and every season.com.

You can also book private coaching sessions for more personalized support on your journey.

Reflecting on Stress and Wellness

Yeah, hopefully you had a chance to see your stress a little more.

Actually, let's back up a second. If you were to see the stress part of you, what does it look like?

What is it needing? What do you see?

Lemme tell you about mine. So I have four little kids. My oldest right now is 10 and my youngest is four. And these four little ones need a lot 'cause they're a little today. For instance, my oldest has strep throat for very early signs. And I had a chiropractor appointment [00:17:00] and my yoga class, I really needed that for my body and some other things going on.

So it was, um, you're either staying home alone or we'll see if daddy can come and help out. So my husband got two hours worth of work in before he drove back home and it's an hour drive. One direction. So it's been kind of a crazy day. Um, and there was a part of me that felt guilt for not just pushing everything aside and taking care of that child, but there's also the part that this child is contagious.

And it's really great to keep the youngest away from him because if the youngest gets it, the whole family's gonna get it. 'cause you know, when they're that little. And there's a part of me that wants to make up for my guilt by just doing all the things. It's just amazing the more that I dig into parts work and the different parts of us and how this comes [00:18:00] up, and realizing how much we are multifaceted in so many ways.

I think that's the reason why. I don't know if you can see this poster very well. The dimensions of wellness stand out so much to me is that we have these eight dimensions of wellness that make up us that need to be fed in order for us to feel fully aligned, fully in balance, and to feel less stress, frankly, to feel like we're showing up as our fully authentic.

Fully charged, think all the battery lines, the green self. And we also have that within the parts that make up us because we've all been there, especially during our teenage years or maybe our toddler years, or even when we're maxed out stressed, where these [00:19:00] emotions just wrapped out of us and we're.

Over here, not in the driver's seat going, what? The bleep just happened. I don't understand what just happened or came outta me. I don't, I can't even begin to apologize because that wasn't really me. We all have had that happen, and when we are stressed out, it happens more than normal and it makes it harder to apologize when it keeps happening.

And stress can do so much to our bodies. It can cause us our hormones to be outta whack. And it's very interesting when we dive into it medically, the, which came first, the chicken or the egg type of thing. Like we're the hormones outta whack and that caused the stress or stress and then hormones.

But we live in such a day that we are just go, go, go, go, go. And I totally understand. I relate to that. I easily do that and have to slow myself down. [00:20:00] And what I'm realizing on my own journey is the more I slow myself down, the more I take that breath, the more clearly I can think when I need to ramp back up and make all these quick decisions.

And the better I feel, the better I sleep. The better I show up for everyone else, the better I show up for myself. I am just an overall better person when I can put in my time in the morning. So if we're gonna talk about bookends for a second of having my routine in the morning with my mindfulness practices, I use Miracle Morning.

And then I added my own things to it. And then when I have a mindful slowdown routine in the evening, because I have my own self-care parts in place that whatever weather happens in my house during the day, I can weather that storm and I don't feel so frazzled crazy because I'm taking care of myself.

And then throughout the day, what I've been adding in that I really like is my self check-ins. How am I doing? How am I feeling in this [00:21:00] moment? What parts of me need attention? 

Why am I feeling the way I'm feeling? What needs to be adjusted kind of recalibrated within myself? During the day or in that moment, and it really helps. I am a much better parent with it. I am a better coach. I'm a better, human being, better spouse, better insert blank because I am checking in with myself to see what I need.

I am focusing more on my breath when I need to really manage my stress. and there's scientific data for this too, there's scientific data for most things, but the people who spend time on their breath, breath work is what it's called. [00:22:00] They are more peaceful. It's. Almost not fair, but it totally makes sense.

I was in the sauna at my gym and it's a, non-gender sauna, so anybody can use it over 18. And there was this person there

who was focusing on rapid breathing. And it was like almost hyperventilating, but on purpose and with real intention, and I actually felt peace. I felt my body do that sigh, that extra breath in, and it was amazing to see somebody else mindfully doing something for themselves and having it positively affect me.

It's kind of like that idea of being around somebody who's happy. And just passing them by and they smile at you and it kind of gives you an inner smile. So then you pass that on to somebody else. It's one of those ideas. It's so fun. So we are towards the end. Let's get into some questions and they're gonna be a little bit of repeats from our mindfulness practice that we did earlier on purpose.

What do you need to add today [00:23:00] to help you release your stress? To help you feel like the calm person that you wanna be, that you're supposed to be,

what do you need to schedule out for yourself?

When I was researching the topic to talk on stress and I was finding out what the most search for topics are in wellness. Stress came up. There is a reason, and

it leads to this next question. When you feel stressed, where do you feel in your body? 

for me, one area causes another to flare up and then it, so I have to really focus on where do I first feel it. So that's your question. Where do you first feel it?

What can you do when you are overly stressed out to feel held, to feel protected, to feel loved, to feel seen

and comfortable, to be a hot mess.

Who do you have in your life [00:24:00] to help you

be held accountable to managing your stress better? To you focusing on your wellness goals. We all deserve to have worthwhile goals that light us up. This life is not meant to be a drudgery.

What can you do to help yourself feel seen by all the parts of you when you're stressed out? Because we all end up in these moments where we are in the thick of the stress, but we can't. [00:25:00] Fully help ourselves to release it in that moment, and we can hold onto it for so long that we then binge what do we do?

we need to get that dopamine hit. So what can we do to help ourselves feel held and seen, even though we have to continue through this stressful time? And know that we can go back and take care of ourselves after without having to get the dopamine hit. I hope that question makes sense,

Final Thoughts and Affirmations

and let's finish with an affirmation. We haven't done one of those for a while, and I really like those.

I am seen, I am loved. I am worthy.

I am wellness. Please know this is true. I dedicate this time to you, and it's not just the time we're recording. There's so much that happens behind the scenes [00:26:00] because I love you. I want you to be well, and you absolutely are worth it. If you know anyone who is struggling with any of these things, send them this.

They need to know that they're loved, worthy, seen, held, that they don't need to hold onto their stress. They are not their stress. There's a stressed out part or parts of them, but they are not the stress, they are the sum of all the parts. I hope that makes sense. We will talk about it more, but know that stress, if it's held on too long, is so hard for us, and we should do more things that give us distance from our stress, that light us up, that give us joy.

They give us that giddiness because when we have those things, we easily spread it to other people and that is amazing. How great is it to know that your smile lit up somebody else's day? It's [00:27:00] great to receive it, but it's so much better when you're the one spreading the sunshine all around. Anyway, I will talk to you in the next episode.

Bye.

Autumn Carter: Thanks for tuning into this week's episode. I am your host, autumn Carter, a certified life coach dedicated to empowering individuals to rediscover their identity, find balance, miss chaos, strengthen relationships, and pursue their dreams. My goal is to help people thrive in every aspect of their lives. I hope today's discussion inspired you and offered valuable insights.

Stay engaged with our wellness community by signing up for my newsletter at wellness and every season.com/free resources. When you join, you'll have the option to receive a five day guide called Awaken and Unwind, five Days to Mastering Your Mornings and Evenings, along with Free Guides, special offers on my programs, practical tips, personal stories.

Much more all related to wellness by setting up for both offers on the page. Don't miss out on these valuable resources designed to help you thrive in every area of wellness. Join today and start your journey to wellness in every season. Your share subscriptions [00:28:00] and reviews help us reach more people seeking empowerment.

So please spread the word about our podcast and about our newsletter. Thank you for being a part of our podcast community. I look forward to continuing our conversation, sharing stories and exploring wellness in all of this aspects. Take care until our next episode. You can also work with me one-on-one or on demand through one of my programs by visiting wellness in every season.com/programs.

One last thing to cover the show legally, I'm a certified life coach giving general advice, so think of this, this more as a self-help book. This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, so this podcast shouldn't be taken as a replacement for professional guidance from a doctor or therapist.

If you want personal one-on-one coaching from a certified life and parenting coach, go to my website, wellness and every season.com. That's where you can get personalized coaching from me for you. See you in next [00:29:00] week's episode.