If you’ve ever felt like you know stress is impacting your health (but don’t actually know what to do about it) this episode is for you.

In this conversation, I’m joined by somatic practitioner, fitness coach, and functional nutrition specialist Joelle Reyes to unpack what somatics actually is, how stress lives in the body, and why “just managing stress better” often isn’t enough.

We dive into the nervous system from a physiology-first perspective, explaining why chronic stress keeps so many women stuck in symptoms like bloating, fatigue, anxiety, hormonal disruption, and stalled progress even when nutrition and training look solid on paper.

This episode bridges the gap between what you intellectually understand about stress and what your body is actually experiencing, and explains how learning to close the stress loop can make everything feel easier — from digestion and recovery to emotional regulation and training results.

In this episode, we cover:

• What somatics actually is (and what it’s not)

• The difference between top-down (mind-based) and bottom-up (body-based) stress regulation

• Why your body doesn’t know the difference between work stress and physical danger

• What it means to “close the stress loop” and why most people never do

• How chronic fight-or-flight impacts digestion, hormones, recovery, and metabolism

• Why you can’t think your way out of nervous system dysregulation

• How strength training, rest periods, and awareness can become somatic tools

• Practical ways to start reconnecting with your body without doing anything extreme or uncomfortable

• Why feeling your emotions isn’t the same as being overwhelmed by them

Connect with Joelle:

• Instagram: @joellereyes

• Beyond the Weights Coaching: @beyondtheweightscoaching

• Podcast: The Beyond the Weights Podcast