Why Knitting Is Actually Nervous System Regulation with Alice O'Connell

Knitting may be one of the most accessible forms of nervous system regulation there is, and today's guest has spent years teaching people how to use it that way.

Former TV and theatre actress Alice O’Connell is the founder of Learn to Knit, having first picked up the craft on sets like Doctor Who and Silent Witness. Today, she uses her 20+ years of global teaching experience, and her own journey using craft as a sanctuary during breast cancer treatment, to show how knitting can cultivate mindfulness, regulate the nervous system, and build self-compassion.

We talk about why repetitive movement tells your nervous system it's safe, why the beginner stage is where the real self-compassion work happens, and why so many women in midlife are picking knitting back up right now. Alice also shares two student stories about recovery that stayed with us both.

Connect with Alice O'Connell

Her self-paced knitting course: https://www.learntoknit.nl/pre-recorded-knitting-lessons

Her website: https://www.learntoknit.nl/

More from Radiantly Rooted with Rachel

Catch every episode here: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/podcast

Prefer to watch? This episode is also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h8KflFJr33o

I used to smoke a pack a day, and somewhere along the way, without ever really planning it, I became a marathoner. This week I'm telling you that whole story, and what was actually going on underneath it, because it was never really about cigarettes or running shoes.

If you're in the middle of your own identity shift right now, I'd love to help you find your way through it: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/coaching

It was about deciding who I was going to become before I had any proof I could pull it off, and that's what an identity shift really is. Some of the shifts we go through are ones we reach for, like quitting smoking or stepping into a new role. Others show up whether we want them to or not, like a relationship changing shape or a house feeling emptier than it used to. Either way, it's still a shift, and shift means change, and change can be scary even when part of you already knows it's the right thing.

I'll walk you through my own story first, then pull it apart a little so we can talk about identity shifts more broadly, and I'll give you a short exercise to help you find your own big goal if you don't know yet what it is.

If any of this is landing for you today, and you're in the middle of your own identity shift, I'd love to explore mentorship with you. I keep my one on one spots small on purpose because I pour so much energy into the women I work with, and you can find it here: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/coaching

About Rachel: I'm a life coach and yoga teacher, and I work with the woman who did everything right, checked every box, and built a life that looks good from the outside but can't quite find herself in it anymore. I spent years building exactly that life before I found my way back through yoga, the body, and a lot of deep inner work. Now I help you get off the hamster wheel and come home to yourself, so you can hear your own voice again, trust it, and feel whole, not someday, but now.

Free classes and mindful tools: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/resources

Come say hi on Instagram: instagram.com/radiantlyrootedwithrachel

You can also watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FNYuxN5EONA

Ready to spend a whole day on your own health? Holistically You 2026 is Saturday, September 19: https://www.higherhealthva.net/holistically-you

Perimenopause brain fog, waking at 3 a.m. for no reason you can name, and an energy crash every afternoon are real perimenopause symptoms, and they aren't simply what getting older feels like.

Maybe you've been told your labs are normal, or that this is just what your forties and fifties look like, or you stopped bringing it up because the appointment is fifteen minutes long. My guest is Celia Layman, a Certified Menopause Coach who came off the birth control pill, landed in perimenopause with GI issues severe enough that she went looking for real answers, and found a doctor who taught her about health sovereignty.

We get into why there's so much perimenopause information now that it's become its own overwhelm, why her gut healing didn't finish until she dealt with the emotional wounds underneath, which hormone labs to ask for at each stage of life, and what health sovereignty looks like when you're soft-spoken and feel rushed. Plus Holistically You 2026, where groups of three or more are $95 each instead of $125 and my Living Yoga Blueprint comes free with registration.

Key takeaways:
Perimenopause brain fog, poor sleep, and the afternoon energy crash have root causes. They aren't simply what getting older feels like.
Your gut healing may be waiting on your emotional healing. Celia's GI issues didn't resolve until her body felt safe enough to let go.
Health sovereignty is learnable. You can ask why, ask for other options, ask about risk, request specific hormone labs, and get a second opinion.
The right labs for your stage of life get to the root cause and validate what you've been experiencing.
Small shifts in sleep, nutrition, and movement work in synergy. No overhaul needed.

Resources mentioned:
Register for Holistically You 2026, September 19. Keynote by Dr. Alexandra Cope, with breakouts on hormones, gut health, pelvic floor, and perimenopause. $125, or $95 each for groups of three: https://www.higherhealthva.net/holistically-you
Celia's work, Embrace the Change perimenopause groups and 1:1 Power Talks: https://www.higherhealthva.net
The Living Yoga Blueprint, free with your Holistically You registration: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/blueprint
Weekly reflections and practices from me: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/newsletter

Topics mentioned: perimenopause, menopause, brain fog, hormone labs, gut health, health sovereignty. Book referenced: The Body Keeps the Score.

About Celia Layman: Inspired by her own transformative healing path, Celia is the life behind Higher Health, LLC, founder of "Embrace The Change" Perimenopause Support, and partner in the vision behind "Holistically You".

About Rachel: I'm a life coach and yoga teacher, and I work with the woman who did everything right, checked every box, and built a life that looks good from the outside but can't quite find herself in it anymore. I spent years building exactly that life before I found my way back through yoga, the body, and a lot of deep inner work. Now I help you get off the hamster wheel and come home to yourself, so you can hear your own voice again, trust it, and feel whole, not someday, but now.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5zZ1uaa5CP8