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

Today I want to talk about something I feel like we don't talk about enough, and that's the grief that shows up when we realize there's a part of our life we can't go back to. Maybe your kids are older now and the years when they needed you for every little thing are behind you, or you left a job, or a relationship changed shape, or your body feels different than it used to.

Everyone else sees the milestone, and you see it too, and underneath all of it there's still this ache that's hard to explain to anybody without feeling like you're being ungrateful. I've been there. In this solo episode I share my trust fall of leaving corporate, the burnout that caught me off guard, the one word swap that makes room for gratitude and grief at the same time, and the yoga teachings that give you somewhere to come back to when your body already knows something has ended.

Key takeaways:

Grief comes with any meaningful ending, not only with death. It shows up most when something that told you who you were has changed.

Swap "but" for "and." I'm grateful for this life, and I miss who I used to be. Both halves get to be true.

Certainty and grief can live together. You can be completely sure you made the right decision and still grieve what that choice required of you.

Before you ask who you're becoming, sit down with who you're leaving behind and ask what she was giving you.

Coming home isn't rewinding. It's finding what's been true underneath all of it and getting to know her as she is right now.

Resources:

1:1 Coaching with Rachel, where you can message me in the moment the feeling is alive: radiantlyrootedyoga.com/coaching

Free classes and mindful tools: radiantlyrootedyoga.com/resources

Weekly reflections and gentle practices: radiantlyrootedyoga.com/newsletter

Radiantly Rooted, my signature program: radiantlyrootedyoga.com/course

About Rachel:

I'm a yoga teacher, life coach, and guide for women who want to live with more presence, purpose, and peace. Through yoga, mindfulness, and simple daily rituals, I help you take your practice off the mat and into real life so you can trust yourself, feel grounded, and live in alignment. Find me on Instagram at instagram.com/radiantlyrootedyoga and instagram.com/radiantlyrootedwithrachel.

Watch this episode on YouTube: [RACHEL TO ADD: YouTube URL]

Mid-Year Check-In: Have You Lost Yourself? We're halfway through the year, and if part of you just wondered whether you're really halfway to where you wanted to be, this episode is for you. So many of us are standing right in the middle, of the year, of our lives, of some big transition, moving through our days on autopilot and quietly losing touch with who we are.

In this mid-year check-in, Rachel shares the practice she keeps coming back to, the power of the pause, plus a simple letter-to-your-future-self exercise you can do this week to start feeling like yourself again.

Key takeaways: The messy middle is human and not your fault. The power of the pause helps you stop reacting and hear your own voice again. A letter to your future self becomes a compass for the rest of the year.

Resources:
Free gift, Daily Pause Points: https://rachelhupp.myflodesk.com/pause
Radiantly Rooted, doors close June 30: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/course
Work with Rachel 1:1: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/coaching
Weekly newsletter: https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/newsletter

About Rachel: Rachel Hupp Cline is a yoga teacher, life coach, and guide for women who want to live with more presence, purpose, and peace, taking yoga off the mat and into real life.

What if the one thing you do thousands of times a day without thinking could become the doorway back to yourself? In this episode, Dr. Colleen Quinn shares how conscious breath and breathwork changed everything for her after two near-death experiences brought her to the end of her own strength.

We talk about the subtle energy body in a way that finally clicks, why energy was your first language, how the words "I am" shape the life you're living, and why filling your own cup first is the thing that lets you pour into everyone you love.

Key takeaways: Conscious breath is the gateway to presence, available any moment with no extra time required. The words "I am" are creating your reality, so become conscious of your thoughts and words. And fill your own cup first, because when you nourish yourself first, everything else still fits.

Resources:
Essence Merging by Dr. Colleen Quinn (book): https://a.co/d/0dGfjuWP
Colleen's website + free download, 9 Simple Steps to Presence: https://www.essencemerging.com
Colleen's step-by-step breathwork videos: https://youtu.be/HiHkw_9UiVo
Colleen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/essence_merging

About Rachel: I'm a yoga teacher, life coach, and guide for those who want to live with more presence, purpose, and peace. Through yoga, mindfulness, and simple daily rituals, I help you take your practice off the mat and into real life. Free classes and tools at https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/resources and weekly guidance at https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com/newsletter.

Ready to take this work deeper? I offer 1:1 coaching for those of us ready to come home to ourselves. Learn more: ⁠https://radiantlyrootedyoga.com

Have you ever woken up in a life that looks right on paper and realized you can't find yourself in it? You did everything you were supposed to do, and somewhere along the way the woman in the mirror stopped feeling like you.

In this episode I sit down with Natasha Ramlall, an embodied integration coach who works with high-functioning women moving through what she calls an identity rupture, the disorienting space between who you were and who you're becoming. We talk about the messy middle, why pushing harder makes it worse, and what actually helps you find your way through.

What we cover:

What identity rupture really feels like in the body. Why the question that matters in the messy middle is "what am I willing to let go of?" How somatic and nervous-system work reach what talk therapy can't. The difference between self-confidence and self-trust, and why you can have one without the other.

Resource mentioned: Natasha's free guided audio, the Safety Pulse, a ~21-minute practice for finding a felt sense of safety in your body. Get the free audio here. Learn more about Natasha's work at Humanist Coaching.

About Rachel: I'm a yoga teacher and life coach helping women live with more presence, purpose, and peace. Free classes and tools at rachelhupp.com/resources. Weekly guidance at rachelhupp.com/newsletter.

What would you tell yourself 10 years ago? In this episode of Radiantly Rooted, Rachel shares three things she wishes she could go back and tell her younger self about self-trust, the becoming, and what it really means to keep going, plus the one thing no one could have told her. She had to live it.

Ten years ago, Rachel stood on the porch of a cabin a home inspector called a money pit. Someone she loved asked if she was really sure. Something in her said yes anyway. That one act of self-trust built the rest of her life: the relationship, the business, the home she'd only dreamed of. This episode is a letter to that woman, and to you, if you're standing at your own version of that moment.

Note: this episode includes a section on deep grief. A heads-up is given before that section begins.

Key takeaways:

• Trust the process, even when it doesn't look smart to anyone else. You might already be standing on the line between where you are and where you're going.
  
• The work you're doing to come back to yourself is not the delay. The becoming is the whole thing.
  
• Keep moving forward in the direction of your dreams. Nine years passed between the moment Rachel knew and the moment she stepped in. She wasn't waiting. She was building.

Resources:

Free Chakra Quiz: https://rachelhupp.com/chakra-quiz
Radiantly Rooted, a yogic pathway home to you: https://www.rachelhupp.com/radiantlyrooted
Blog post and full show notes: https://rachelhupp.com/three-things-id-tell-my-younger-self

About Rachel:

Rachel Hupp Cline (E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP) is a yoga teacher, certified life coach, and host of the Radiantly Rooted podcast. She helps women come home to themselves through yoga, mindfulness, and intentional living. Find her at rachelhupp.com or on Instagram at instagram.com/radiantlyrootedyoga.