Tuesday May 06, 2025

EP09: How to Calm Your Nervous System and Understand the Mind-Body Connection with Christie Jordan

When your shoulders are always tense, your thoughts won’t slow down, and sleep feels just out of reach, your body may be trying to tell you something important.

In this episode, Abby Starr talks with Christie Jordan, an acupuncturist and the founder of Source Healing, about why so many of us are stuck in a constant state of low-grade fight or flight and how to shift out of it. Christie shares what she sees in her practice: people dealing with anxiety, insomnia, inflammation, and physical pain that often trace back to an overwhelmed nervous system.

Together, they unpack how stress shows up in the body, why our minds can’t always be trusted to tell us the truth, and how to create a felt sense of safety without waiting for external circumstances to change. Christie introduces a three-part approach that anyone can use: notice what the mind is saying, reconnect to the heart, and listen closely to the body’s signals. She also leads a powerful exercise that helps anchor you in the present where safety can actually be felt.

This isn’t about perfection or getting rid of anxiety. It’s about learning to respond with awareness, compassion, and clarity even when the world feels chaotic.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Meet Christie Huang Jordan

00:58 Why Our Nervous Systems Feel Constantly Threatened

03:51 Understanding Fight or Flight in Daily Life

05:11 The Monkey Mind and Its Impact

06:04 How Thoughts Create Physical Symptoms

09:24 Listening to the Body’s “Dashboard Lights”

10:14 Rethinking Anxiety as a Signal

16:06 A Practice to Feel Safe in the Present

27:16 Why Suppressed Emotions Show Up Physically

30:31 Daily Rituals

Links