295. How to Stay Connected to Yourself When the World Feels Heavy - Peace Begins With You

Practicing peace is an intentional choice. It is not something we wait for once circumstances improve. It is something we practice in our breath, our bodies, and our awareness, even while uncertainty and grief remain present.

This conversation offers a reminder that peace begins with you. Peace is not denial or bypassing. 

It is the practice of staying present with what is real while remaining regulated.

PEARLS OF WISDOM

• Peace begins with you.

• When the world feels overwhelming, we often notice it first in our bodies. Uncertainty often prompts us to feel urgency, vigilance, and reactivity.

• Nervous system regulation is a skill for sustainable medicine and a sustainable life.

• Small, consistent embodied practices can interrupt spinning and reactivity.

• Peace practiced internally ripples outward into our families, workplaces, and communities.

Reflection Questions:
What does your body need in order to feel even a little more settled today?
What is within your control right now, even if it is very small?
If peace doesn’t resonate, which word feels most supportive in this season: peace, kindness, love, connection, or something else?

Many of the practices shared in this episode are ones we return to again and again in coaching, yoga, and retreats because they work.

Whether it is the “Peace Begins With Me” finger-tapping mantra, grounding through the feet, restorative yoga, sound healing, or mindful time in nature, these tools support us in staying connected to ourselves when the world feels heavy.

Community also offers peace. 

Group coaching and retreats offer a chance to practice these tools in community.  Coaching provides space to explore how to integrate peace, agency, and presence into daily life and clinical work. 

Yoga and mindfulness practices offer a direct, embodied pathway to nervous system regulation. Retreats weave all of this AND nature into one. They allow space to slow down, reconnect, and remember what it feels like to be held and supported. Learn more about individual and group coaching with Dr. Jessie Mahoney here: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/physician-coaching

Explore year-round coaching, yoga, mindfulness, sound healing, and lifestyle medicine retreats for women physicians at Nicasio Creek Farm. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreat-nicasio-creek-farm

Join Ni-Cheng and Jessie in July 2026 for the Connect in Nature Mindfulness Retreats. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreat-connect-in-nature

*Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.