Trauma isn’t just stored in memories—it embeds itself in the body. It rewires our nervous system, disrupts our sleep, and heightens our stress response. Over time, it can make us feel unsafe in our own skin.

In the bestselling book The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk writes:

“Trauma is not just an event that took place in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on the mind, brain and body.”

He emphasizes that while cognitive approaches like therapy are helpful, they often don’t fully address the physical imprint trauma leaves behind.

Insert: movement.

After a long stretch focused mostly on strength training, I’ve decided it’s time to switch things up, and I’m officially back in race training mode! I’ve signed up for a 5K in May and a Half Marathon in October! I’ve completed a 5K, 10K, and Half in the past, but running hasn’t been a regular part of my training for a while.

At my age, I’ve tried it all. And what I’ve learned is that moving your body is a key part of wellness — but it’s not the whole picture. Exercise doesn’t have to be HARD to be effective. The last four years have been a transformation for me. I’ve peeled back the layers of diet, exercise, sleep hygiene, hormone health, and an underlying medical condition to truly figure out what works. Now, my exercise routine is SIMPLE.