The Starting Line

High blood pressure has been following me since my mid-30s. And for a decade — yes, a decade — I ignored it. Don’t judge me.When the symptoms started getting worse and I finally found a primary physician, I walked into that appointment ready to accept medication if I had to. But when she asked me if I was ready — I couldn’t do anything but cry.This podcast exists because I stopped waiting to be ready. Subscribe free and come along for the journey.She said reduce your sodium. I walked out hardheaded and determined to prove it was something else entirely. Spoiler: I was right…kinda.This episode is about stress, overstimulation, nervous system regulation, and what it actually took to get my blood pressure from 156 over 100 down to 120 over 84 — in two months.Small consistent acts of stillness are medicine. Not weakness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit epps007.substack.com

I am over 40 years old and I am still fighting my sleep. Sound familiar?This episode started with a nap I didn’t want to take and a conversation with my line sister who felt stagnant — even though I could see her milestone clearly from where I was standing. She called it a cocoon. And I realized — she was fighting her sleep too.Thanks for listening to my podcast! Subscribe for FREE to support me in this endeavor of challenging myself beyond my comfort zone.We’ve normalized being so overstimulated that stillness feels like failure. But what if the cocoon isn’t stagnation? What if rest isn’t the absence of progress — but the requirement for it?Whatever season you’re in right now, whatever you’ve been fighting — this one is for you.The cocoon is not the end. It is the becoming. peace. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit epps007.substack.com

This Mother’s Day, I woke up thinking about my mother differently — not as my parent, but as a person. Who was she in her 20s when she was building a marriage, raising children, and still figuring out life? What was she carrying that we never saw?Thanks for listening to my podcast! Subscribe for FREE to support me in this endeavor of challenging myself beyond my comfort zone.In this episode I’m sitting in a conversation my brother and I have been having lately — one about giving grace to our parents not for what we needed them to be, but for who they actually were. Because when you humanize your mother, something in you gets to heal.If you’ve ever held an expectation your parent didn’t meet — this one is for you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit epps007.substack.com

It’s Monday morning. I’m running late. I had a full, overstimulated weekend packed with friends, family and birthday celebrations. I forced myself to sleep so I could wake up early and record this episode. I’m still tired. I still have to go to work.But this morning? I did yoga yesterday. I meditated this morning. And my meditation was about how to have a great day — because today IS a great day and I intend to show up great in it.I literally lived this episode before I recorded it.Thanks for listening to my podcast! Subscribe for FREE to support me in this endeavor of challenging myself beyond my comfort zone.You think you go from 1 to 100? Baby — you woke up at 50.In this episode I’m talking about what it really means to calm your nervous system, why we are more overstimulated than we realize, and how stillness — whether that’s meditation, yoga or just a quiet walk — can completely change the way you receive people and situations.This is not about being perfect. This is about being consistent.This week’s challenge: What are you doing to reduce your stress? What are you doing to destimulate your day and just be still?Let’s do it together. Peace. 🕊️ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit epps007.substack.com