We hear those words everywhere. On mugs, on yoga mats, in every wellness post. This week I sat with them and realized I couldn’t define a single one... at least not for me.

From my swimming years, when strong had a number on a clock, to motherhood, when strong meant nobody noticing what it cost, I’m asking whose definitions I’ve been living by. And I’m finding a surprising clue in the kitchen, dancing when no one is watching.

This week’s question: If no one was measuring you, needing you, or watching you... what would you do with your body today?

Eleven weeks to go.

About the series

I’m turning fifty this year. And I’ve realized I spend so much time thinking about my life... that I forget to actually feel it.

Connecting With Myself is my countdown to 50. Every Sunday, I share a short audio story from my journey inward. Part journal, part lesson, part honest conversation with the voice in my head who asks the questions I’d rather not answer.

I’ve spent most of my life caring for everyone else. My kids. My clients. My family. This is the first time I’ve turned the attention toward me, to explore what I feel, what I need, and who I am underneath all the doing.

Some weeks will be funny. Some will be messy. A few might make me cry.

If you’ve been strong for everyone for a long time... or you’re stuck in your head and not sure how to come back to your body... you’re welcome to come along.

With warmth, Julie

fitomize.ca

Spill the Tea with Dr. T | Why You're Exhausted But Can't Rest — Burnout, Functional Freeze & What Your Nervous System Actually Needs

You've rested. You've taken the supplements. You've tried to slow down.

And you still feel completely empty.

Not lazy. Not dramatic. Not broken. But running on fumes while somehow still showing up for everyone around you... and wondering privately why nothing is helping.

In this episode of Spill the Tea with Dr. T, Julie and Dr. Dickson Thom get into something that isn't talked about honestly enough. Burnout, anxiety, and shutting down are not personality flaws. They are nervous system states. And they don't resolve the way most people think they will.

In this episode:

• Why burnout doesn't get better with more rest — and what's actually keeping the system stuck
• Functional freeze — what it is, why so many people are living in it without realizing it, and why it's a nervous system response not a character issue
• Why you can feel completely numb inside while still functioning and showing up for everyone else
• Lion's Mane, nootropics, and brain supplements — where they genuinely support healing and where they hit a wall
• Why you cannot think, rest, or supplement your way out of a state your body hasn't been given permission to leave
• How the Red, Yellow, and Green Zones change everything — because what your nervous system needs depends entirely on where it's actually starting from

This episode is for the person who has been told to just rest more... and is exhausted by that answer. Who is doing everything right on paper and still feels like they're disappearing inside. Who is starting to wonder if something deeper is going on.

Something is. And it has a name. And more importantly — it has a way through.

🌿 Resources & Next Steps:

• Get your nervous system tested and find your zone: https://www.biomed-drainage.org
• Workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
• Listen to the full podcast, Connecting with the Thom's: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4
• Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.

Are Vagus Nerve Devices Worth It? And What Is Your Nervous System's Real Age?

Vagus nerve devices are everywhere right now. Clips, patches, wearables, stimulators — each one promising to calm your nervous system, improve your HRV, and fast track your healing.

But what are they actually doing? And more importantly... who do they actually help?

In this episode of Spill the Tea with Dr. T, Julie and Dr. Dickson Thom cut through the noise on one of the biggest trends in nervous system health right now — and then take it somewhere most people haven't thought to go.

Can you actually measure the age of your nervous system? Not your chronological age. Your biological, functional, nervous system age. And if you can... what does that number tell you?

Stay to the end. Because that's where we get into what actually moves the needle on healing. And it's usually not what people expect.

In this episode:

• Vagus nerve devices — what they are, what the research actually supports, and what they can't do
• Who benefits from vagus nerve stimulation and who needs something else entirely first
• Nervous system age — whether this is something you can genuinely measure or just a compelling concept
• What HRV and BIA reveal about how old your nervous system is actually functioning
• What consistently moves the needle on healing when devices and trends fall short
• Why the answer is almost never the thing currently trending

If you are a practitioner or coach who wants to learn how to assess the nervous system the way we do — with real data, real frameworks, and real clinical application — our workshops are open now.

🌿 Resources & Next Steps:

• Practitioner workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
• Get your nervous system tested: https://www.biomed-drainage.org
• Listen to the full podcast, Connecting with the Thom's: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4
• Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.