Today at a Glance
- When food became my only escape
- Why smart, high-performing people struggle with emotional eating
- A somatic wind-down sequence for nervous system recovery
- What elite athletes know about stress that most don’t
- The White Room Meditation to tap into new potential
- Meet Equilibrio — and our first confirmed guest
Two weeks before my midterm exams, everything crashed.
Until then, I had only straight As. I was proud of that. Proud of how hard I worked, how dialed in I was. But then… life hit sideways.
As it often does when we need it the least.
My dad called.
He and mom — barely speaking. Not fighting, just silence. Cold, hard silence. They were divorcing after decades together. And somehow, I found myself in the middle. The mediator. The emotional anchor.
At 21.
I didn’t have the tools. I didn’t know how to hold that kind of weight. So I did the only thing I unconsciously knew how to do:
I ate.
Every evening.
Chocolate, chips, nuts, a big glass of red wine. Not because I was hungry — but because I was exhausted. I needed something. A release. A reward. A numbing.
And that’s how I learned this:
Emotional eating isn’t about food.
It’s about pressure. It’s about not knowing how to relax when everything feels like it’s slipping.
That experience got me into learning everything I could about nutrition, healthy eating, and eventually pushed me into deep nervous system work.
Into finding real tools to unwind. It became the root of the work I now teach. And it inspired me to build a free quiz to help others spot their patterns.
122 people have taken it so far. One question stood out:
“After a tough day, how do you decompress?”
👉 63% answered: “I don’t know how to relax.”
Today’s newsletter is for that 63%.
And if you haven’t taken the quiz yet, you can do it here
→ Take the Quiz
"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."
Why Smart, High-Performing People Struggle with Emotional Eating
You can lead teams, scale companies, make high-stakes decisions under pressure…
But when you’re tired and wired at the end of a 12-hour day? That ice cream, wine, or late-night snacking feels impossible to resist.
It’s not weakness. It’s not failure.
It’s your nervous system trying to survive your lifestyle.
In this week’s deep dive, I unpack:
- Why emotional eating is actually a biological regulation strategy
- How your “cravings” are often nervous system distress signals
- What to do instead—starting today
This is especially for high achievers who think, “I should know better.”
Because the problem isn’t knowledge. It’s overload.
Read the article here → Emotional Eating Help for Professionals
Then hit reply. I’d love to hear what lands for you.
The Physical Edge
A Somatic Wind-Down Sequence for Nervous System Recovery
Most people treat stress like a mental thing. But the body holds it first.
After a long day, when your mind wants to relax but your body feels tight, twitchy, restless, or numb — you don’t need another productivity hack.
You need a downshift. A signal to your system that it’s safe to let go.
Here’s a simple somatic sequence you can try tonight:
🌙 Evening Nervous System Reset (5–7 minutes)
- Start seated or lying on the floor
→ Close your eyes. Feel your spine settle. - Slow Neck Rolls (1 minute)
→ Inhale as your head moves up, exhale as it lowers. Feel your jaw release. - Cat-Cow Spinal Rolls (1–2 minutes)
→ Slow the tempo. Focus on sensation, not performance. I mean reeeeaaaly slooooowwww. - Lying Twist (1–2 minutes each side)
→ Let your knees fall gently to one side. Breathe into the open side body. Stay there. Let tension melt away. Then repeat on the other side. - Child’s Pose + 4-2-8 Breathing
→ Inhale for 4, hold 2, exhale for 8. Stay here for 1–2 minutes.
This isn’t a workout. It’s a reset button.
You’ll finish more grounded, more embodied, and—most importantly—less likely to reach for food as a nervous system crutch.
What Elite Athletes Know About Stress That Most Don’t
The top 0.01% performers — those who win championships, break world records, and bounce back from defeat stronger than ever…
They have one thing in common:
They train their stress response.
Not just their bodies. Their inner game.
One of the most powerful tools they use is called
“Stress Framing.”
Here’s how it works:
When stress hits, instead of thinking “This is too much,” they reframe it as:
→ “This is training. This is where resilience is built.”
The body feels similar during anxiety and excitement.
The only difference?
Interpretation.
Try this the next time you feel overwhelmed:
- Pause.
- Say out loud: “This is energy. This is data. I can use this.”
- Act with intention — not reaction.
You don’t need to avoid stress.
You need to change your relationship with it.
The White Room Meditation
Stress creates noise. The White Room brings silence.
This isn’t classic meditation. It’s something gentler, deeper — something that speaks to the creative, open, soul-connected part of you that performance culture forgets.
The White Room Practice
→ Close your eyes.
→ Imagine a soft light shining through your lids (or place a lamp in front of you).
→ Let the world behind your eyes turn white.
Now imagine:
You’re in a white room.
No furniture. No sound. No story.
You can’t even see an edge.
Plain white. Nothingness.
Just breath.
Just space.
This is not a void. This is a beginning.
From this place, let a color, shape, or possibility arise.
Don’t try to visualize.
Feel it. Let it come from the calm inside your heart.
This practice isn’t about achieving anything.
It’s about remembering what’s already here:
Your clarity. Your creativity. Your next step.
Meet Equilibrio — And Our First Confirmed Guest
This week we officially welcomed our first confirmed guest to Equilibrio — a Swiss CEO who leads with heart, vision, and intensity.
She’s coming because she wants more.
“I love my work. I love my life. But I want to feel more connected — to myself, to my energy, and to people who get it.”
And that’s exactly what Equilibrio is.
Not a yoga retreat.
Not a productivity workshop.
Not a vacation.
A recalibration. A full body-first experience.
Set in Sicily. 6 days. Curated group of high-performing humans.
Think: nervous system repair + deep embodiment + honest, intelligent conversation.
You’ve given everything to your work, your mission, your people.
Equilibrio is about giving back to yourself.
Want to learn more? Explore the experience here →
This Week’s Tiny Experiments
Here’s your invitation to run a micro-reset using our A.C.T.I.V.E.™ Loop:
Awareness
What’s your default decompression habit after work?
Food? Scrolling? Checking out?
Curiosity
Ask: What would it feel like to do something else for 5 minutes first?
Tiny Test (Pick One):
- Somatic Reset: Try the 5-minute evening movement flow tonight
- Mental Reframe: Use “This is training” when stress hits
- White Room: Do the meditation once before bed
Integration
What did you notice? Did the craving fade? Did your energy shift?
Variation
Try it again — but change the time of day, or do it after a meal instead of before.
Evolution
What can you automate from this? What becomes part of your personal operating system?
📩 Try one of the above and send a mail. Tell me:
What shifted in your system?
What surprised you?
What if you just feel broken. What if you just feel stuck. What if you just feel overloaded — and there’s a way through?
Let’s make it real. Let’s make it yours.
P.S. Want to co-create your own regulation rituals? Or curious about how Equilibrio can fit into your path? Just reply “Tell me more.” I’ll meet you where you are.
That’s it for today.
Hope you enjoyed it (and learned something new).
As always, stay fit, stay active, and enjoy your life.
Ketty & Markus
