What If Your Symptoms Are An Invitation To Evolve with Dr. Colleen Norris

Your body can carry a truth you haven’t had time to admit: something feels off, and pushing harder won’t fix it. I sit down with Dr. Colleen Norris, a chiropractor and nervous system specialist, to talk about Network Spinal and why so many of us get stuck in survival states that look “normal” from the outside but feel like anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, migraines, and constant tension on the inside. When your nervous system is running the show, even good tools and good intentions can stop working.

We get practical and personal. I share what it feels like when stress, lack of sleep, and stimulation tip the body into high alert, and Colleen breaks down how she reads those patterns through the lens of the nervous system. Then we try a short, real-time guided exercise to meet a sensation in the body with breath and presence instead of jumping into fixing mode. The shift is subtle and powerful: the body softens when it feels witnessed, and the message underneath gets clearer.

We also unpack the big idea of capacity, why some emotions feel too large to process, and how building resilience makes room for both hard feelings and real joy. Colleen shares a transformation story sparked by grief that turns into a complete realignment of work, relationships, and self-worth, plus a grounded reminder that bold intentions can bring buried misalignment to the surface so it can finally move.

If you’ve been searching for nervous system healing, somatic therapy tools, trauma-informed support, or a new way to understand symptoms, this conversation gives you a clear starting point. Subscribe, share this with someone who’s been carrying too much, and leave a review, then tell us: what would change if you felt safe in your own body?

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Transcript

Waking Up From Autopilot

Colleen 0:00

I think it was just this this realization, this it was almost like this waking up of oh this is not how I want to live my life and and I'm gonna do something about it. But through the nervous system, because her capacity to be able to experience life and and and her beliefs and all of that was at a certain level. But as things grew and as her nervous system upgraded and as it shifted and changed, it completely changed what was available for her. So I think it was it was just really being able to, first of all, with the nervous system work, come back into her body and really be able to see all the things in her life that were out of alignment. And it was like almost like this wake-up call of like, oh, I'm seeing, I can see my eyes are wide open right now. I can see all the things and I can see where what I'm what I'm tolerating, what I'm settling for versus what I truly want and what I desire. And I'm gonna do something about it. I'm gonna make these shifts.

Osha 1:02

This is huge. Sometimes people aren't even like their eyes are closed. They don't even realize they're not conscious to yeah, this kind of hamster wheel, I think we get on, where we just get up, we go to work, we do this thing, we come home, and we don't even realize that we're unhappy or that our day had zero joy in it, and we are doing these things on autopilot without even asking ourselves, is this what I want? At some point their eyes will open and they'll see you, or they'll see some of the courses I have, or they'll see this option of something else, something different, maybe something that feels better, you know. But I think the first step is, like you said, is getting their nervous system online. And then the person's eyes are open, then they're open and willing to maybe starting to sit with some of these emotions and working through what comes up. This life is meant to be enjoyed. And if we aren't enjoying our life in that moment of realization that something feels off, this is no longer in alignment with with who I am. I feel that that discord. Now, what can I do so that I I feel connected with my life in a way that feels like there's meaning and this trusting and and all of that, I feel like comes down to the nervous system too. It's like this being able to feel safe enough to trust.

Colleen 2:23

Yeah. And expand what our definition of safety is and what we in what ways in which we look for safety, right? Is it safety? Typically, it's safety in the known and the comfort and what we're familiar with.

Osha 2:36

Right.

Colleen 2:37

But what we can rewire it to, oh, I can still feel safe even in the unknown, even in the unfamiliar.

Osha 2:43

Hey, welcome and welcome to the Super bloom podcast, where we wake up the wisdom in our bones to tap into what is innately ours within. I am Osha Rose, and each episode we will dig into how to deeply remember that life on purpose is more than just a concept. It is our birthright. And today I am so honored to have to sit here with someone whose work embodies just that living. An educator and guide, Colleen Norris from Colleen Norris Wellness. So in this conversation, we'll explore what it means to live on purpose, not just with intention, but from a place of alignment. So Dr. Colleen Norris is a chiropractor and nervous system specialist. She's based in Newbury, Massachusetts. And through her practice, Colleen helps people heal anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, migraines, unresolved trauma, and all by just gently but powerfully working with the nervous system using an approach that's called Network Spinal. She combines hands-on care with practical coaching tools to create lasting change for her clients. And today we are diving into how healing the nervous system can

Meet Osha Rose And Colleen Norris

Osha 3:58

transform your health and your life. Yes. So excited.

Colleen 4:04

Oh my gosh. I'm so honored to be here. I'm so happy to be here. Um, and thank you for that beautiful introduction.

Osha 4:11

You are so welcome. So introduce us to you. This was kind of what, you know, the work you've been doing, but help us understand what what this network spinal is and what maybe what brought you to it, if there's a story there.

Colleen 4:25

Yeah, there are so many stories. I'll I'll I'll get clear on what's the most um impactful story for those listening. Um, but yes, so so let me start here. Um, so network spinal chiropractic is a hands-on light touch chiropractic technique that helps the nervous system and the spine to unwind from patterns of tension that have been held in the body. Now, this isn't just tension physically, this is most emotionally, mentally, spiritually. So, on all levels, on how our body has been wound up, has been holding on to things from the past, um, has been adapting for when we've gone through something really challenging, but we didn't have the resources, we didn't have the support, we didn't have the tools, and then our body holds that energy in our nervous system, and then it completely impacts the way that we're able to show up or not show up. It impacts the health of our nervous system, whether we're in like fight, flight, freeze, spawn, versus the technique I use helps the nervous system shift from that sympathetic, that survival energy, into the parasympathetic. Now, the parasympathetic is the state of our nervous system where we have access to our body's own innate ability to heal itself, our immune

What Network Spinal Actually Is

Colleen 5:51

system is totally online, our digestion, our restoration, all of these things, our ability to grow and evolve and connect because we feel safe. So that's really what is I help the body get into that state, and then the body's own innate intelligence takes over and does all of the unwinding.

Osha 6:10

Wow. Oh, this is amazing. So, how did you find this work to become a chiropractor? It's it's some education and time and energy and devotion. Yeah, find this path. Yes.

Colleen 6:24

So I'll I'll go just with a brief um history because I wasn't, I didn't always practice this technique. The first decade of my career, I did traditional chiropractic. I I think I graduated from chiropractic school in 2003, went out, opened a practice with my my now ex-husband. And like I said, we're doing traditional chiropractic. Well, in 2010, I have my original spiritual awakening. I've had many spiritual awakenings, but the original one started in 2010, where I was recovering memories from trauma from childhood that I had completely repressed for like 30 years. And that the way that that showed up was I started getting severe anxiety and panic attacks where like I couldn't leave the house, I couldn't drive a car, I like couldn't function because I was getting panic attacks like all hours of the day and night. And that really started me on this journey. I knew at the time I really didn't know what was happening to me, but I'm like, there's something deeper here that I just don't understand. And so the universe led me to uh a medical doctor who was also a psychic and did energy work. And so at that time, he started doing this energy work on me. And I was like, okay, I I don't know what's happening, but I feel different. And then it was about two months into seeing him, is when I started recovering memories of that trauma. So it was like, I mean, to say it was intense is is a very big understatement. I wasn't

Trauma Memory And Panic Attacks

Colleen 8:00

able to work, I had taken off time from work. My kids were super little, they were like three and not even one yet. So it was just like so much was happening. I knew. So that really originally set me out on a journey of like, I need to figure out like how much our past experiences live in our nervous system, how they impact us, even if it's decades later. And first and foremost, how do I heal myself so I can actually show up as like a functioning person? And then taking that wisdom and then and sharing it with others. I ended up leaving chiropractic in 2012 because it was like the way that I wanted to help people and impact them, it felt like I wasn't able to go to that depth in the kind of chiropractic I was practicing. So I left until 2020. So 2012 to 2020, I was doing other things. I was learning Akashic Records, I was doing other energy techniques, I was doing all these other different body-based healing modalities. But then I found this technique, network spinal, at the end of 2019. And like, you know, when those things happen where like three different people tell you the same thing, like, oh, you should check this out. That's what happened with this technique.

Osha 9:16

Yes, and they'll get louder and louder until you yes, pick them up. Yes, puzzle people.

Colleen 9:21

It was like three different people had said to me, You gotta find a network spinal person. And I was like, I have no idea what that is. So, long story short, I find a network spinal person, and I think it was like within a month or two, I was like, This is it. Like, this is the kind of chiropractic that I was made for. And so I originally um I started learning it in 2020, January of 2020, and then the world shut down. Yep. And then I got a divorce, and so we all of this here, but then so then I came back and I opened up my own practice specifically focused on this uh two years ago in August of 2023.

Osha 10:02

Wow. So the part where you were saying you were going through panic attacks and unable to leave the home, and then you added that you had a one and three-year-old child. Like first I was just thinking how hard that must have been. But then when you asked there were children, I can't help but think I have a four and a half-year-old daughter now. You know, what we put aside to care for our children, like like how much you must have really been feeling to finally know that I have to deal with this. Was it something that had been progressing for years that you finally came to a head at that point?

Colleen 10:37

Nothing that I was caught, I wasn't consciously aware of it at that point. It was like it was kind of like my son was born, and then for the first six months, he would not sleep unless he was like basically sleeping on me. So there was this whole perfect storm happening where I um I was in a lot of patterns of, you know, I wasn't sleeping, but yet I was still trying to work and I was still working out, and I was still like I was just like pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing. And then the the original panic attack happened when I was in a spin class. Like I I couldn't get off, like I had to get off the bike because I'm like, I'm gonna pass out. And then they had to call the ambulance because I was like, I couldn't get myself back together. And then they, you know, they ran all kinds of tests and they're like everything's fine. But then later that day, I went to go get my car and I went on the highway, and then I had another panic attack. And then it was like over that next week, I was getting like panic attacks were like showing up regularly throughout the day and throughout the night. So I was like, okay, so again, like I was very unconscious, even though I was in the health industry and and like there were things I was conscious about. That whole thing about trauma and all of that, I was very unconscious about all of that until then.

Osha 11:58

Yes. So is that a big part of what we're talking about here with Network Spinal. Could we go through an example maybe of like how you how you introduce people to it if they come to you? Like, so say I came to you like right now, I guess it is anxiety-based for the past year. I've just I've just had like stuff coming up. And I also stopped nursing her about a year and a half ago, or about a year, almost a year and a half ago. Um and so I feel like part of it was hormonal when I first started feeling like um swelling in the gums or just like blood pressure stuff, kind of a little off, but nothing really felt pressing or major. But recently, I just I wasn't getting a lot of sleep, and so I decided to drink coffee. I haven't drink coffee in a while. Um I did drink matcha too. I had coffee on Tuesday, just happened to be the same day I was going to see the medical doctor, and she said, You have high blood pressure right now. And I could feel it, like I could feel the way my blood was pumping through my body, and I just felt different. But like today, I'm just I'm realizing that okay, there's something up. It's not, I'm not drinking caffeine today. I also know I'm

Reading Anxiety Through The Nervous System

Osha 13:13

in the midst of a major shift for myself, like energetically, spiritually. Time that we're recording, we're in this like portal of these eclipses that happen in September. And I just I feel there's more to it. I want to respect that there's a physical side. I'm a mom, I want to take care of my body. You know, she said give it two weeks and and come back if the blood pressure doesn't shift. Um but at the same time, I want to just be aware every day until then, like what else could be going on here? Um so I don't know. If I came to you, if I'm coming to you with this, how would you, you know, what would you say? Yeah.

Colleen 13:52

So I look at it all through the lens of the nervous system. Okay. Because through the nervous system, it lets me know. Um, first of all, it's like this is how we see life, right? So, so if our nervous system is in any form of fight or flight, freeze or fawn, and again, people don't always know they're in these states because they're they're so used to them, right? This is how we're gonna meet life. And and really what I help people do is I help people upgrade their nervous systems. So everyone's nervous system is at a certain point of capacity of okay, I can handle this much love, I can handle this much joy, I can handle this much success or this much abundance, whatever it is. But those are things that are rooted from your past experiences.

Osha 14:46

Yeah.

Colleen 14:46

Okay. So when you do this work and when you start unwinding the nervous system, you start upgrading it so that you can expand your capacity for whatever it is that you want, which allows you to develop new strategies through the nervous system. So I I don't, you know, I'm not saying this is relevant for you, but for many people, um, it's control. Oh my gosh, I need to be in control or some level of control or micromanaging things. And that's a pattern, that's a strategy the nervous system has used from past experiences because when they felt out of control, they didn't feel safe. Everything we do is an adaptation based on something from the past. Now, whether that's serving you or not serving you, when someone comes into my office, it would be like, okay, let's see what patterns are showing up. And then that's gonna let me know what upgrade, what's asking to be upgraded. Does that make sense?

Osha 15:46

No, this is so good. Because even just thinking to myself, where am I in fight or flight, or where have I been kind of in this maladaptive fawning state? And just the lack of sleep that I've that I've had over the past like three weeks. Yes. I would think that's been building um to this place now where maybe that caffeine did just finally shoot me over the edge, you know, but it was probably something that was at a threshold I just wasn't conscious of or feeling yet. Um, it's getting me to address this and say, okay, well, how can I create more? Like I cleared some things on my calendar this weekend. I'm thinking about ways I can rest this weekend, which just isn't how I usually think. Like I'm just thinking how I can fill my days, you know, with the most. And and a lot of what I do, like dancing and swimming and like it rejuvenates my body. But this attitude and this lens of where am I in fight or flight right now? How can I, you know, bring more more breath work, more um meditative states of being into my my space right now is it's in me. Like I've I've studied yoga, I teach you meditation. It's like we even when we have these tools within us, like you said, even though I was in this health field, I wasn't conscious of what was going on in my body. And that doesn't matter what you, you know, what you know, it just matters, you know, how much how much am I willing and and ready to care for myself? And so that's where I'm at. Yes.

Colleen 17:21

And sometimes it's about stillness and not doing anything. Because here's what I see. I see this all the time. And and it makes so much sense because I've been in this place too, is like when someone comes in, they're like, I need to release this, I need to release this, I need to get it out, I need to get it out, I need to release it. Actually, that is that's actually not not always the most empowering way to see it. Because when the energy, when when the energy from the past, whatever it is, whether it's an like a belief or an emotion or something that's that's kind of stuck there that the body's holding, that energy wants to be met. It wants to be presence, it wants to be seen and heard and felt. And so if we're in the mindset of like, I gotta go release, I gotta go release, release, release, release, we're actually not, we're we're just perpetuating a cycle that we're in without actually being able to grow it evolve.

Osha 18:25

I'm picturing like the last episode was about this butterfly metaphor, and I'm picturing that again, where there's this time in the chrysalis where we truly are doing nothing but healing the change, right? This transformation requires all this like tearing and repairing, and but it's all happening inside this little chrysalis, and then before you know it, it it clear like the walls clear, like like just how a butterfly comes to bloom is so miraculous to me. But that time for is what I feel like you're talking about, and it they don't move, they're just in this chrysalis, they're not going anywhere, they're just dangling, right?

Colleen 19:06

And it doesn't mean it and it doesn't mean that we always that we have to just stay there for like uh days on end, right? Sometimes it's just these moments, it's just these moments, it's sometimes it's it's five minutes being with something that feels so tender that we've been keeping ourselves busy, really kind of running from that energy. And when we just meet that, I mean, I see it literally every single day when I'm guiding someone on actually how to feel whatever's been beneath the surface, it literally can can really start to shift in a matter of of of like two minutes or even less than that. But we're it's not shifting because we're trying to force it to shift, it's shifting because it's finally being met.

Osha 19:51

Oh my gosh, I just felt like uh when you said that tender place, like I felt like a welling up of emotion inside of me. I don't know exactly what it is, but I did have a thought after. So it may be and maybe that I'm learning how to open up my heart a little bit more right now in my life and and let people in in a way that requires trust. Yeah, because I can feel like the emotion here. Um and instead of taking the time to cry about it right now, I can feel what you're saying though. And after, you know, when I feel like I have the space to to just sit, there might be more there. So for you, is it is there a thought that people have?

Colleen 20:29

It's it's not even it's not about a thought, it's about being in your body, it's about being presence, being in presence with the deepest parts of you. And this is all stuff I've done with myself. So this is how I know how to lead someone in that place because I've met the deepest, darkest, scariest, most tender places within myself and have felt those things. And I know that that is what has transformed my life in the most amazing ways imaginable. I feel like that's part of my purpose, right? I I it's like I can look from the spiritual lens. I know that all these experiences in my life, all these really horrible, hard things that I've gone through, it's not just to punish you. It's not just like this is just a crap life, Colleen. Like, you know, it's like, no, there's a purpose behind it, right? It's everything I've decoded and I've figured out of like, okay, if when I do this, this shifts, this, oh my gosh, this shifts and opens up in me. And I do that and I embody it, and then I can then offer it for another person. Like, okay, you can now sit with the deepest parts within you and watch what changes in your world.

Osha 21:49

What would be like, is there like a two to five minute example that we could do of what well, so one of these like these these moments of guiding people to their bodies.

Colleen 22:00

Yeah, I was actually gonna say if if you're feeling brave, I can guide you right now. Like we can do it in like a real time. Okay, all right.

Osha 22:09

All right. Oh my gosh, I love this.

Colleen 22:11

Okay, okay. So for those of you following along at home, all right, so you just listen as if I'm guiding you, right? I'm guiding Osha, but I but you just pretend you're OSHA and I'm guiding you into this place as well. Okay, so the first thing I'll do is I'll invite you to close your eyes if that feels good to you, and just to start to tune into the breath of just using the breath to like be present, be connected in your body. Not trying to force anything, but just noticing.

A Real-Time Somatic Guidance Practice

Colleen 23:05

Do you have anything like that showing up right now?

Osha 23:09

Yeah, like my my throat, my neck.

Colleen 23:12

Okay, all right. So go ahead and put your attention as if you are meeting, as if you're meeting, as if it's like your daughter or a younger version of you that's there, that you're not really going there to try to do anything, you're going there to be with this energy. And then using the breath to breathe with what you feel. Notice that there's a color, there's shade or sensations. And then as you just be there with this energy and breathe with the energy, allowing it to feel seen and heard. What are you noticing now, Osha?

Osha 24:23

It's just starting to calm and relax, and just this approach of I'm just watching instead of wanting to fix it is a game changer. Yes.

Colleen 24:36

That's the key. That is the key because if we come from the place of trying to fix, then we're assuming that it's broken or we're broken, and it's not. This part of us came as an adaptation from something that happened at some point in our life where we were in a very tender place, and you can also open up to if this part or this energy has a message for you, it may not, and that's okay, but we're just opening to is there a message here for me? Something that this energy or this part of me wants me to know right now that's been speaking through this area of my body. Is there anything coming to you?

Osha 25:23

I got yes, slow down, open up, trust. Yes.

Colleen 25:30

Yes. So as you breathe with this part of you, what are you noticing right now?

Osha 25:39

It's calming down. It's still there. It's just this kind of sense of energy like pumping and moving through me. But I can feel the separation of what was anxiety and what is actually physical. If that makes sense, like it's still there, but it doesn't feel like these like sprinkles of like sensation I was feeling kind of around my armpits, like aren't there where I felt like that was anxious energy.

Colleen 26:05

Yeah. Yeah. And this is what seems so contradictory because we have been so programmed to run from a sensation or something that feels uncomfortable. But yet when we just turn to meet it, that's all it really is asking of us. And so now what I want to invite you to do is just like share a gratitude of like, thank you, this energy, thank this energy, thank this part of you, however you want to say it, for showing up for the message, for meeting you in this place, knowing that you can go back and connect with this, you can go back and do this, you know, however many times you need to. Uh, or sometimes it's one and done. Sometimes it's uh, you know, we gotta go back a few times to really get the full breath of what that part of us is was trying to share with us. We're wanting to be witnessed.

Osha 27:00

Yeah.

Colleen 27:00

Yeah. Yeah. So then come, you know, taking a one last deep breath in and then coming back to the room and opening your eyes whenever you're ready.

Osha 27:09

Even being able to sit like this before, I was finding challenging since the doctor's appointment because of that anxiety, that like sense of fear, keep us from being able to sit with something and just trust that there is a message here. I know in every part of my being that there is a message here. This is for my greatest good. Slowing down is good. Living slow is good. Um and when I get excited about my life, it's not a stress of I hate my job because I used to be in a corporate job. It's not that anymore. It's I want to be doing something else in my life. It's I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, and I'm bursting with ideas and you know, giving things timelines is helpful in a business, but then being open, trusting that money is energy, everything will flow, these ideas will come to fruition at the exact perfect time, trusting that the people on my path that feel aligned, that I feel so comfortable and connected with are safe. And, you know, just like staying in that comes from the other side of those five minutes where I just head with you, where and I'm aware of all of this. It's just this reminder that a guide helps you create the space to do it. Yeah, this beautiful experience of that was all within me. Your energy affects it too, though. Like are you having this sense of calm, you having this experience you shared? Those are all things that helped me calm down, like the words that you were saying. Yeah. Um, but then it was in me, like those breaths, that desire to do this with you and to sit for a minute. Yeah, that was powerful. It was so simple and so powerful.

Colleen 28:59

Yeah. And so what, so what you're what you're speaking to is co-regulation as well. So it's like my nervous system and and all the things that I've been through and all the things that I've gone through healed, right? And like my my um experience, right? So that sense of like calm and confidence and presence is what I have to offer, right? That's part of my medicine, so to speak, right? So when I'm working with someone then um in and guiding them to take these initial steps of okay, this is what I feel, this is what it feels like. And it's great to do this with someone that knows what they're doing, right? That's someone that can lead you initially, right? To start to build those pathways in your nervous system of, oh, I actually I can do this, I can meet these things, and I'm still safe. Yeah, I'm safe to do this, and then that starts to those pathways, then there's new pathways that start to bring that start to form, and then they come together, and then it's like, oh, well, if I can do this here, then maybe I can do this on my own for one minute, and then you do that, and

Co-Regulation And Building Emotional Capacity

Colleen 30:14

then you like, oh wow, I actually feel better, and then you just keep building like more trust, and so it's like this beautiful snowball effect in the best way of what we start to expand, yeah, so what we can do is the capacity building that's where we yes, yes, yes, yes, exactly. Because right now, if I like if our capacity, let's just say, is like this big, like a quarter.

Osha 30:41

Well, let's yeah, like this, like exactly.

Colleen 30:45

Now, let's say that uh just hypothetically, uh, let's say someone has migraines that are really coming from grief that they did not process from losing a loved one. And let's say that that the grief, the energy of the grief from from that loss, let's say it's this big, like an orange, the size of a grief. Okay, an orange. All right, this energy is not gonna fit through here, right? So it's like so we're not gonna be able to move that grief, and so it's showing up as a health issue and showing up as a symptom, right? But it's but our but we're limited because our capacity can only feel this much right now. So every time we go in and practice something like this, where we start meeting these energies and we start building our resilience, and we start building our capacity, all of a sudden it starts getting bigger and bigger and bigger until we get big enough that what had been being held by the body can now be presenced and witnessed and moved. And then you don't need the health issue anymore.

Osha 31:55

And this is what you mean by people just want to show up and release it, but they have this channel of capacity to process the emotion that's limited. The work you do is helping people increase that capacity through sitting with the emotion, being with it, regulating the nervous system with your health and that guidance, that educated guidance where the person can feel safe to explore as they as they expand. Because that can feel scary, right? Like, is this okay? What's happening? I can't stop slowing right now.

Colleen 32:29

100%. And I mean, like, trust me, I've I've I've noticed it even in myself that I've had times where I'm like, okay, if I go into this, the fear is, am I ever gonna come out? Yeah, you know, if I go to this deepest depths within me, what if I get lost there? What if I get stuck there? What if I don't come out? That that has never been my experience because it's when we go down into those depths that we're then actually get catapulted and be able to expand that we can not only feel the hardest things like the grief and the shame and those really tough things, but then it expands our capacity to feel that aliveness, that joy, that pleasure, like whatever that is.

Osha 33:15

The way you're describing things makes so much sense to me as far as the path that I've taken and the information I've shared. So there was this woman, Dr. Jill Boldley Taylor. She's a neuroscientist that had a stroke and was able to document the whole experience. Like part of her Oh my gosh. But she that was what she studied. What she was able to prove is that there's this loop that we go on, a 90-second loop with our emotions. And after 90 seconds, we choose to stay in that loop or not. And the fascinating thing for me, when I talked about this in my my course, Journey Through the Head to the Heart, I gave an example of my daughter, and especially as a toddler, and how you just I can watch the emotion of anger like cycle through her body, and then she'll be done within a minute, minute and a half, totally over here. And my nervous system's like, like I'm just trying to come off. Like maybe I got hit by one of the flailing, you know, limbs, but or maybe I didn't. And she'll she'll look at me and she'll be like, Mom, are you okay? What's the matter? And I'm just like, yeah, explain this to a two-year-old. But it's just funny because I I see it with her and it's helping me actually. I do have a wave of guilt or shame or anger. Like I feel like anger was something I've tended to repress. Her expressiveness is just helping me see like what I'm telling her, I'm reminding myself like, let's find a healthy place for you to do this. Let's go to the beach where you can, you know, splash the water or throw the sand or throw the rocks or like be somewhere where like you have enough space around you to express it. But yeah, it's like but I've realized through this exercise with her and just continuously that what you're saying is so true. I know these things have a purpose. And so my brain wants to jump to that and say, oh, you don't need to feel anger, you don't need to feel shame. It's all got a purpose, like that relationship that you had that you regret or that decision you made, or whatever, like the things that we kind of reflect back on in the past with these negative connotations. So just jump ahead. You're fine. Assimilate all the information and keep going, Osha. Like that is kind of what my brain does. But my heart and like watching her, yeah, it's like sit with this. And for me, yes, what we're talking about is reminding me the value of sitting still. I do it, but I find that being in motion is helpful for me. So I do a lot of journaling, and I find that that at least helps me connect with sitting still while moving a part of my body and letting my brain kind of dump. But I I do find that when I do something physical, like a yoga class, and I think this is why those five minutes at the end of a yoga class, I call them like five marvelous minutes, you're out of your body. You've you know, you've moved the energy, you've like it's like journaling where you've like done the thing that gets you ready to sit for a minute.

Colleen 36:08

Yes.

Osha 36:09

Um but I also feel like there's this capacity part you're talking about that's blowing my mind and so exciting. Like a little bit more so, like that person that's experiencing like a uh an orange size of grief, like this emotional we'll call it like energy, but it's trying to move through something the size of a quarter. Could that physically manifest as high blood pressure? What kind of physical symptoms do people? It could.

Colleen 36:36

Yeah. I I mean, it could manifest as all different kinds of things. Yeah. Like it could manifest as anxiety, it could manifest as um lung issues, asthma, allergies. I mean, there is it, it's there isn't like uh just it oh it only will manifest this way, right? Like your body again, your this is this is the this is the when we look at the body through this way, this is the beauty of it, because we see it not as broken, we see it as an organism that is adapted, it adapts to what's happening. So if it's if it's like, okay, I've got this orange-sized grief, again, we're simplifying this, but I've got this orange-sized grief and I'm trying to get your capacity as a quarter, it's gonna do something to get your attention, like it's going to manifest something to say, hey, look, you like come look at this. Like, we want you to explore what's happening here because there's this grief that is really weighing you down and really impacting your ability to live your most fullest, vibrant, alive life. And it's really impacting you. So we got to get your attention.

Osha 37:49

I feel like the leveling up for me, like, if I just think of this example for myself with the way my brain is like shooting in all these directions, but it's like, what if what's going on in my body right now and coming to a head is a big part of this leveling up for me and this like capacity building of opening myself up to fully trusting. Life could be challenging, but still very easy and enjoyable and and full of moments of joy and bliss. There will still be moments of grief, but when we learn how to process our emotions in the moment, or at least more connected to the time and place where they're where we're experiencing them, I wholeheartedly believe, yeah, that that is what in flow is. And that is what becomes joy and bliss because I can feel in my body where anxiety is or where anger is. And then I celebrate that, right? In the moment. Like whether I'm able to sit with it in that moment, I still celebrate that I'm aware of it. And then, you know, moving to that next level where I sit with it and create the space for that. Like I think that is what like I'm talking to you, and I'm like, I want to work with Colleen. I'm like, this is why I would want to work with you, is because together we could have this plan creating space in the day to sit with emotion. What you know, somebody to check in with to say, you know, this is what we worked on together. How did it go when we weren't together? Is that kind of how it would work?

Colleen 39:21

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, like when I have someone first come in my office, I do um a thorough history because not just like what's alive right now, but what are the things you've been through throughout your life? Because again, those impact whatever state your nervous system is and whatever strategies or patterns your nervous system uses. And then we do a posture exam, I do a nervous system exam, and you receive a treatment. And then, so though that's the initial assessment. On regular visits, you come in, um, we do a check-in. Okay, what's what's going on? How are you feeling? What have you noticed since your last visit? And then, based on, you know, so let's say that you went home and you were practicing this and you were like, oh, I noticed I was able to sit with this emotion for 30 seconds, but then all of a sudden I had all of this judgment come in around, well, I shouldn't be doing this and I should get over this, and I should. And then we'll just say, right, okay, that makes sense because judgment is gonna be that's one of the biggest things that stops us from feeling is judging our what we're feeling. This is bad, this is wrong, this is shouldn't be happening, this should. And so when we can move the mind out of it and just let the channel be clear, then it just moves, the energy just moves. So that would be the kind of thing, yeah, that I would do of like we see whatever's come up for your highest growth and expansion, and then you go out in the world and you practice it and you live it, and then you see, okay, what was hard, what what was easy, and then we just go from there every day.

Osha 40:56

Yeah, and just that reassurance and just having someone to just address things in your body from a I got this, my body's designed for this approach is so refreshing to me because I know sometimes we have to work in tandem, right? Like sometimes we've let things go so far that there are mainstream science and medications or things that might be necessary initially. Absolutely, 100%. Yeah, but I feel like for me, the goal is to listen to the body whisper so I don't have to hear it scream. This is the key to life, is when I can live in balance, when I can connect moment to moment with how I'm feeling, and then build from there this awareness of okay, right now I made this commitment, I made this plan, but I need to readjust that. Like seeing seeing the benefit of slowing down as then becoming aware of how to bring more balance into my life is what's happening for me right now.

Colleen 42:00

Totally right. And it like that could be your growth edge, is is like, you know, up to this point of like everything is exactly how it needed to be. And then now, you know, is it is is that the growth edge for you? Yeah. I mean, I uh like I truly believe that everything that we experience in one way, shape, or another is for our own growth and evolution, that it's showing up to invite us in to grow, to invite us into evolve, into just the a more truer, a more aligned, a more authentic version of ourself. And to see the things maybe that we've been carrying or that are just ready to just not um the strategies maybe that we've used to survive that just are no longer serving us.

Osha 42:46

Yes. Is there an example of a story that you can share here?

Colleen 42:50

Okay, yeah. I I have I have one exactly. And and what's really cool is that um I'm gonna be starting this series called Aligned and Alive, where I'm gonna be interviewing some of the people that have gone through um my program at my office that have had huge transformations. So I'm gonna share. Um, obviously, I'm not gonna share her name. She she is gonna be on the series, but um, I wanna I'm gonna just share the the main parts of her stories because she her life is completely different and like absolutely completely different. When I started Network back in 2020, she was one of the people that originally started to work with me back then. So when she came back in, it was 20, um, it was the beginning of 2024.

Osha 43:36

Oh, okay, I see what you're saying.

Colleen 43:38

Okay, so it was a little over a year ago. I'm just trying to give context to the dates. She had lost her mom, uh, about I think it was at that point within six months before that, she had lost her mom. And it was um, so she was having a a lot of grief, a lot of as you can imagine, a lot of emotions coming up, a lot of things. Coming up, and her mom's passing ended

Grief That Sparks A Life Rebuild

Colleen 44:04

up being a catalyst for her whole life transformation. So by her coming in and starting to do network and starting to really expand her capacity to be able to move through the grief, not get drowned in the grief, not let the grief take her over, but feel the grief, process the grief, be able to process the hard things that there were amazing parts of her relationship with her mom and tough parts of her relationship with her mom. And to be able to process all of it, right? Of all of it. It's just incredible. It's hard to put into words, but the shifts that started to happen within her, it was like she went from, I wouldn't even say living life, right? It was like going through the motions, right? Like we go through the motions, like we go to work and we go to do this and we go to that to like cool, fully coming alive, like coming to alive to like the the biggest degree. So what that looked like for her, specifically in the real world, was she started going on vacations, she left the relationship she was in is now in um this absolutely incredible relationship that just fuels her on all levels. She left the job that she used to try to prove herself all the time and would just get constantly like, you know, you're not enough, you're not this, you're not that. So she left that job because she changed so much and her worth grew so much that now she left this job where she's making um a significant amount more, and people appreciate her and they love her working there and like all of these things. So, like, though that's just a taste of what can happen on the other side.

Osha 45:52

Yeah. But she came to you with the grief of her mother, and it turned into this whole life transformation of reevaluating or or maybe just becoming aware of and conscious of how these other areas of her life were were out of alignment. Exactly, exactly.

Colleen 46:08

But you see, when she showed up here, they were in alignment with how she saw herself. So it was like the relationship, the job, all of that was aligned to this belief of I am not enough, I have to prove myself, I have to work really freaking hard. And so, as that whole story fell apart and that new foundation got built on no, actually, I don't have to prove anything. I am worthy because I said I'm worthy and I'm gonna live my life that way, and it doesn't matter what anyone else says, all of a sudden, everything started mirroring that back to her from life.

Osha 46:48

But looking at, yeah, the way we see ourselves when we look in the mirror affects the rest of our reality and what we see all around us. And so this is beautiful. And and I love that you reminded me too, there's nothing to fix. Like we in that moment, she was exactly in alignment with what she was saying and thinking. And as she took this time to create space to really be with herself and work with you in her nervous system, and and what what do you think helped her shift this alignment?

Colleen 47:22

I think it was just this this realization, this is almost like this waking up of this is not how I want to live my life. And and I'm gonna do something about it. But through the nervous system, because her capacity to be able to experience life and and and her beliefs and all of that was at a certain level. But as things grew and as her nervous system upgraded and as it shifted and changed, it completely changed what was available for her.

Osha 47:52

Could you say that last part again? My daughter was trying to show me the biggest booker in the world on her piece of paper. Okay. Yeah, trying so hard not to have her put it on the screen, but that's hysterical.

Colleen 48:07

Yeah. So I think it was it was just really being able to, first of all, with the nervous system work, come back into her body and really be able to see all the things in her life that were out of alignment. And it was like almost like this wake-up call of like, oh, I'm seeing, I can see my eyes are wide open right now. I can see all the things, and I can see where what I'm what I'm tolerating, what I'm settling for versus what I truly want and what I desire. And I'm gonna do something about it. I'm gonna make these shifts.

Osha 48:40

This is huge. Sometimes people aren't even like their eyes are closed. They don't even realize they're not conscious to yeah, this kind of hamster wheel, I think we get on, where we just get up, we go to work, we do this thing, we come home, and we don't even realize that we're unhappy or that our day had zero joy in it, and we are doing these things on autopilot without even asking ourselves, is this what I want? At some point their eyes will open and they'll see you, or they'll see some of the courses I have, or they'll see this option of something else, something different, maybe something that feels better, you know, that that they actually start to have a different feeling inside of their body with. But I think the first step is, like you said, is getting their nervous system online. And then the person's eyes are open. Then they're open and willing to maybe starting to sit with some of these emotions and working through what comes up, you know. That's such a beautiful. I mean, that transformation is like, yes, I want to take more vacations. I feel like the work I'm doing is so aligned. I think for me, the biggest shift right now is trust. It's just this kind of ability to fully surrender to what I believe in, which is that we are fully supported. This life is meant to be enjoyed. And if we aren't enjoying our life in that moment of realization that something feels off, this is no longer in alignment with who I am. I feel that that discord. Um, what can I do? You know, what can I do so that I I feel connected with my life in a way that feels like there's meaning. What is within me that's dormant? What is it that wants to come out that's ready? What parts of me are ready to level up and open up? And this trusting and and all of that, I feel like comes down to the nervous system too. It's like this being able to feel safe enough to trust.

Colleen 50:37

Yeah. And expand what our definition of safety is and what we in what ways in which we look for safety, right? Is it safety? Typically, it's safety in the known and the comfort and what we're familiar with.

Osha 50:50

Right.

Colleen 50:51

But what we can rewire it to, oh, I can still feel safe even in the unknown, even in the unfamiliar. I can embrace, I can open, I don't have to close off. That's all stuff through the nervous system.

Osha 51:03

Oh, that was good. This has been so wonderful. We've touched on.

Colleen 51:07

Yeah, so I do a lot of speaking, um, a lot of like podcasts, things like that, but I also do in-person speaking, workshops, uh, things like that. I love speaking. I love it using that as a way to connect with people to kind of people get a vibe, you know, and also be able to get a transmission of energy. Uh so right now, uh, everything I'm doing is in my office in Newberry, Mass. And if there was someone that listening to this that was like, oh my gosh, I really want to work with you. I I do have opportunities of doing some healing work virtually. Obviously, it's not chiropractic because I'm not, you know, you're not physically here. Uh, but I just will mention that out in case someone feels really called to that kind of opportunity. And the other thing that I want to say is that what's really important is that when we set an intention, when we're like, you know what, I want to live my most abundant life, I want to live my most joyful life, my most aligned, whatever it is, what's gonna happen is that whatever's not aligned to that, that's been in the nervous system, it's gonna come up to the surface. So that could come up through anxiety, that could come up through pain in your neck or your back or whatever it

Bold Intentions Bring Misalignment Up

Colleen 52:21

is. But just know that if if you've been in this eclipse season or in this time of 2025, which has been wild, and you've set some really powerful, bold, audacious kind of intentions and goals for yourself, the almost the first thing, the next thing that's gonna happen is anything that's out of alignment around that is gonna come to the surface. So it's like it's a blessing because it's almost like the body knows the body's like, hey, let's move through these things, let's upgrade the nervous system, let's upgrade your beliefs of the stuff that you're not consciously aware of so that you really can get to where you want to go.

Osha 52:58

Yes. And just hearing you say those words, claiming that like I want to live an abundant life, or how did you say it? Just hearing you say that. If you could say it one more time, just reassuring.

Colleen 53:09

It was just like, I want to live my most authentic, aligned, abundant, joyful, purposeful life. Like I want to be aligned on purpose, joyful, alive. Like I want to live, not just exist.

Osha 53:24

I think when when we're faced with the passing of a physical, like when somebody passes on and we see how precious life really is, I think those moments become an opportunity to really wake up. And and if we if we go towards that in that state of grief, your nervous system is talking to you and you're ready to really look at what's coming up so that you can at least get back. Like in the mind, I think for people, it's like, I just want to at least get back to functioning. Like I can't function, I need help. Of course. But then once you're functioning and you've done this work with this nervous system, I think people will then like realizing what you're capable of, realizing that these things are happening to help you, understanding that that claiming that this abundant, authentic, joyful life is mine. You know, there I can hear people in my head like, yeah, but life isn't always easy, and there's always things that are hard, and you can't be joyful all the time. And what is even joy? And who has time for that? Like, I can just hear all these voices and they're not mine. You know, they're not, those aren't my voice. And a big part of the work I do, and what's inspiring me is I do wholeheartedly believe that. And I do wholeheartedly believe here's what can happen if you slow down and listen to the body and sit with the body and seek balance because that's that's all it is is our our bodies are to to be happy, to be joyful, to be authentic. We're in balance. We we do enough of this, we do enough of that. We go to me, it's like doing the extremes, but then slowing down. Because I know there's a there's a purpose for stress in the body, but understanding when you're in kind of a critical state that for me, anyway, right now, it's like reducing the stress just to get to a place where I can listen to the body. Just trust and show up every day with this desire to be in joy. Yeah. So this has been so wonderful, Colleen. I'm I'm so excited to be able to introduce you to people that are here on the North Shore and close to the Newburyport area. I have worked with you virtually through um one of your guided meditations, which were profound, and now I'm remembering that, and I've got to go back and revisit that too. Um, so so wherever you are, check her website, Colleen NorrisWellness.com. There may be speaking opportunities that are near you. You might want to bring her to your area so that you can connect with her in person. I'm just so grateful, Colleen, for you sharing your wisdom with us today. My pleasure. Is there anything else you want to say before we wrap up here?

Colleen 56:01

No, I I just I feel like I feel like this conversation is gonna help so many people in in various different ways. And just know that even if you've gone to all the doctors and all of the, even even if it's been holistic things too, and you're not getting any progress, don't give up hope. Okay. A lot of it, the nervous system for many people is the missing key. Um, because if you're in fight or flight and you're taking all the supplements and you're doing all the things, but you're still in fight or flight, it's your body can't actually use the goodness of it. So I just want to just feel called to share that. That don't give up hope. Come see me in the office. If you, if you're not local, reach out to me. I'll be happy to see if there's a network spinal person near you. But yeah, nervous system work.

Osha 56:52

Yeah, is is key. It's key. Thank you again, and thank you all for listening to the Super bloom podcast, where we are coming together to wake up this wisdom in our bones that we have within through all these wonderful ways, um, especially through this this network spinal. So thank you again, Colleen, and I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day. Bye.