113. Your Nervous System Is Running Your Relationships: Here's How to Take It Back (with Tara Gush)

Your nervous system is running your relationships, and when you learn how to regulate it, everything about how you communicate starts to change.

In this episode, Stefanie is joined by Tara Gush, a transformation and nervous system coach who specializes in breathwork, somatic practices, and stress management. Together, they break down why your nervous system sits at the root of every relationship you have, from romantic and family dynamics to friendships, business partnerships, and everyday interactions, and how dysregulation can quickly turn communication into shutdown, defensiveness, or reactive patterns.

Tara shares her unique background moving from special education teaching to dog training and eventually into nervous system work, and how behavior change becomes sustainable when you stop trying to “fix” yourself from the top down and start working with the body. Stefanie and Tara also talk about the somatic side of healing, including movement, shaking, and breath practices that help release what the body is holding, plus a grounded definition of regulation that isn’t about being calm all the time. It’s about building a nervous system that is flexible, resilient, and able to move through emotions without getting stuck.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  Why nervous system regulation is the foundation of healthy communication 
•  What regulation actually means (and why it does not equal “calm 24/7”) 
•  How dysregulation shows up in relationships as shutdown or defense 
•  The somatic piece most people miss when trying to change patterns 
•  Why movement and shaking can be powerful tools for release 
•  How breathwork supports nervous system flexibility and emotional capacity

Connect with Tara:

• Website
• Instagram