Soul Joy Fridays Episode 4

"Your Solar Plexus Called—It Wants Its Power Back"

Description: When's the last time you felt truly POWERFUL at work? If you're a healthcare professional over 50 and you can't remember, this episode is your wake-up call.

Dr. Julie Merriman dives into why your solar plexus chakra (your power center) is probably more blocked than the hospital parking lot at shift change—and what you're going to do about it this weekend.

In This Episode:

• The shocking research on "purpose erosion" in healthcare workers over 50 (68%!)
• Why your solar plexus isn't woo-woo—it's biochemistry
• The Stanford study proving you're IN your prime, not past it
• Permission to stop being the "nice" one (doctor's orders)
• Your weekend assignment involving yellow clothing and fancy cheese

Featured Research:

• Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (2023) - Purpose erosion study
• International Journal of Yoga - Solar plexus activation and cortisol reduction
• Stanford Center on Longevity - Women's decision-making advantage

Key Quotes:

• "You're not past your prime—you're IN your prime. You just forgot because you're too busy trying to figure out why the fax machine is still a thing in 2025."
• "You have permission to choose joy—not someday when you retire, not when things calm down (spoiler: they won't)—but TODAY."
• "Your joy isn't selfish—it's survival."

Resources Mentioned:

• Solar Plexus (Third Chakra) location and function
• Weekend Assignment: The Solar Plexus Power Party

Connect with Dr. Julie:

• Website: www.juliemerrimanphd.com
• Instagram: @dr.julie.merriman
• LinkedIn: Dr. Julie Merriman

Transcript

0:00

Okay, real talk. When's the last time you felt powerful at work? And I don't mean I successfully navigated the new EHR system. Powerful. I mean that deep in your bones. I remember why I became a healer. Kind of powerful. Yeah, that's what I thought. Happy Friday, my brilliant healthcare warriors. We are gonna talk about the stuff nobody mentions in your performance review. And Fargo any further, please know I have a horrible cold and I'm trying my best to pronunciate and not be nasally. So that aside. Today we're diving into your solar plexus chakra, and before you click away thinking, great, Jules has lost her mind and she's selling crystals. Now stick with me because we know we love energy and chakra stuff and here are three reasons. This episode might just save your sanity. Reason number one, I've got actual peer reviewed research that explains why you feel like a burnout husk of your former vibrant self. And spoiler alert, it's not just you and it's not your fault. There's a name. There's a name for it. There are numbers and honey, there are, they are not pretty. Those numbers are not pretty. Number two. I am going to give you permission to stop being nice. You don't have to be the nice one. Stop it. And I'm a doctor, so basically it's a prescription that you're legally obligated to take. W wa wa. We know I'm a PhD. Reason three, your weekend assignment involves wearing something yellow and doing something ridiculous that makes you feel alive. No green smoothies, no productivity hacks, just pure, unapologetic joy. And if that doesn't sound better than another webinar on documentation compliance, I don't know what will. So my friend buckle up. We're about to talk about why your power center is dimmer than a hospital hallway at 3:00 AM and what you're doing about it this weekend. Welcome to Soul Joy, the podcast for empowering brilliant women in healthcare. Over 50, transform burnout into purpose. You've ignited your spark to create a life that energizes you every single day. I'm your host, Dr. Julie Merriman. Let's get to it. All right. Let's get nerdy for a minute because I know you love data as much as I do, possibly more than you love the break room coffee, which let's be honest, is it saying much, woo, that stuff can be stronger than oil? A 2023 study in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Found that healthcare workers over 50 experience what researchers call purpose erosion. Purpose erosion. So basically all the bureaucratic nonsense, the pre-ops, the charting requirements, the mandatory training modules narrated by someone who's clearly never worked. A bedside shift or saw a client through trauma has literally buried the reason you got into this field of helping and healing. 68% of experienced clinicians reported feeling disconnected from their original sense of calling girl, 68%. That's not a statistic, that's an epidemic. But here's where it gets really juicy. Your solar plex is chakra. That's your third chakra. Sitting right above your navel is your power center. It's all about personal agency confidence and that fire in your belly. And when it's blocked, man, my friend, you get decision fatigue. That going through the motions feeling and my personal favorite, being really good at taking care of everyone else while you my love. You run on flame or flames, maybe flames. You run on fumes yourself. If I had a sad trombone, I'd play the W. Now before you think this is all spiritual fluff, check this out. Research from the International Journal of Yoga shows that focused breath work and solar plexus activation can reduce cortisol levels. God get this, reduce cortisol levels up to 25% and increase feelings of personal agency and y'all are overeducated. Mature wom women who absolutely understand the importance of personal agency. Your power center that sacral cha or your solar plex is chakra. Sacral is the one below that isn't just woowoo. It's biochemistry, baby. It's biochemistry. And here's my very favorite study. Stanford Center on Longevity found that women in their fifties and beyond and I'm beyond actually have better emotional regulation. All that shit we've put up with for all our, all their lives, honey, it is paying off and we have finally learned to calm and love on our polyvagal system. We are able to attune to. Better emotional regulation and decision making integration than we were as our younger selves, our twenties, thirties, even forties. So the translation, honey, you are not past your prime. Please strut that shit proud. You are not past your prime. You are in your prime. So I want you to go to your favorite store and get the most. Sassy outfit that you can wrap on your body and strut. You are in your prime. You just forgot because you're too damn busy trying to figure out why the fax machine is still a thing in 2025. Anyone, all those authorizations coming through on the facts please? So let me give you some permission. Here's where I need you to stop multitasking. Just for a hot minute. Put down the chart, step away from the inbox. I need you sweet soul to hear this. You have permission to stop dimming your light. You have permission to stop being the nice one who takes extra shifts, who will accept a new client when you're really upset. I'm not taking anyone else on who covers the on-call and maybe who volunteers for the committee that no one else wants. You have permission to remember that you listen to me, that you matter. Okay. Not just as a provider, not just as a healer, not just as a caregiver, not just as someone who can troubleshoot the printer, but as a human, as a human being, not doing with desires and dreams and a whole life beyond your badge number. You have permission to reignite your spark without feeling guilty about it. You have permission to say, I am effing burned out without immediately following, following it with, but I'm fine. Really, it's fine. Everything's fine. Come on. Y'all know that's not okay. Y'all know if, if someone else said that your antenna would go up. And my friends. Most importantly, you have permission to choose joy, not someday when you retire, not when things calm down. Spoiler alert, they won't. Not when you lose 10 pounds or finish the project, but today, write this effing moment, this weekend, your cell plexus. Has been sitting there like an impatient toddler going, um, hello. Remember me, your joy, your power, your ability to say no without apologizing. 17 times. I'm here to tell you, you are powerful. You always have been even on the days when you ate lunch, standing over the sink girl, especially on those days. So here's the fun weekend assignment. Alright, your Sole Joy weekend assignment and my friend, it is Mandatory Doctor's Orders. I'll write you a note if you need one. It goes like this, the Solar Plexus Power Party. Step one, you gotta wear something yellow because that solar plexus color is yellow. I don't care what it is. It could be a yellow t-shirt, yellow socks headband, maybe a yellow post-it note stuck to your forehead that says I have a powerful human. Yellow activates the solar plexus chakra. It's the color of sunshine. Confidence, and I'm done apologizing for taking up space. If someone asks you why you're wearing yellow, I just want you to smile mysteriously and say, my chakra and I have an understanding. Now I, and I apologize. I know y'all hear this cold coming through. Step two, I want you to do one thing, girl, just one thing. That 25-year-old you would've done without thinking twice. Dance in your kitchen. Sign up for a pottery class. Buy the fancy cheese, the really fancy cheese, the wine that costs more than your parking pass. Get that book the trip. Text the friend, blast the music in your car and sing embarrassingly loud. Do something. My God girl. Do something that makes you feel alive, not productive. We're gonna kick productive to the curb. Not useful, not responsible. Just gloriously, unapologetically alive. Step three, place one hand on your solar plexus right above your belly button. Take a deep breath and say out loud, okay. I choose my power today. I want you to do this three times this weekend in your bathroom, your solar plexus needs to hear your voice claiming your own energy back, and there's n well, it does. It just needs to hear this. Your amygdala is gonna get involved with that as well. But here's the thing, girl. Here is the thing. It might feel weird at first. You might even feel silly. Good. Silly is better than depleted and taking yourself so damn serious. Silly is better than foggy. What even is my life? Oh, that foggy. What even is my life feeling? I hate that. In that mode. Because here's what I know about you. You didn't survive nursing school, med school, grad school, decades in healing in healthcare by being weak. You didn't raise kids, navigate menopause and deal with night shifts and extra clients and everything that comes with healing. By being fragile, you survived by being. Powerful. You just forgot to use that power for yourself. So this weekend, light that fire up, wear the yellow, do the thing, buy the cheese. And remember, your joy isn't selfish. It is survival. This has been Soul Joy Fridays. I'm Dr. Julie Merriman reminding you that burnout is not your destiny. Your spark is not gone, and you are not too old to start living the life that lights your ass up. If this resonated with you. Please share this episode with another brilliant woman who needs to hear it and subscribe so you don't miss next week when we're talking about even better stuff. Now go wear something yellow and cause some joyful trouble. Your solar plexus is waiting on you.