Below is the full transcript of Episode 73 of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast. This transcript is provided for accessibility and reference.

Title: Mind-Body Minute: Beginner Meditation with Michele Spring (Ep 72)

Mickey Trescott: It feels like everybody is talking about meditation in the health and wellness space. Your doctor recommends it. Your therapist recommends it, and your favorite health podcast recommends it, and we all nod and think, yes, I should definitely be meditating. Myself included, and then we don’t, right? So sometimes we try, once we sit down, our mind starts racing.

We become hyper aware of every sensation in our body, which for those of us with autoimmune disease, we’re no stranger to, we start thinking about our to-do list or symptoms or whether we’re even doing it right? And if you’re living with autoimmune disease, meditation can feel especially hard, when your body’s been in that fight or flight mode for months or years, when you’re used to monitoring symptoms, adjusting food, managing flares, sitting still can feel anything but calming.

So today we’re going to talk about why meditation is hard, how to get started in a way that actually feels supportive instead of frustrating.

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Mickey Trescott: Welcome back to the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast. I’m Mickey Trescott, and today we’re continuing our Small Bite series with another Mind-Body Minute, short, practical conversations designed to support not just your nutrition, but your nervous system and your overall healing. because while food is so powerful, so is safety, and the state of your nervous system plays a direct role in inflammation, digestion, and immune regulation.

[00:01:26] Guest Introduction: Michele Spring

Mickey Trescott: To guide this conversation, I’m joined by somebody who brings both deep compassion and expertise to this work. Michele Spring is a Certified Health Coach, an AIP Certified Coach, a Qigong and yoga teacher, and the founder of Thriving Autoimmune. After being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and Celiac disease while raising two young boys and working full-time, Michele found herself exhausted, foggy, inflamed, and frustrated by being told medication was the only solution. Through healing her gut, regulating her nervous system addressing stored stress and trauma, she completely transformed her health and now helps women with Hashimoto’s do the same.

She’s the creator of the Full Body Health Reboot and the Root because Progression Map, a structured framework that helps women move beyond symptom management and rebuild their health from the inside out.

Michele, I’m so glad you’re here for this conversation. Welcome.

Michele Spring: Thank you for having me. I’m so glad to be here.

Mickey Trescott: Truly, meditation is one of those things that we all know is good for us, especially in the autoimmune world where stress and nervous system regulation matter so much, and yet it can feel surprisingly difficult to actually begin.

[00:02:34] Why Meditation Feels So Hard

Mickey Trescott: So let’s start there. Why does meditation feel so hard for so many people, especially those of us living with chronic illness?

Michele Spring: Well, it really does start with the nervous system, and I know we throw around the term nervous system dysregulation a lot these days, but it comes down to the fact that the nervous system is your brain, your spinal cord, your nerves, and a bunch of cells in your body that it’s like the command center of your body and one of its main functions is to basically keep you alive. It’s constantly scanning your environment through all of your senses and looking for anything that might be a threat for you.

Now, this could be a lion running at you, or it could be things that you barely even perceive that are outside of your awareness. A lot of this comes from when you were a child, for example. So if your parent or caregiver maybe yelled at you because you were sitting and playing video games instead of doing your homework. They may have yelled at you, or then maybe like another time you were sitting around and doing nothing and you were supposed to be doing chores or something like that.

Every time this happened, you started to learn it’s not safe to be relaxing or sitting still. And this happens years upon years, and you get, keep getting proof of this through your teachers and maybe your boss and just all of these different people throughout your life. And your nervous system without you even consciously realizing, it starts to think, okay, well if I sit, it’s not safe to be still.

And then you add on a lot of us, especially women, tend to mask a lot to feel, not like we, we feel don’t, that we’re not worthy or we’re not good enough. And so we mask by achieving, by doing, by showing people that we’re the go-to people and that we can overcome things and that often can translate, again into, it’s not safe to be still.

because when we’re still, it’s like your nervous system starts to say, whoa, what’s wrong here? Right? So if you are going through decades of this, and then at like 40, you decide, okay, I’m going to start a meditation practice, and you sit down. And you try to be still, your nervous system’s going to say, oh, what’s going on here? This, this isn’t safe, this is different. What’s going on? And it’s going to start to make you feel a little uncomfortable.

You might shrug your shoulders a little or scratch your neck and, and you start feeling a little anxious and uncomfortable. And then thoughts start to come in like. Oh, what’s for dinner tonight? Or, oh, did I remember to do the laundry? Or did I turn off the stove three months ago? Right? Like stupid things come into your brain because your body and your nervous system is trying to distract you into doing something. Into what it feels is safe.

So if you have tried to meditate and have felt that you are like feeling more anxious from doing it, there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s, it’s like you are completely normal ‘because it’s just your biology working as it should.

Mickey Trescott: Yeah, I actually have a story. When I first started a meditation practice, I was home alone and I went into my bedroom and I was sitting cross-legged in my bed trying to do a guided meditation, and I had a really bad anxiety attack. And I remember sitting there being like, why is this so triggering for me?

Why do I feel so bad, but it was because I just hadn’t stopped in so long that like so much came rushing in that I was like, no, please stop. I actually called a friend of mine who meditates a lot, and I told her and she was like, yes, this is exactly what you have to work through when you start.

So I love that you’re normalizing for people that it is really uncomfortable when you start and that is why it’s so hard to start.

[00:06:27] What Meditation Actually Is

Mickey Trescott: So, can you tell us, Michele, what is meditation really, because there’s so many different ways that you can do it. And I know sometimes people get really hung up in, you know, doing it right. Because of course, if we’re going to do something, we want to do something the right way, right? There’s a lot of options. Let’s talk about what it is in general.

Michele Spring: Yeah, sure. I think one misconception is that it is clearing your mind completely of thoughts. There is a branch of meditation in which you could do that and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I think it’s not necessarily practical for busy women that have autoimmunity and lives.

It’s more about becoming aware of your thoughts your brain is meant to think, that’s what it’s designed to do. And trying to clear your mind of thoughts is like trying to tell your heart to stop beating. It’s just, it’s not going to happen. Right. So it’s, it’s about becoming more aware of the thoughts and not letting them trigger you as much. Not getting caught up in them. I like to say it’s like a car passing by. You don’t have to get in the car because like if you get in the car, then you go down the emotional trap that it can lead to all of the other thoughts that it can lead to, and suddenly that you’re just down the rabbit hole.

So it’s more just becoming aware that, hey I have thoughts. Hey, these happen. They can pass by. I can come back to my breath or a mantra or whatever it is and just let the thoughts kind of go by. It starts to help with emotional regulation when you do this, so it doesn’t trigger you as much.

It also can help with things like downregulating, the inflammation in your body and getting your body into that healing state because the more you can do this, the less stressed you are, the more you’re going to be able to get into that parasympathetic rest and digest mode. It doesn’t even have to be sitting there and listening, or like paying attention to your breath. Guided meditation is a wonderful way for people to start, especially if you do have a lot of thoughts because you can listen to somebody else and they will guide you through the process.

I sometimes liken them to like little coaching sessions while you’re sitting still, so that way you’re being productive with something while also resting, which is productive. Also things like moving meditation. I am such a huge fan of Qigong, if you’ve probably heard of Tai Chi, Tai Chi is a part of Qigong and what it is, is moving meditation, it’s repetitive movements. You kind of do over and over and it helps to clear your mind, but then also soothes your body at the same time, and that works really well for you if you tend to be like more of the hyperactive kind of person.

I have ADHD, and so sometimes just sitting still, it’s very, very hard, especially if I’m stressed. But if you are like very stressed and you, there’s no way that you can sit still by doing repetitive movements, you can get into that same state, and so it works really well as well.

Mickey Trescott: I love that you bring that up, Michele, because something that has happened to me is I have psoriatic arthritis, my tendons are a little bit wonky and meditation, one of the barriers for me in the past was actually the joint pain just from even sitting for 10 minutes in a still position causes me a lot of pain, even when I’m generally not having flare or in a lot of pain.

I’ve actually recently started a little Qigong practice where it’s meditative. The type I do is called Pangu and there’s a little hand movements and there’s just enough movement and then there’s counting to kind of give my brain something to do, give my body a little something to do, and I just feel like it clicked for me.

So for anybody listening, I love that Michele gave so many ideas for different ways that you can meditate, because that whole stillness clear your mind part, you know, works for some people, but then also a little more of a movement practice can be really helpful.

[00:10:13] How to Get Started

Mickey Trescott: And so if anybody listening has tried meditation before and it didn’t stick, what is your number one recommendation for them to figure out a practice that works for them?

Michele Spring: I will give you a tip first is that move before you meditate. So whether that’s a walk, I think shaking. If you can do full body shaking, shake your arms, shake your legs, bounce up and down for 30 seconds to two minutes can really help. It gets rid of a lot of that excess energy you might have. And I know some people listening might be like, okay, the chronic exhaustion, I have no excess energy.

What is she talking about? Still try it for 30 seconds because it actually can bring you energy as well. It helps to move blood flow in your body and it helps to just wake up your body but in a way that’s going to be soothing for you. And then after you’ve done that, sitting might be actually a lot more comfortable for you and you won’t feel as activated and feeling like you have to move as much.

Then just start very slowly. Like start, you can do 30 seconds. Just pay attention to your breath for 30 seconds. All you’re doing is just teaching your body and your nervous system. Hey, it’s safe to sit here. Look, I didn’t die. Everything’s okay. And then just go from there. You can move up like to a minute the next time and just try this, with the goal not trying to be like, you’re going to do two hours someday. It’s not that.

You’re developing a practice of every time that you have thoughts, you can just bring yourself back to your breath gently. Don’t shame yourself for it. Just pay attention to that and just keep doing that. Or if that really still sounds boring or hard for you, then I would definitely suggest doing either the guided meditation or the moving meditation.

[00:11:57] Tips on Structuring a Meditation Practice

Mickey Trescott: I love that. And do you have any tips for people about structuring a practice? You know, we’ve gotten into a little bit recently in habit change tips and tricks here on the podcast, talking about movement and different things. How do you like to trigger your meditation practice? Is it something that you like to when you’re feeling stressed, or do you like to have something else in your day that kind of like anchors that, like you said after exercise or something?

Michele Spring: I typically do it every day. I walk at lunch, so I’ll eat my lunch, I will walk for blood sugar regulation, and then I will do my meditation after that. But if something is really triggering me, if some event has happened or something like that, then I will go into probably like a Qigong that will help to move that energy out as well.

Mickey Trescott: I love thinking about different ways that you can structure these practices. ‘because in my history I’ve had different issues and different things. I’m working on different stressors, lately with perimenopause, it’s sleeping. So I’ve started meditating a little bit closer to when I go to bed, just because I find that, that like going to bed, falling asleep, even though there is a hormonal component of that, the mind part of it, just getting my mind clear really helps.

Whenever you want to build a new habit, attaching a habit to something that you’re already doing. So maybe brushing your teeth or like in the after lunch walk or an afternoon walk or something like that is a really good way to start a practice of something that you want to try for a few minutes every day. Because like brushing your teeth, it takes three minutes, right? And then attaching something onto that, that’s another few minutes. Usually most of us have the time to do something like that. So I’d recommend that you guys think about that.

[00:13:34] Free Guided Meditation Invitation

Mickey Trescott: And Michele, you have created a free guided meditation specifically for listeners who want to try and get started. Can you share what that includes and how everybody can access it?

Michele Spring: Yeah, it’s a guided meditation where I just kinda walk you through the nervous system regulation of it’s safe to be still, so that way your body knows that it can sit there for a few minutes and, not die and be okay, and just, I guide you through it, there’s some slow breaths and it’s just very calming at the same time, but hopefully it’s not boring in any way.

You can get it at thrivingautoimmune.com/safe.

Mickey Trescott: Awesome. And I really love how you frame for autoimmune women, especially meditation as coming from this place of creating safety. Because I think a lot of us hear about meditation in more of a like optimization, perfectionism, how to be better, kind of a angle, which doesn’t really resonate with me personally as someone living in an autoimmune body.

[00:14:39] Wrap-Up and Closing

Mickey Trescott: I really appreciate that and thank you so much for being here, for having this conversation with me. I love that we’ve given everyone a way that they can ease into meditation in a way that supports their nervous system and their healing, and hopefully wets their feet a little bit to explore more and find out how to benefit from a meditation practice.

And before we wrap up, can you let everybody know where they can follow you and learn more about what you do?

Michele Spring: Yeah. Two best places are probably Instagram I’m Thriving Autoimmune or YouTube where I’m Michele Spring, and that’s Michele with one L, my parents blessed me with that. If you search for Thriving Autoimmune, I probably should pop up as well.

Mickey Trescott: I will be sure to link to all of Michele’s social media and website and the free downloadable meditation in the show notes that you guys can try it for yourself.

If this episode resonated with you, consider just taking a minute today. Literally just one minute to pause, breathe, and begin. Doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful, just create that safe space. Listen to your breath, and thank you guys so much for being here, and we’ll see you next time.