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Welcome to Living Well Daily, the newsletter serving up a daily dose of care designed to support you, cheer you on and remind you, always, just how wonderful you already are.

In Today’s Edition:

🥰Well-Being & Self-Care: Holding Everything Together: Understanding Your Nervous System
💖Longevity & Wellness: Sprinting does what jogging can’t
✨Daily Affirmation & Daily Prompt

Repeat after me
“I am one of a kind, so that makes me a magical unicorn of a human” 🦄
Facts. You’re freaking awesome.

There's a version of you that has been managing. Showing up. Holding things together. Getting through. This version is competent and capable and often the one other people rely on.

And there's something worth acknowledging about that version: it has worked hard. Probably for a very long time.

But here's what often lives underneath the managing, the holding-together, the getting-through: a nervous system that never got permission to rest. A body that learned to perform okay even when it wasn't. A person who has become so practiced at functioning that it takes a real moment of stillness to feel how much has been quietly accumulated.

We tend to take it as evidence of strength that we can keep going. And it is, in a way. But strength and health aren't the same thing. You can be extraordinarily capable of carrying a load while the load is still causing damage. You can be very good at coping while still needing something different than more coping.

The question worth sitting with isn't "am I okay?" Most people can answer yes to that one, okay is a low bar and we're good at hitting it. The more honest question is something like: what is my body carrying that I haven't had space to put down? What would I feel if I actually stopped for a moment and listened?

This isn't about uncovering something frightening. For a lot of people, when they actually pause and check in with their system, what they find is tiredness. Longing. A quiet hunger for something more than functional. Those aren't bad things to know about yourself. They're useful. They're the beginning of a more honest kind of care.

 ✅ Action Step: Put one hand on your heart and ask yourself, genuinely: "How am I actually doing?" Not the version you'd tell your coworker. Not the "I'm fine, just tired" answer. The real one. You don't have to share it with anyone. You don't have to do anything with it. Just let yourself be witnessed by yourself for a moment; that's a form of care that's available to you right now, wherever you are.

^{Love, Lola Graham}

Researchers compared the molecular response to three different workouts:

The researchers measured proteins in the blood immediately afterward. 32 out of 33 proteins associated with lower risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic disease were altered by sprinting. While only 3 were affected by moderate exercise. Also, more than a ¼ of those 33 proteins were also linked to slower biological aging.

The response persisted after eight weeks of training, suggesting this shift is due to intense effort itself, not just a shock response to something unfamiliar. This doesn't mean long, steady exercise is worthless. But it does suggest that adding high-intensity work each week is important to create some of these positive biological shifts.

✅ Action Step: Consider if you have any high-intensity work in your workout routine each week.

^{By: Joshua Graham}

^{A supportive prompt to build health, nourishment, and long-term wellness.}

What helps your body feel more grounded and steady during stressful seasons?

Before you go, let us know what you thought of today’s edition and if there are any subjects you would like us to cover in the future reply to this email and let us know!

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With love and care,

Lola & Joshua | The Living Well Team

^{Living Well Daily is for educational purposes only and is in no way a substitute for professional medical and mental health advice and diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional for care unique to your needs.}

^{Remember: It’s okay to ask for help. Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (Canada & US).}