• Let Them – Releasing What Isn’t Yours
    Jan 23 2026

    🌉 BRIDGING THE GAP – S.2 E.36: https://youtu.be/R9dPt0iL9-k⁠⁠

    Let Them – Releasing What Isn’t Yours

    “Let them be who they are, so you can reclaim who you are.”

    🧠 Neuroscience & Nervous System Release

    🔄 Research shows trying to control others’ actions strongly activates our stress networks and depletes mental energy. 🧠 Polyvagal theory: When we attempt to manage or micromanage others, we remain in high sympathetic or dorsal vagal states; release opens access to ventral-vagal safety and social connection.🌍 By saying Let Them we signal to our nervous system: “I release control of their behaviour; I manage my response.” This trains the brain to focus on what we can regulate—our own internal state.

    🌬️ Somatic Practice & Breath

    🌱 Inhale a peaceful space. Exhale control, let it go.🔂 Use a 4-in, 6-out breath cycle when you feel yourself trying to steer someone else’s behaviour.🌀 Place a hand on your belly or chest, notice the tension of wanting to fix someone. Allow the breath to soften that impulse and remind your body: I cannot control them, only me.

    ❤️ Mind & Heart Integration

    🌊 This week: When someone’s reaction activates/triggers you, pause, breathe, and say inwardly: “Let Them choose. I choose my response.” It does not have to be immediate, you can also come back.🛤 Practice in 1 relationship or situation where you typically feel responsible for others’ feelings/actions.🔗 Each moment of letting go rewires your brain toward freedom, your nervous system toward regulation, and your heart toward peace.

    💭 “The more you let others live their lives, the better your life becomes.” - Mel Robbins#BridgingTheGap #LetThem #SomaticRelease #Neuroplasticity #PolyvagalSafety

    👉 SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Breathing Meditation)📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003

    🌐 CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE

    • 🎧 Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr?si=e62a7d06283e4c3b

    • 🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridging-the-gap/id1833703512

    • 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted

    • 🎬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_gap

      📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere

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    11 mins
  • When Resilience Is Quiet
    Jan 12 2026
    When Resilience Is Quiet (Season 2, Episode 1): https://youtu.be/StvVD1WxbMU Quiet resilience isn’t fixing, pushing, or processing it all.It’s pausing, setting gentle boundaries, and letting your body settle first.Less effort. More care. Steadier presence.How do you notice your quiet resilience showing up, and how does it affect you and the people around you?Read more: https://wix.to/yyNVAzt#QuietResilience #Caregivers #Resilience #NervousSystem #PersonalGrowth #MindfulnessWith Gratitude, Ricky CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr... Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../bridging-the-gap/id1833703512 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_gap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Somatic Mindful Breathing) YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003
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    11 mins
  • A Special Thanksgiving Episode Rooted in Love Present in the Moment
    Dec 12 2025
    🌉 BRIDGING THE GAP –5 min Mindful Somatic Breathing Practice🌾 Episode 34.5 - A Special Thanksgiving Episode: Rooted in Love, Present in the Moment: ⁠https://youtu.be/oqksrRcYm-w⁠ 🧩 Connection in Challenging Spaces: Holidays have a way of bringing us into rooms filled with history, expectations, opinions, and rhythms that don’t always match our own. So before you enter those spaces or before you welcome others into yours pause for a moment.✨ What does connection look like … when emotions run high?✨ How can compassion guide us … when views differ?✨ What does it mean to be rooted in love … even when the room feels uneven?Today’s practice is your gentle reminder that we can choose presence… even when the moment is complex.We can offer thanks… even while navigating tension. And we can create repair even when we momentarily rupture. This is an invitation to show up with clarity and stay grounded in who you are not who others expect you to be.🧠 The Brain’s Path Back to SafetyThe holiday table often brings familiar patterns: old roles, unspoken expectations, and the feeling of being pulled into emotional currents we didn’t choose.Your brain remembers these patterns but here's the good news:🌿 Every moment is a chance to create a new pathway.When something is said that dysregulates you…When someone’s tone feels sharp…When a comment triggers old wounds…When differences of opinion become tension…Your brain can choose a new direction.And each time you choose regulation over reaction, that pathway grows stronger.This is how we become anchored in ourselves, not in the past.🌬️ A Centering Pause Before You Step InLet’s take a slow breath together.Inhale for 4: Welcome in steadiness.Hold for 2: Feel your feet on the ground.Exhale for 6: Release the expectations that don’t belong to you.Again.Inhale: receive what supports you.Exhale: let go of what you cannot control.Now bring one hand to your chest, one to your belly. Feel your own warmth. Feel your own rhythm.If something happens that shakes your center, return to this moment:And if needed, say softly to yourself or aloud:“Let’s pause. This conversation matters. Let’s come back to it when we can meet each other with care.”❤️ Heart & Mind: Rooted in Love, Present in the Now💛 If a moment feels overwhelming:You’re allowed to pause.You’re allowed to reset.💛 If someone else feels overwhelmed:You can offer a landing:“You matter. Let’s give this space. We can return when we’re ready.” Then offer another time. 💛 If your thoughts drift to past hurts or future worries:Gently return to the gift of the present, this breath, this moment, this connection.Concerns are valid.Differences are real.Presence is the priority.🕯️ Mindful Thanksgiving Wish“On this day of gratitude, may we remember, whether near or far:that every person carries a story we don’t fully know,that love grows strongest in moments of gentle understanding,and that the greatest gift is not perfection, but presence.May we give thanks for all the people that have touched our lives,in our ease and in our complexity and may we meet each other with compassion, curiosity,and the quiet hope that connection is always at the forefront.”#RootedInLove #GentlePresence #CompassionOverConflict #BridgingTheGap👉 SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Breathing Meditation)📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003🌐 CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE🎧 Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr?si=e62a7d06283e4c3b🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridging-the-gap/id1833703512📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted🎬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_gap📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere
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    11 mins
  • Always Do Your Best
    Dec 12 2025

    🌉 BRIDGING THE GAP –5 min Mindful Somatic Breathing Practice


    Episode 35: Always Do Your Best: https://youtu.be/aAp1Eg4uln8 ✨ “Your best changes moment to moment. So show up with presence, not perfection.”

    🧠 The Neuroscience of Effort, Compassion & Growth

    • 🔄 The brain’s reward system lights up when we engage fully in the process, not just the outcome. Presence itself becomes the dopamine loop of growth.

    • ⚡ Perfectionism, on the other hand, activates the amygdala, flooding the body with stress hormones and shutting down creativity.

    • 🌱 Neuroplasticity teaches us that consistency and compassion build stronger, more adaptable pathways than criticism ever could.

    • 🌍 “Doing your best” means honoring your nervous system, allowing rest, rhythm, and self-trust to guide sustainable change.

    🌬️ Somatic Practice, Breath & Mindfullness

    • 🌿 Inhale acceptance. Exhale judgment.

    • 🪶 Notice your body right now. Is there tension behind the effort? A push to prove or perform?

    • 🧘‍♀️ Breathe into that space and imagine softening the edges of “not enough.” Feel your chest, shoulders, and jaw release as you invite gentleness in.

    • 💫 Let your breath remind you: your best today might be rest, reflection, or small, steady action. All are worthy.

    • 🔥 If you feel your energy rise or a drive to push then ground it. Place a hand over your heart, lengthen your exhale, and whisper, “This moment is enough.”

    ❤️ Mind & Heart Integration

    • 🌊 Your “best” is a living, breathing rhythm. It evolves with your capacity, your healing, your season of life.

    • 🛤 Presence, not perfection, grows resilience. Each moment you meet yourself with grace, you rewire your brain toward safety and inner trust.

    • 🌸 This week, pick one area: work, family, self-care … where you’ll replace striving with sincerity.

    • 🔗 As you practice compassionate effort, your nervous system learns that you can be enough without exhaustion.

    💭 “If you simply do your best, you’ll live your life intensely. You’ll be productive, you’ll be good to yourself, and you’ll be good to everyone around you.” — Don Miguel Ruiz


    #BridgingTheGap #DoYourBest #PresenceOverPerfection #SomaticHealing #Neuroplasticity #SelfCompassion #MindfulPerformance


    👉 SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Breathing Meditation)📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003

    🌐 CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE

    • 🎧 Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr?si=e62a7d06283e4c3b

    • 🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridging-the-gap/id1833703512

    • 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted

    • 🎬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_ga

    📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere

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    11 mins
  • Don’t Make Assumptions
    Nov 20 2025

    🌉 BRIDGING THE GAP –5 min Mindful Somatic Breathing Practice

    Episode 34: Don’t Make Assumptions: https://youtu.be/OLuqzSMstbM

    ✨ “Ask. Clarify. Connect. Free yourself from the suffering of stories.”

    🧠 The Neuroscience of Assumption & Curiosity

    • 🔄 Our brains are wired to fill in gaps — it’s how we predict danger and stay safe. But when we assume, the amygdala fires before truth arrives.

    • 🧩 Assumptions become “mental shortcuts,” activating our brain’s error-detection system and often triggering anxiety or defensiveness.

    • 🌱 Neuroplasticity reminds us that we can train curiosity instead of conclusion. When we slow down, breathe, and ask, we create new pathways for trust and understanding.

    • 🌍 Each time we choose curiosity over assumption, we shift from fear-based reactivity to relational safety — a calm, open state where connection can grow.

    🌬️ Somatic Practice & Breath Meditation

    • 🌿 Inhale openness. Exhale certainty.

    • 🪞 Bring to mind a moment when you assumed someone’s intent. Notice what happens in your body — the tightness in the chest, the clenching of the jaw, the heat of defensiveness

    • 🌬️ Now, breathe deeply into those sensations. Imagine softening around them, letting oxygen bring clarity where tension once lived.

    • 💫 As you exhale, imagine asking instead of assuming: “Can you tell me more?” or “I might be misunderstanding — can we clarify?”

    • 🕯️ Ground through your senses: feel the weight of your body on the chair, notice a texture that soothes you, or hold a grounding stone. Let the nervous system know — you are safe to be curious.

    ❤️ Mind & Heart Integration

    • 🌊 Curiosity is connection in motion. Each question you ask builds a bridge between perception and truth.

    • 🛤 This week, notice when your mind starts to write a story — pause, breathe, and replace assumption with inquiry.

    • ✨ Somatically, curiosity lowers cortisol and activates the ventral vagal system — the part of your nervous system linked to safety and social engagement.

    • 🔗 Each act of clarification rewires the brain toward trust, compassion, and secure connection.

    💭 “Find the courage to ask the questions others fear. Curiosity is the antidote to assumption, and compassion is the bridge to understanding.” — Don Miguel Ruiz

    #BridgingTheGap #DontAssume #SomaticHealing #CuriosityPractice #NeuroplasticGrowth #MindfulCommunication #FeltSafety

    👉 SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Breathing Meditation)📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003

    🌐 CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE

    • 🎧 Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr?si=e62a7d06283e4c3b

    • 🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridging-the-gap/id1833703512

    • 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted

    • 🎬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_gap
      📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere

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    10 mins
  • Don’t Take Anything Personally
    Nov 10 2025

    🌉 BRIDGING THE GAP –5 min Mindful Somatic Breathing Practice

    Episode 33: Don’t Take Anything Personally: https://youtu.be/VrSdjtMaygU?si=Y4Vl1xRajRZ2DCQJ

    “Their story is theirs, not yours. Stay rooted in your truth.”

    🧠 Neuroscience of Self, Other & Regulation: When someone reacts toward us, our default mode network — the brain’s self-referential system — instantly lights up, scanning for threat or rejection.

    • ⚡ The amygdala reads tone and expression as danger signals, even when it’s not about us.

    • 🌿 But through mindful awareness, we can pause, breathe, and differentiate between our truth and their projection.

    • This separation is not detachment — it’s clarity. Neuroplasticity teaches us that every time we unhook from someone else’s emotional wave, we strengthen pathways of self-trust and internal safety.

    💡 Reflection: “When I feel misunderstood or blamed, what happens in my body first? How can I pause there instead of defending?”

    🌬️ Somatic Grounding & Breath Practice: 🌱 Inhale: I return to myself. Exhale: I release what is not mine.

    🌀 You are not the storm — you are the ground beneath it.

    1. Begin by sitting tall, feet grounded, one hand on the chest and one on the lower belly.

    2. Feel the breath rise and fall beneath your palms — one representing truth, one representing safety.

    3. Notice where your body tightens when you feel judged — jaw, shoulders, chest — and gently soften that space.

    4. Imagine roots extending from your feet, anchoring you into the earth, as words or emotions move past like wind.

    ❤️ Heart Integration & Everyday Practice

    • 🌊 When we stop taking things personally, we reclaim nervous system regulation as an act of love.

    • 💬 Others’ behavior reflects their inner landscape, not your worth.

    • 💞 Respond with boundaries and compassion, not defense.

    • Try this micro-practice:

      • 👉 When you feel tension rise in an interaction, pause and say internally,

      • “That belongs to them. I remain here, steady in me.”

    • Each time you do this, your brain and body learn that safety lives inside you, not in others’ approval.

    💭 Quote: Place a hand on your heart, breathe deeply, and affirm:

    • “I release what is not mine. I remain steady in truth and kindness.”

    • 💖 “If you keep this agreement, you can travel with your heart fully open and no one can hurt you.” — Don Miguel Ruiz

    #BridgingTheGap #DontTakeAnythingPersonally #Neuroplasticity #SomaticAwareness #EmotionalRegulation #HeartCenteredLiving #MindBodyHealing

    👉 SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Breathing Meditation)📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003

    🌐 CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE

    • 🎧 Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr?si=e62a7d06283e4c3b

    • 🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridging-the-gap/id1833703512

    • 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted

    • 🎬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_gap

      📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere

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    11 mins
  • Be Impeccable with Your Word
    Oct 24 2025

    🌉 BRIDGING THE GAP – 5 min Mindful Somatic Breathing Practice

    Episode 32: Be Impeccable with Your Word - https://youtu.be/v063dJedaB4

    ✨ “Speak truth. Use your words to create, not destroy.”

    🧠 Neuroscience of Speech & Meaning

    • 🔄 Words don’t just describe reality — they design it. Every phrase you repeat, aloud or silently, (re)wires your brain’s perception of what’s possible. Through neuroplasticity, language sculpts emotion, self-belief, and even identity.

    • ⚡ When we engage in harsh or critical self-talk, the amygdala lights up, signaling danger within. But when we practice mindful, compassionate speech, we activate the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for empathy, reason, and emotional regulation.

    • 🗣️ Our words ripple through the nervous systems of others, too. Mirror neurons reflect tone, energy, and intent, meaning speech literally co-regulates connection or creates disconnection.

    • 💡 To be impeccable with your word is to align language with truth, care, and integrity — forming neural pathways that strengthen authenticity and trust.

    🌬️ Breath, Awareness & Mindfullness

    • 🌱 Begin with a grounding breath: Inhale authenticity, exhale distortion.

    • 💭 As you breathe, notice the words that shape your inner dialogue. Are they building bridges or reinforcing old wounds?

    1. Place one hand on your heart, one on your throat.

    2. Inhale through the nose, feeling your heart expand.

    3. Exhale softly, letting the throat release tension.

    4. Whisper a phrase that feels deeply true — even if it’s just, “I am learning to speak with care.”

    ✨ Each breath retrains the nervous system to link language with safety, not defense.

    ❤️ Living with Word-Heart Integrity

    • 🌊 Every true word you speak aligns your inner world with your outer one. When speech matches feeling, the nervous system settles — because truth feels coherent.

    • 🪞 Notice this week where you might speak more consciously: in how you talk to yourself, a loved one, or even in silence. Choose one phrase that reflects your highest truth and repeat it daily.

    • 🕊️ Impeccable speech isn’t about perfection — it’s about awareness, intention, and compassion. When words become instruments of truth rather than weapons of fear, healing begins from within and safety emerges.

    💭 “Your word is your power to create a better world or to destroy it.” — Don Miguel Ruiz

    #BridgingTheGap #ImpeccableWord #Neuroplasticity #MindfulSpeech #HeartCoherence #SomaticAwareness #HealingThroughLanguage

    👉 SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Breathing Meditation)📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003

    🌐 CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE

    • 🎧 Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr?si=e62a7d06283e4c3b

    • 🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridging-the-gap/id1833703512

    • 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted

    • 🎬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_gap

    • 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere

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    10 mins
  • Aligning with the Version of You Who Already Chose
    Oct 16 2025

    🌉 BRIDGING THE GAP – 5 min Mindful Somatic Breathing Practice

    Episode 31: Aligning with the Version of You Who Already Chose: https://youtu.be/1BrRhb3R0Vc

    “The version of you, who already chose, is calling you home. The illusion is that change takes time. The truth is, it takes a shift in being.” - Alan Watts

    🧠 The Neuroscience of the Gentle Pivot

    • 🔄 Neuroplasticity shows change doesn’t take years—it begins in moments of clarity and repetition.

    • 🌀 The illusion is believing transformation requires endless effort; the truth is, alignment is what matters.

    • 🌱 Each time you practice a new thought, behavior, or identity, fresh neural pathways start forming immediately.

    • 💡 Reflection Prompt: “What belief do I carry that change takes forever? How would it feel if it could happen in an instant?”

    🌬️ Breath as a Path to Alignment

    • 🌞 Begin with slow inhales and longer exhales to ground the nervous system.

    • 🌿 Visualize yourself walking a path toward the version of you who has already aligned.

    • ✨ Notice: How do they breathe, move, speak?

    • 💫 Ask: “What did you let go of to arrive here?”

    • 🔗 Imagine merging with this version, carrying their steadiness into the present.

    ❤️ Living the Gentle Pivot

    • 🛤️ Alignment is not about doing more—it’s about listening deeply to the self who already chose.

    • 🌊 Gentle pivots can shift everything: “I’m not ready” → “I already began.”

    • 💖 Carry this aligned presence into your meals, conversations, work, and parenting.

    💭 “I choose to align with the version of me who has already chosen. I listen, I trust, I step forward.”

    #BridgingTheGap #MindfulLiving #Neuroplasticity #GentlePivot #AlignedLiving #EmbodiedCalm

    👉 SUBSCRIBE: Bridging the Gap (5 min Breathing Meditation)📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mediastarllc2003

    🌐 CARE Website: https://mediastarllc.wixsite.com/CARE

    • 🎧 Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCOFTpc2CMOcTpQvOUjjr?si=e62a7d06283e4c3b

    • 🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bridging-the-gap/id1833703512

    • 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connected_rooted

    • 🎬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bridging.the_gap

    • 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectedAndRootedEverywhere


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    11 mins