Dear Spinning Circle,

Welcome to another episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio - I am so pleased to be able to produce these episodes with Rebecca (@rebbiejaye). Rebecca took the lead on this month's episode, which was really fun for me as I was able to sit back and participate in a different way than I normally do - what a pleasure!

To learn more, please head to the original Patreon post here

To help ground the conversation, here are some of the 'primer' questions that Rebecca asked us to think about to prepare for recording. If it speaks to you, particularly if you are a journaller yourself, I would encourage you to write these down or use them as prompts to help you in your journey:

1. Some background: can you talk about how you feel generally about the October/November season? How has this year in particular been affecting your energy levels?

2. This year I think what’s different for me is that I’m really expecting the change. Not dreading it, just trying to be really aware. How has this year met/not met your expectations? Surprised you?

3. Sometimes our hobbies help us, and sometimes they get the better of us! Have you experienced crafting overwhelm this fall? Or have you been able to lay it aside when you need to?

4. How does your making change when you get tired or sick? Are there things that happen differently? Does being tired or sick feed your creativity in any way?

These questions really helped to guide our conversation around fatigue, making and energy. We also talk about Polyvagal Theory, which is the concept that the vagus nerve has a role to play in regulating our emotions, social connection and fear responses. There is much research still to be done on the subject and much has not been substantiated by neuroscience. The basic tenent is the following:

• Parasympathetic/Ventral-Vagal State/Vibe n' Tribe/Social Connection - our 'true' self, authentic, creativity occurs here
• Sympathetic State/Fight or Flight/Stress - feeling threatened, stress, perception of danger, 'doing' state, seeking safety, go-go-go
• Doral Ventral State/Freeze/Paralysis - numbing out, immobilization, lack of coping

I hope this is helpful to ground the conversation when Rebecca asks me to elaborate on Polyvagal Theory; and remember that it is a theory, something to think about, and there is much to learn/read about if you are curious to do so!

You can access the back-catalogue of Radio episodes here, if you would like to listen to more episodes like this one. As well, taking a moment to like, subscribe & rate/review the Radio show helps get it out there to other potential listeners!

Share your thoughts below, especially if you'd like to share some of your own journal responses, or in #podcastchat on Slack for community members.

If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, you can reach out to Rachel {at} welfordpurls {dot} com.

Until next month, I hope you are able to carve out some self-love. Tell us what you are going to do to LOVE YOURSELF this month - comment below.

Rachel & Rebecca

I hope you enjoyed our conversation. If this is your first time tuning into Wool n’ Spinning Radio, welcome. This audio podcast is a spin-off from the original podcast available on YouTube at youtube.com/RachelSmith. Rachel has been podcasting since 2014, talking about handspinning and making yarn. Her passion is working with her handspun yarns in projects, both knit and woven. Links to the website, Instagram and more are available in the show notes and at Patreon.com/woolnspinning.

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Thank you for listening! If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out below, in the comments, or send an email to [email protected].

Until next month, keep wool close and your spindles closer!