Watch the EpisodeIn this episode, Véronique and Paola explore what it actually means to soften your nervous system — not fix it, not override it, but meet it with enough compassion that it can slowly let go.
They talk about fight, flight, freeze, and fawn, the tiny movements that help the body settle, and what it looks like to soften without shutting down.
• What nervous system softening really means — and how it differs from numbing or shutting down
• Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn: understanding the four responses and the patterns they create
• The tiny movements that help the body settle — stillness, rocking, shoulder rolls, stretching
• How trauma patterns show up in everyday behaviours like hyper-independence, over-functioning, and staying small
• Softening versus numbing: why self-compassion is the bridge between the two
• How life stage shapes self-regulation — and why starting the practice now matters
• The centering breath practice from the Breathwork Mini Guide (page 8)
• Véronique realising mid-conversation that she had been gently rocking herself while Paola asked her a question — and laughing that she had just discovered a new answer she didn’t know she had.
• Véronique connecting why she used to love wine to her nervous system: she could feel the tension release in her shoulders. “Breathwork gives me that same feeling. A little less intense, but it’s there.”
• Paola describing the moment mid-houseclean when her nervous system started screaming at her — and how she simply stopped, did a body scan and some breathing, and came back to herself. Véronique: “Pretty soft.”
• The cat, Eli, making a full guest appearance during the centering breath practice and breaking Véronique’s concentration. She recovered gracefully.
• The closing line — Véronique signing off with: “I hope your body softens and that you meet yourself with tenderness.”
Free resource: Breathwork Mini Guide — gentle, practical breathwork for grounding, co-regulation, and energy. Download at sanctuary-of-wings.com.
Premium resource: Nervous System Care Workbook (Flight into Regulation) — a deep, compassionate guide to understanding your nervous system patterns and softening them over time. Available in digital or physical.
Véronique is the founder and creator of Sanctuary of Wings, a space born from her search for peace after years of chaos. In 2023, her daughter’s diagnosis with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma reshaped her life. Through that journey she discovered the power of calm — lessons she continues to integrate into her own path. Two years later, caring for birds who had endured hardship yet slowly learned to fly became another living metaphor for renewal, reminding her that healing is a shared process of learning to spread our wings again.
Sanctuary of Wings is her dream, but not a finished destination — it is a journey she is still on, and one she hopes to share with others. Through journals, podcasts, and creative tools, Véronique opens space for collective reflection, where each person can bring their own experiences and together discover new ways of finding balance.
Her invitation is simple: to join her in seeking peace. Whether through daily rituals, creative expression, or shared conversation, Sanctuary of Wings is a place where we guide each other, gently and at our own pace.
