A Long Love Letter

& a cheat sheet to nervous system regulation

This little coven has grown over the last year! I’m hopping into your inbox with January’s newsletter – this one’s going to a bit of a re-introduction, a 2025 reset. Basically, a reminder of why you might be here – and why I’m creating this space on the wide, wild internet. If you want to skip straight to the nervous system cheat sheet, just scroll down :)

I started the @myco.hannah page during my yoga teacher training, where suddenly, the knowledge being passed down to me started connecting all these important red strings in my head that were there, but flinging around untethered up until then.

Let me explain:

• I have always been a writer, but I didn’t know how I wanted to use my words. All I knew was I had a lot of them.

• I have for a long time been a witch, studying metaphysics and mythology and folklore and herbalism.

• I have always been a philosophy and cultural anthropology nerd – more folklore, religious studies, ritual, human behavior, history, etc.

• I have always been a psychology nerd – first in college and ever since I began experiencing (or awakening to) low mental health.

• I have been practicing yoga since I was (I think?) 12. More seriously since I was 18. I’m 29 now.

To me, all of these things have always been connected, but I couldn’t explain it to anyone else.

Suddenly, with my yoga teacher training, everything snapped into place. I was granted a framework for ALL OF IT.

You know why?

Because I learned that yoga was so much more than I had known thus far. Beyond physical postures, it captured the whole of spirituality. Meditation. Focus. Dreaming. Healing. Praying. Energy. Nature. Devotion. And so much more! Most people, in some form or another, practice yoga in their everyday life and don’t even know that’s what they’re doing.

If you want to look into it more, here’s a screen grab from my Boundless Being program (from the Yogic Wisdom Foundations… module 0 basically before it dives into how to USE all of this to heal and become more free).

If you haven’t studied a lot of yoga – I know that can sound kind of confusing. But essentially: yoga gave me an ancient spiritual framework that helped me connect all of my passions. 

Metaphysics and energetics coincided with Brahmacharya. Ritual coincided with Dhāranā. Shadow work journaling coincided with Svādhyāya. Praying is Īśvarapranidhāna. Meditation was Dhyāna. Writing is devotion, as is singing. Ayurveda. Lunar cycles. Seasons. I even saw historical themes that connected yogis with Western witches and Paganism (unbeknownst to them/ at the time). On and on it went. Even reiki and astrology and numerology all have a place here and there. All my untethered strands were given an anchor. Roots that helped make them real.

And now I finally know how to communicate it to the world.

Exactly why these varying practices have always helped me.

The science and belief systems behind it.

The how. The why. The what. The from-who.

Can I communicate all of this in a single letter or Instagram post? NOPE. That’s what’s still frustrating, especially on social platforms that are best for short, uncomplicated takes.

But, I can communicate it when I have more time with people. Like coven gatherings, video modules, and 1-on-1s.

So that’s exactly what I’m doing.

I’ll never get too salesy on any of you because my first and most passionate commitment is to building community, period. There's enough “YOU NEED THIS” messaging in all of our lives already; it needs to chill.

But when and where I can, I really think I can be a resource for healing for a lot of people. Walking them through where this PLETHORA of healing practices might fit specifically within their life and their unique experiences. Finding the nooks and crannies of all these systems and sciences that fit them (you) one by one.

Not because I’m some guru or enlightened star, but because I’m inherently a person that has been (accidentally and then purposefully) studying this stuff for years. And have had to do some pretty intense healing of my own, all the way back from (content warning just for the rest of this paragraph) — self harm and suicide.

If you’ve read this far, I’m so grateful for you. I will continue creating a space where we can connect with one another. And if and when anyone might want teachings from me, I have it for the people who want them.

Crafted with purpose, love, inner fire, and an unquenchable thirst to witness less suffering in the world.

Yours,

Hannah

May you gain greater ease in accessing light in darkness, healing in unexpected places, and divine connection.

Now finally, something immediately helpful for you. Because what kind of letter would this be without that?

1. Feeling anxious?

   • Go for a short walk.

2. Feeling angry?

   • Tap into nature.

3. Feeling tired?

   • Cold shower (Yes!)

4. Feeling grief?

   • Move.

Why?

Walking helps stabilize the amygdala, and the deeper breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Both of these things help regulate us and bring us back to the present moment.

Nature, along with bringing us back to the present moment and re-centering our perspective/place in the world, helps slow the release of epinephrine and other activating (upping) hormones. Bonus points for taking slow, wide circles with your eyes. Widening your view (literally) breaks us out of straight+narrow focus (physically) that our instinct associates with running from hunters or chasing prey.

Cold showers also activate the parasympathetic nervous system. It’s a straight up nervous system reset not just from the cold, but from the deep breaths you take to get through the shock. From a yogic+energetic perspective also, that deep breathing activates our bhandas and middle chakras, realigning us to a central line.

And finally, moving, from a Western scientific perspective, releases endorphins. From a yogic or energetic or metaphysical perspective, it can be a literal “shaking out” “moving out” or “sweating out” of energy that isn’t serving us or that we have too much of.

Once regulated, I encourage you to become curious (Svādhyāya) about what caused the misalignment. It likely wasn’t your ‘fault,’ and honestly, it's sometimes called for. Our nervous systems have different states for a reason. But when we can meet ourselves (our reactions, our emotions, our trauma, our cognitions) with love and greater understanding, we can see with discernment when a feeling might be misplaced or overworked, and come back to center. To awareness. To health.

Happy healing <3