2025 Year in Review
Photo Location: Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico

The Woman Who Changed How I See Health

There is a woman I know in her 50s with a slender body, a happy family, and a one-day workweek. She’s an accomplished dental surgeon who sold her practice twice. It would be easy to say this is what money buys, but that's not it.

She plays beach volleyball weekly with her husband, shows up for every family block party, snowboards in Park City, and flies to Paris with her daughter for a concert, while fixing broken teeth on Wednesdays. She has firm boundaries, a consistent health routine, and enough time and financial slack to actually enjoy her life.

So what makes her so compelling?

Everything mentioned above? The multiple homes? Professional success? A handsome spouse? Excellent Health? Kids in college?

Yes, of course—but that’s not the real reason.

Every time I’m in her presence, it feels warm, grounded, and steady. And in 2025, I finally understood why.

She has a regulated nervous system.

The Missing Link I Couldn’t Ignore

For the last three years, I’ve been regularly testing nervous systems, mine and clients', using a Brain & Stress HRV assessment called NeuralChek. After hundreds of tests at Lifetime Water & Wellness in Solana Beach, I noticed patterns: a small percentage showed regulation, while most showed clear signs of dysregulation.

At the time, I didn’t fully understand what that meant other than mentioning clients to support their sleep, get more time in nature, or use BrainTap tech. After reading Dr. Aimie Apigian’s book The Biology of Trauma, called essential reading of our time, I learned that the nervous system is deeply connected to my work as a functional nutritionist and board-certified health and wellness coach.

For most of my life, I was operating from patterns of trauma—or what Dr. Aimie refers to as overwhelm.

Common Dysregulated Nervous System Patterns:

• Feeling disconnected or numb; using food or alcohol to check out

• Struggling to move forward; playing small

• Rationing energy and constantly running low

• Quick reactivity; difficulty trusting yourself or recognizing your responses

• A chronic disease diagnosis

If any of this sounds familiar, keep reading—there’s good news.

When Biology Catches Up

In 2024, I learned about gut dysbiosis. I cleared breath levels in early 2024, but in 2025, I was still operating from a dysregulated nervous system. Some HRV tests looked great; others clearly didn’t.

As a result, my SIBO came back.

My Breath Test using the at-home Food Marble tech and app from September 2025. Anything above a 10 ppm on methane denotes Intestinal Methane Overgrowth (IMO).

This time, instead of pushing harder, doubling down on protocols, or spiraling into frustration, "I want these symptoms, gone!" 

I did something different.

I contracted a meridian and craniosacral therapist (CST) who uses flower essences, I used the BrainTap tech five times per week (20 minute dosing) to help regulate my nervous system. I kept up with my beach walks and protected my sleep. I monitored with NeuralChek. I made probiotic yogurt. I followed my SIBO protocol.

Ten weeks later, I re-tested and—it worked!

Results after ten weeks of Lifetime's SIBO protocol. Hallmark symptoms of constipation and bloating were relieved. 

Letting Go Instead of Powering Through

Instead of forcing outcomes, I softened. I allowed my efforts to come at their own time and worked within my capacity. In 2025, I let go of working five jobs and now work two. I hired support for video editing and committed to a business coach for all of 2026.

I also continued to release an old patterning of people-pleasing, one that has kept me in 70/30 relationships that no longer fit. Personally, I love being in my mid-40s with less estrogen and far less tolerance for what doesn’t feel aligned. If something doesn’t work for me, I can choose to walk.

Let them. I’ll let me.

If 2025 was about anything, it was about letting go of what no longer served me and the result was a whole lot more alignment, freedom and fun. 

“Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you.”
— Rachel Naomi Remen

No more hustle. No more burning myself to the ground. No more swinging for the fences or pushing through at all costs.

If you are thinking, you don't have time to do any of things I mentioned above, I understand. It takes time, energy and safety. Keep reading . . .

The Body–Trauma Loop (And How to Exit It)

Here’s what the research shows: when we push through experiences without processing them, we ask the nervous system to stay guarded. It was never designed for that, and eventually, it breaks down.

This creates the body–trauma loop:

Stressed → Overwhelmed → Stressed again

Every chronic health issue has this loop at its core.

The good news? Once we understand the loop, the path forward becomes clear. And modeling this matters, especially for my health and solopreneur clients as well as my coach trainee students through UCSD Extended Studies. 

What I’d Do Exactly the Same in 2026

First: I'd continue working with preferred nervous system support—talk therapy, somatic therapy, art therapy, acupuncture, BrainTap, equine therapy, lifestyle medicine, etc. 

And

Address root causes.

Environmental toxins, chronic infections, nutrient deficiencies, and a dysregulated microbiome keep cells locked in danger mode. To heal, we must move the body into cellular safety.

As a former clinical counseling trainee turned functional nutritionist/health coach, this is the process I’ve waited 15 years to offer:

• Lifestyle and nervous system support

• Root-cause resolution

So you can bounce back stronger and have the energy and peace to live your purpose.

What Healing Looks Like in Real Life

• I cleared intestinal methane overgrowth (IMO), reduced TPO antibodies, and regulated my nervous system

• Monique brought neurotransmitters back into range

• Sheila raised vitamin D levels while managing chronic disease

• Kim said goodbye to ulcerative colitis

• Jennifer experienced an unexpected emotional release

• Reagan cleared her skin, regulated PMS, and improved her mood

Less—but Consistent—in 2026

What I’m continuing in 2026? Monitoring and supporting my nervous system, microbiome support (eating at home, probiotic yogurt, aloe vera, customized multi-vitamin, cycling supplements based on need)

What I’m doing differently? Even less—more consistently.

“You can’t make time go faster or success come sooner. The only thing you can control is the next action.”
— James Clear

If you’ve been staying busy, pushing through, and hoping time alone will make things better, what you need is expert-guided support, the right tools, and a community. It's the secret sauce. Why slog through alone when you can fast-track your progress?

If you want 2026 to feel different, my signature online group program is open. Pricing is below. You’ll get instant access and start the year with a real plan.

Options include:

• Online Program

• In-person (San Diego)

• In-person (Southern Spain) Oct 20-25, 2026

The program includes genetic testing, nervous system monitoring, personalized protocols, and 24/7 AI support, so you can close the gap between where you are and where you want to be in 2026.

P.S. I have a SIBO-focused webinar coming up, which has been two years in the making, taught through story. Click the link and get on my email list. 

TL;DR — 2025 Year in Review

In 2025, I learned that success, energy, and resilience don’t come from pushing harder, they come from a regulated nervous system. After years of functional nutrition work and hundreds of HRV tests, it became clear that many chronic symptoms (including my own SIBO relapse) weren’t about missing protocols, but about operating from overwhelm. Once I shifted to nervous system regulation alongside root-cause work, my body responded quickly and sustainably.

What worked was doing less, and doing the right things consistently: nervous system monitoring, somatic support, targeted protocols, and letting go of people-pleasing, overworking, and hustle-driven health. Healing wasn’t about fixing myself, it was about removing what kept my body in a constant danger response. That shift changed my health, my work structure, and how I show up in my 40s.

What stays the same moving into 2026: therapy + root-cause resolution together. What changes: less force, more regulation, clearer boundaries, and guided community support. If you’re stuck in the stress, overwhelm loop, it’s not a willpower issue, it’s a biology issue, and there is a clear way forward.

To your health and healing,

Taylor

Lifetime Coaching, LLC

Resources

FoodMarble
FoodMarble Digestive Health. (n.d.). FoodMarble AIRE: Personal digestive breath testing for gut health. https://foodmarble.com 

BrainTap
BrainTap Technologies. (n.d.). BrainTap: Guided neuro-entrainment for stress reduction and mental clarity. https://braintap.com 

The Biology of Trauma
Apigian, A. (2023). The biology of trauma: How trauma rewires the nervous system and how to heal it. Hachette Go.