July hums with a sound that’s part birdsong, part breeze, and part memory. It’s the season of barefoot mornings and long, lavender-sky evenings. Around here—near the shores of Lake Michigan—the wild grasses sway like they remember something we’ve forgotten.
We call these “the dog days of summer.” But to me, they’re more like an invitation: to return—to ourselves, to the earth, to breath, and to that gentle hum within we often lose in the buzz of life.
This is where the vagus nerve comes in. And this is where our nervous systems, over-stimulated and under-listened to, get the reset they crave.
Nature as Medicine: The Original Healing Ground
There’s a healing that happens only when your feet hit warm sand. When you paddle across glassy water in a kayak. When the fireflies rise from the fields like tiny lanterns reminding you the light never left.
These aren’t just “nice moments.” They’re medicinal.
Modern science now backs what ancient wisdom always knew: bathing in nature restores our nervous system. Forest walks, ocean swims, and moonlit stargazing stimulate the parasympathetic branch of the vagus nerve—the one that whispers, you’re safe now.
When we say the body can heal itself, this is part of what we mean. The body remembers how to regulate… if we let it.
The Vagal Return
We talk a lot about “natal returns” this time of year—astrological birthdays, life reviews, solar revolutions. But I like to talk about vagal returns too.
That moment your shoulders soften and your jaw unclenches.
That first belly breath in days.
That sunset walk when your body finally says, “ahhh.”
This isn’t just relaxation. It’s regulation. And it’s the cornerstone of healing.
In our practice, we talk about vagal tone a lot. Not because it’s trendy, but because it’s foundational. Your vagus nerve is the soul-tether between your gut, brain, heart, and breath. It’s the axis of your healing and the seat of your peace.
Chapter 13 Wisdom: The Way Inward is the Way Forward
In Anatomy of a Soul’s Calling, my soon to be released memoir; Chapter 13 opens with this truth: “The safest place to be is connected to yourself. From there, you can go anywhere.”
That’s not just poetry—it’s practice.
And the Self Compassion and Connection™ protocol is how we get there.
This July, I invite you to pair your nature bathing with some inner anchoring. Here’s how:
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Place your hands on your heart and solar plexus.
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Say:
Even though I feel [emotion or situation],
I deeply and completely love, trust, and accept myself.
I choose to connect and reconnect with myself. - Breathe in for 3… out for 6.
- One breath in round 1.
- Two breaths in round 2.
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Three breaths in round 3.
Let the rhythm of your breath mirror the rhythm of the lake. Let your nervous system feel the steadiness that’s already there.
Soul-Healing Isn’t Seasonal—But Summer Helps
There’s a quality to July that brings us home—not just to beach houses and cottages, but to our true nature. The part of us that’s not in a hurry. That doesn’t need to prove anything.
Here are some of my favorite vagal rituals for summer:
- Forest walking: Slow, mindful steps through the woods. Let the trees remind you of your breath.
- Swimming in Lake Michigan: Cold water activates the vagus nerve and clears energetic cobwebs.
- Campfire reflection: Write. Breathe. Watch the flames. Let yourself be.
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Stargazing on warm nights: Feel your smallness and your belonging all at once
These aren’t just vacations. They’re invitations to reconnect.
From Dissociation to Embodiment
In my own healing—and with patients—I’ve seen what happens when we forget ourselves. When trauma or grief unplugs us from our own circuitry.
I’ve been there. Disconnected. Overwhelmed. Inflamed.
What brought me back wasn’t a single tool. It was a return to rhythm. Breath. Nature. Self-compassion. Ritual.
I stopped fighting my body and started listening to it.
And in that listening, I found healing.
This is why I developed the Self Compassion and Connection™ protocol—not just for patients, but for myself. And it’s why we teach it here in practice. Because healing starts when you’re no longer at war with your own nervous system.
Supporting the System: MycoVim and Summer Resilience
Nature inside your body matters too.
Our functional mushroom blend, MycoVim, is designed to support that internal regulation. Reishi helps calm the nervous system. Lion’s Mane brings clarity. Cordyceps energizes without taxing.
Take it in the morning, before your beach walk or forest sit. Pair it with your intention: “Today, I return to myself.”
Let your healing be both internal and external. From mitochondria to mindset.
A Practice Invitation: Join Us This Summer
If you’re local to Holland, MI—or willing to visit—we’d love to welcome you into care.
Whether in-person or virtual, our hybrid model gives you:
- Longer, slower visits
- Deep testing to understand your full story
- Tools for vagal support and emotional regulation
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Membership-based care rooted in relationship
This isn’t performance medicine. It’s presence medicine.
We walk with you, not ahead of you. We see you, not just your labs. And we honor the truth that healing happens in rhythm with nature.
Come Home to Your Summer Self
If you do nothing else this July, I invite you to do this:
Go outside.
Take off your shoes.
Place your hands on your heart.
Breathe.
And remember: you are already healing.
With love,
Mary Louder, DO