Default to YES! Your Extraordinary Self

Default to Yes: Think Like a Nurse is for women over 40 who are ready to get curious about their health, question the noise, and let go of the pressure to get everything exactly right.

So you can stop spending so much of your life trying to fix yourself—and get about the business of what you are meant to be about.

Juli Reynolds—a nurse, nurse coach, and lifelong believer in asking better questions - learned that clarity rarely comes from having more information. It comes from knowing how to make sense of the information you already have.

Here, we take the critical thinking, curiosity, science, and whole-person perspective of nursing and apply it to the health and wellness questions women are navigating every day.

Instead of telling you what to think, I’ll help you learn how to think about it.

Together, we’ll Notice, Narrate, Nurture, and Navigate—looking at the evidence, understanding what it can and cannot tell us, asking better questions, and considering what actually makes sense for you.

Because Default to Yes is ultimately about saying yes to your extraordinary self.

Less second-guessing. Less self-judgment. Less energy spent trying to do health perfectly.

More curiosity. More clarity. More creativity. More trust in your ability to learn, adapt, and make informed decisions.

So you can stop spending so much of your life trying to fix yourself—and get about the business of what you are meant to be about.

Stay curious. Think like a nurse. And Default to Yes.

Each episode delivers:

Science-backed strategies for nervous system regulation, brain health, resilience, and sustainable performance in healthcare

Holistic practices like aromatherapy, breathwork, and lifestyle medicine designed specifically for real nursing life

Stories, reflection, and coaching questions that build courage, boundaries, confidence, and clarity in your day-to-day work and life

If you’re ready to move beyond surviving shifts and start saying YES—
YES to your calling
YES to your health
YES to ethical boundaries
YES to your extraordinary self

This show will guide you—step by step—from regulation to reinvention.

All Episodes

Default to YES! Your Extraordinary Self

Reset: MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

December 21, 2024 • Juli Reynolds

0:00 | 4:47

Share Your Tips and Take-aways with me!

This guided two-minute (approximately) reset is designed to help you ground yourself and find clarity. It begins with the application of essential oils to pulse points or the substernal notch, enhancing the calming experience through aroma during deep breathing exercises. You are then guided to pause, straighten your posture, and perform a series of deep breaths, followed by mindfulness techniques that involve noticing your surroundings and textures. The exercise continues with choosing a calming word to focus on while breathing, reflecting on gratitude, and using the word 'release' as a mantra to conclude the session. This practice aims to instill a sense of calm and clarity, reminding you that you can return to this mindful state anytime throughout your day.

00:00 Introduction to the Two-Minute Reset

00:03 Applying Essential Oils for Relaxation

00:29 Grounding Yourself: Posture and Breathing

00:39 Deep Breathing Exercise

01:21 Mindfulness and Sensory Awareness

02:02 Choosing a Calming Word

02:33 Gratitude Practice

03:08 Final Release and Reset

03:18 Concluding Thoughts and Encouragement

Support the show

When you are ready, there are a few ways we can connect—each designed to meet you where you are:

CLICK HERE and get The Default to Yes newsletter, where I share weekly mindset shifts, simple nervous-system rituals, scripture-anchored reflections, practical tools for regulated living as a nurse. No overwhelm. No pressure. Just steady encouragement to keep moving forward - aligned and grounded.
If you’re looking for a steady place to land between episodes, you’re welcome to join our free Facebook community, The Regulated Nurse.
-a private space for nurses and health care professionals focused on nervous system regulation, inner clarity, and sustainable practices that help you trust yourself again—one steady step at a time.
If this episode stirred something in you and you’d like a quiet space to talk it through, you’re welcome to schedule a short 20 minute clarity call.
It’s a conversation by phone or Zoom—no pressure, no fixing—just space for what is coming up, and what you want more (or less) of. NO REGRETS Discovery Call
Let me know what it looks like when you default to YES! VOICE MESSAGE.

0:59

This is designed to be a two minute reset. If you have your essential oil with you, it'd be a good time to apply your essential oils. I like to apply to my wrists, to pulse points, or even in the substernal notch that space between your clavicles. I feel like that's a good topical application as well as the, you get the aroma when you're deep breathing during this exercise. I invite you to pause and just ground yourself for about 30 seconds. Stop whatever you're doing and place both feet flat on the floor. Straighten your posture, either sitting or standing tall, but relaxed. take a deep breath through your nose for a count of four and then hold it for two. And then you're going to exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of six. We're going to do that twice. Imagine your feet rooting into the ground, steady and supported. Take a deep breath in. Hold. And exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of six. Now take a moment just to notice your surroundings. Pick one object that is nearby and just notice its shape and its color and texture, and then listen for the faintest sound you can hear, and then the loudest, just notice the sounds around you, Feel the texture of your clothes, the surface you're touching, or the air on your skin. And we're going to choose a calming word, a phrase like calm or present or breathe. inhale silently say the word and exhale. Let it settle into your body. If your thoughts wander, gently bring them back to your breath and the word. Now I invite you to think of one thing that you're grateful for in this moment. It might not feel like a grateful moment, but hopefully you can think of something. It might be the shoes you're wearing, the coffee cup you drank out of, that this day will come to a close, that you're okay, that you're safe. Let that feeling of gratitude expand in your chest as you take one final deep breath. And now I invite you to just say, to say it with me, release, release, release. And when you're ready, enjoy this reset and continue your day Knowing that you can come back to this moment at any time, your breath is always with you. And as you go, you'll be still be smelling that aroma. Remember what it stands for. It's your reset. It's your release. It's your clarity. It's your calm. So just take another deep breath And when you're ready, enjoy this reset and return to your day with clarity and calm.