A Tonic for the Body is Healing. A Tonic for the Soul is Wholing
Salud, Salute, Vitalité, L’Chaim!
The Latin root of “Salute!” is Salus. It means health, safety, well-being, and even wholeness. It’s where we get words like salvation, a word that doesn’t just speak to healing, but to the soul’s return to self.
So, when you invoke Salus, you’re not just raising a glass. You’re offering a tonic to your soul and a whisper to your nervous system that says, “You’re safe now. You can soften.”
A tonic is something that restores, strengthens, and nourishes. It’s not a quick fix. It’s a slow sip. A ritual. A return. And appreciation, when felt deeply and consistently, does that too.
Your Nervous System Knows More Than You Know
Nine years ago, my life cracked wide open. I fled a marriage that felt like a freefall from abuser rock.
My nerves were frayed by shock, fear, anger, and overwhelm. I questioned everything including my worth, my choices, my future. The ground beneath me wasn’t just shaky. It was gone. I tried all the things from distraction to spiritual bypassing (though I didn't know it at the time). None of it landed. I wasn’t soothed or grounded.
Can you relate to feeling like you're doing all the work, but your body is bracing for impact?
What I didn’t know then was that my nervous system was screaming for safety from decades of trauma. My mind wanted peace, but my body was holding on to the emotions, experiences, and angst. They weren’t just passing through. They were living in me.
And then I found appreciation.
That was the beginning of my rebirth, and it can be for you too.
Why Your Nervous System Needs Appreciation
Science shows us that trauma and anxiety don’t just live in our memories. They live in our tissues, in every cell of our body, disrupting sleep and raising stress hormones (cortisol belly, anyone?). The book The Body Keeps the Score explains it clearly: the body remembers what the mind tries to forget.
There’s a metaphor in that book I love about the rider and the horse. Your mind is the rider. It's logical, trying to steer. But your body is the horse, powerful, instinctual, holding the memory. And if the horse is spooked, the rider can’t do a thing. (Funny thing, I’ve always loved horses, been thrown of many times, and there's nothing like the smell of a barn ... but I digress.)
This is where appreciation comes in. Appreciation helps regulate the nervous system. It speaks to the horse. It calms the body when the mind is spinning. It creates a felt sense of safety. And that’s where healing begins
Appreciation Is a Badass Tonic in Three Ways
Appreciation done The Badass Way is a full-body recalibration. When practiced deeply and consistently, it becomes a tonic, that is, something that restores, strengthens, and nourishes. And for women in midlife who are done performing and ready to feel, it’s a badass move toward wholeness.
For the body, appreciation downshifts your nervous system from fight-or-flight into rest-and-restore. It lowers cortisol, softens chronic tension, and creates measurable harmony between your heart and brain. When your body feels safe, it stops bracing and starts healing.
For the soul, appreciation reconnects you to what’s still sacred, even in the mess. It invites badass presence, not perfection. It honors the now and not the someday, not the should-be, but the beauty already here.
For the mind, appreciation rewires your brain through neuroplasticity. It interrupts spirals of fear, comparison, and scarcity. It builds resilience, not by bypassing pain, but by anchoring you in what’s real. It’s not just a vibe. It’s a badass neurological shift.
Your Invitation: Start Today
Appreciation isn’t a performance; it’s a practice. It’s not about sounding enlightened or checking boxes. It’s about feeling the truth of what’s still good, still sacred, still yours. I’ll keep repeating these guidelines because they work. The Badass Method really works.
Each morning, as soon as you wake up and before the world rushes in, list what you appreciate. It’s okay if it’s small. It’s okay if it’s hokey.
“I appreciate the sun streaming through the window.” And then FEEL the joy of that warmth, that glow, that miracle of the sun.
“I appreciate the quiet.” And then SAVOR the calm, the serenity, the pause.
“I appreciate the noise.” And then smile at the signs of life all around you.
“I appreciate that I’m alive.” Does this need any explanation?
The only rule? You have to mean it. No gap between your heart and your words. No ego stepping in with roadblocks or comparisons. Just you, your breath, and the beauty that’s already present.
Because when you start to feel, savor, cultivate, hone, honor, and live in appreciation, everything begins to shift.
Will you find healing overnight? In our fast-paced world, that's the lure and the lie. Healing and wholing take time.
For now, give your nervous system the appreciation tonic it’s been craving.
Salud. Salute. Vitalité. L’Chaim. To Life.
Your Turn
Appreciation isn’t passive—it’s power. What moved you? Who can you gift this to as a reminder that joy doesn’t need permission?
