Nervous System Nourishment: Holiday Survival with Soul & Science with Dr. Lara May

Light Body Radiopodcast

Dec 2

Written By Lara May

Welcome back to Light Body Radio!

The holiday season carries a unique energy—one that blends joy, celebration, nostalgia, pressure, overstimulation, family dynamics, and endless to-do lists. For many of us, it’s a beautiful time of year… and also the moment our nervous system becomes overwhelmed, depleted, or pushed beyond its limits.

In this week’s Wellness Illuminated episode, Dr. Lara May invites you into a restorative conversation about caring for your nervous system during the holidays—from both the functional medicine perspective and the energetic, emotional, and soul-level perspective.

Because true holiday well-being is more than self-care tips or supplements.
It’s about understanding how your body responds to stress, how your energy field absorbs the world around you, and how your mindset shapes the way you experience every moment.
**Why Your Nervous System Needs Extra Support During the Holidays**
Even if we love this season, our bodies can interpret holiday stressors as *threats*:
• packed schedules
• disrupted routines
• heavier meals
• financial pressure
• social expectations
• emotional triggers
• travel stress
• family dynamics
In functional medicine, we know that constant stimulation—lights, noise, sugar, caffeine, late nights—activates the sympathetic nervous system, pushing us into “fight or flight” mode more often than we realize.
Energetically, we may absorb other people’s stress, emotions, or expectations, leaving us drained or disconnected from ourselves.
This episode helps you understand *both sides* of the stress equation—physiology and energy—and empowers you with tools you can use instantly.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Dr. Lara guides you through an integrated approach to seasonal wellness, including:

Functional Medicine Strategies

How holiday foods impact your cortisol, blood sugar, and mood
Ways to support your gut, liver, and adrenals through the season
Supplements and lifestyle shifts that help you stay steady and clear

Nervous System Regulation Tools

How to downshift into parasympathetic calm
Simple practices to anchor your body when you feel overstimulated
Breathwork and grounding techniques you can use anywhere—even in the bathroom at a holiday party

Energetic & Emotional Awareness

How to protect your energy in crowded or emotionally charged environments
Signs you’re absorbing other people’s stress
How to honor your intuition when you need a pause, a boundary, or a reset

Soul-Level Support

Reconnecting with what you truly want to feel this season
How presence, gratitude, and heart-coherence reshape your experience
The importance of giving yourself permission to rest

A Season of Nourishment, Not Depletion

The holidays are meant to be meaningful—not exhausting.
This episode is your reminder that you don’t have to abandon yourself to meet expectations or maintain traditions.

You can stay grounded.
You can stay connected.
You can choose calm, spaciousness, and joy—even when life feels full.

Dr. Lara offers practical tools, compassionate insights, and energy-healing wisdom to help you navigate the season with more ease, intention, and alignment.

Listen Now

If you’re craving a gentler holiday experience—one that supports your body, honors your energy, and nourishes your soul—this episode is your guide.

Tune in to “Nervous System Nourishment: Holiday Survival with Soul & Science” and discover how to move through the season with clarity, balance, and inner peace.

About Dr. Lara May:

**DR. LARA MAY**

is an Advanced Practice Clinical Pharmacist who specializes in getting to the root cause of disease via functional medicine. Due to her struggle with her own health, Lara started studying & practicing functional medicine in 2017.
Dr. Lara’s passion & mission is to empower patients to take an active role in their health, so that they can create their health on their terms. It was during the COVID pandemic that Lara decided to focus on helping type 2 diabetics understand and reverse their disease, after she witnessed the increased death rates as a consequence of diabetes as a comorbidity.
Type 2 diabetes is completely preventable and reversible, yet its numbers are growing every year.
Dr. Lara believes that if patients are given the tools and knowledge they will make the right decisions for their health.

Contact Dr. Lara:

Email: laramay@drlaramay.com

Podcast Website: https://drlaramay.podbean.com/

Website: https://drlaramay.com

Social media: @drlaramay on IG, FB & Twitter

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drlaramay

Tiktok: @drlaramayfxnmed

Spotify: @LightBodyRadio

Apple Podcast: @LightBodyRadio

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Hi, I'm Lara!

(pronounced like Sarah, but with a L)

Are you ready to lose weight, reduce stress, and reinvigorate your life?! Together let’s uncover your motivators for change, and turn your vision for your vibrant future into your new reality.

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