How Your Nervous System Gets Stuck In Survival Mode | Spinal Flow Explained | Isha Love EP222

Your body is constantly sending signals, but most of us have learned to ignore them. A shallow breath becomes “just stress.” A racing mind becomes “just busy.” A panic spike becomes “probably caffeine.” But what if your nervous system is trying to tell you something deeper?

In this episode, we sit down with certified Spinal Flow practitioner Isha Love to explore what really happens when the body gets stuck in survival mode and why healing is not always something you can think your way through.

We unpack:

• What Spinal Flow is and how it works
• How stress, anxiety, and trauma can live in the nervous system
• Why the body often knows the truth before the mind does
• What happens during a Spinal Flow session
• How Reiki and Biofield Tuning can support healing
• Signs your nervous system may be dysregulated
• Why safety, boundaries, and rest are essential for true healing

Isha also shares how she protects her own energy while holding space for others, and why healing is less about “fixing yourself” and more about building capacity, calm, and connection within the body.

If you’ve tried all the mindset tools and still feel stuck, overwhelmed, anxious, or disconnected, this conversation offers a grounded and compassionate look at nervous system healing and the body’s role in emotional wellbeing.

Subscribe for more conversations on healing, courage, wellbeing, and real-life transformation.

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I look forward to connecting with you Anita Mattu https://linktr.ee/AnitaMattu

Transcript

Your Body Signals Before Logic

Isha Love 0:00

Your body already told you way before your logic mind. Our body tells us, but we're not present enough to be like, oh yeah, I did have that thing, and I was, you know, having a little bit of like shallow breathing, and then, oh yeah, I'd had some overthinking there, then I had a panic attack, but I was like, oh no, it was just because I had some caffeine.

Anita Mattu 0:21

Today's guest is Isha Love, certified spinal flow practitioner, helping people reconnect with their body nervous system, focusing, healing, using spinal flow, Reiki, and bifield tuning. Welcome, Aisha. Hello. So, with that said, what is one of the most courageous things that you have done?

Isha Love 0:47

So, one of the most courageous things that I have done is challenging myself to rebuild my identity while carrying stress, a dysregulated nervous system, and choosing to work through the fear and secretly spiraling in the mess at the same time. While creating an actual niche where there's no other practitioners out there that do what I do.

Anita Mattu 1:14

Wow. That is really interesting, and I'm excited to hear all about that. So let's jump in. So, what led you personally into healing work and eventually doing spinal flow?

Isha Love 1:25

Absolutely. So I worked in corporate

Meet Aisha Love And Her Work

Isha Love 1:28

America and the stress of deadlines, the stress of the constant overwhelm, and really being in the egoic mind. So I had my ego death during the same time I started becoming a practitioner and learning about it. So not knowing that that's what I was going through, went to therapy. I tried to see what was going on with it when it was more of a spiritual situation, which I didn't know. So it taught me to have compassion with myself, but really to be like, hey, it is your nervous system, and sometimes you can't mindset your way out of it. And subconscious beliefs are really playing an important role on the back burner that you don't even know. But if you're present enough and have your mindfulness, you're able to see, like, oh, you're right, that is an outdated belief system. So I got into spinal flow because I had chronic pain myself. I um followed Dr.

Corporate Stress To Healing Path

Isha Love 2:26

Carly for five years, even before I decided to get involved, because it's not, it wasn't here in the US yet. I just saw it in the UK and so many other countries. And I was like, wow, people are actually healing their bodies. I wonder how this is gonna, you know, work for me because I've always had chronic back pain. And when I actually experienced spinal flow for myself, I am like, you have to get on the table. I can talk and rave about it all day long, but until you actually experience it yourself, no one's gonna ever have your journey.

Anita Mattu 2:54

So when did you realize your body was asking for something different? Because you were carrying all that stress.

Isha Love 3:01

When I felt that I was that capacity when nothing else worked. When you try to mindset your way out of it, you have all the tools in the toolbox, like meditation, yoga, Pilates, even medication. That's when I was like, okay, like let me look at it a different way.

Anita Mattu 3:19

For people that are listening, hearing about spinal flow for the first time, what exactly is that?

Isha Love 3:25

So spinal flow is a um gentle modality that uses touch therapy along there's 33 diff different access points from your cranium to your coccyx. And what it does is it works with your central nervous system to help basically ignite your body's flow to heal yourself. So it can be chemical like the medicine we have or the foods we eat. It can be in physical and it can also be like environmental, so like emotions and things like that. So what it does is it peels back those layers, whatever is ready to come through. So if you notice somebody's posture like this, that would be like, hey, somebody's, you know, in fight or flight mode. So you can tell a lot about a person just by posture itself. A lot of people, once they have a spinal flow session, feels like, hey, I am able to sleep better. I'm able to, you know, like I feel like I'm walking taller because it really readjusts and heals yourself. And all I'm doing

What Spinal Flow Actually Is

Isha Love 4:26

is telling your brain and meninges where to go, and your your body's and um system is healing itself. So it's just so beautiful just to watch people come home to themselves. And I say come home to yourself because a lot of people are living with so much stress in any of those three forms that we were just talking about. And when they remove that static and feel like, wow, this is me without the noise, they're like, I I didn't know how much I was really carrying. And just watching their just like eyes just light up and they're like, wow.

Anita Mattu 5:01

And like it's it is. I mean, this day and age, the amount of stress there is everyday lives, whether you've got a fast-paced job or not, everyday life, it's just stressful. And I can totally understand that. So why do you believe the nervous system is the center of all healing?

Isha Love 5:21

Because environment is so important. You can remove yourself from a toxic situation, but if you put yourself back in that situation, no matter if you've overhauled your belief systems, you've done the healing work, your body is still going to react the same way on the old program of when you may maybe weren't healed, but you have to self-regulate at that time to be like, hey, body, nervous system, we're okay, we're safe. And your body will still do the same things, and your nervous system is really running the show. Your brain is really just the uh passenger.

Anita Mattu 5:59

Yeah, that's really interesting, isn't it?

Isha Love 6:01

Yes, our our cells remember everything, so that's why it's so important like to talk kindly to ourselves

Why The Nervous System Leads

Isha Love 6:08

because our subconscious doesn't b doesn't know what it if if it's a joke or not. So they'll be like, oh, you know, I'm gonna keep that and store it in there.

Anita Mattu 6:16

Yeah, you just talked about the body holding stress and experiences that don't always have words. Can you explain that a bit more deeply?

Isha Love 6:26

Our cells hold memory. And a lot of people say, oh no, it's stored in the brain. No, it's stored in your fascia, it's stored in your cells. So it's really important, you know, to work on your nervous system, along with, you know, other things.

Anita Mattu 6:44

Yeah, absolutely, because one doesn't fit all anyway, as we all know, there's different things, and some people react better to certain things and other things don't work for them. So, yes, it's like making sure that you're available to be open as well.

Isha Love 7:01

Yes, that is so important. I tell my clients because everybody wants to say, oh, it's like this modality, oh, it's like this. And I'm like, just come up to the office, we're gonna have a quick chit-chat, everything we talk about is very this is how you are today. But when we're talking, you know, you're going to change. So just come with an open heart and just be ready and don't have any thoughts because if you assume and think about it, then you're not gonna be ready to receive. And a lot of people actually fall asleep on my table, and that is the best thing for me because it's like, hey, I'm creating a safe enough space for your nervous system to surrender fully and be like, okay. And they're like, I'm so sorry that I fell asleep. No, don't. You did the best thing for you and your body.

Anita Mattu 7:47

So, what are some signs people are stuck in survival mode without even realizing it? Because listen, day to day, we're on a hamster wheel sometimes without even realizing it.

Isha Love 7:59

Absolutely. So shallow breathing, so that would look like maybe chest breathing and not breathing through your uh diaphragm. It could be, you know, your brain's not um shutting off and you're like, man, I really went to sleep, but I didn't get any sleep. And it could look as something as like having deadlines that don't really exist, but your body is creating a timeline and forcing your body into that fight or flight mode without you knowing.

Anita Mattu 8:28

And absolutely. And you don't always realize that, do you? Because there's a lot of things that go on, and you're just used to this pattern that you do every day, day in, and until someone actually says to you, you know, have you tried this, have you done, do you realize? And yeah, it can be a series of questions before someone realizes.

Isha Love 8:49

And it's almost different for everybody. That's just like a high-level overview of like

Survival Mode Signs You Miss

Isha Love 8:54

maybe an overthinker and someone that's like, oh man, I should have done this, and then it you know carries on to the next day.

Anita Mattu 9:00

A healing should be positive, not forceful. Why is that philosophy so important to you?

Isha Love 9:07

It's so important because there's not a one-case scenario that fits all. And I know firsthand because I looked for it, right? And we're always trying to find something that's gonna work for us. And I always say, try it, see where you're at, and kind of go from there. But you can't force something that doesn't fit.

Anita Mattu 9:25

So, what happens during a session and what shifts do people commonly experience?

Isha Love 9:33

So, usually in a session, um, we do a posture check. There's seven gateways from your base all the way to your awakening gateway. And we talk about like their chief complaints. I do like a quick um posture check, and I let them know like, hey, you may have a blockage in your foundation gateway. It makes sense that you're having chief complaints, you know, for sciatica. So that may make you feel like stuck in fight or flight, and just letting them know how it feels on the emotional level. Or say somebody is like, I'm constantly getting migraines and I don't know why, but it's because they're so stressed out and they're feeling like they're taking on the weight of the world, right? So we talk about it on all aspects, not just on, you know, a healing aspect, but what they might be feeling or experiencing. But having headaches would mean you have like a blockage in your in your awaken gateway. And when we do the spinal flow, I do um

What Happens In A Session

Isha Love 10:32

some breath work before we actually get settled, just to shake up the nervous system and allow them to be like, hey, this is your time for you. Take this hour. Don't worry about what's going on out there, just leave it on the table. That's what I say. And I also say, you know, go to your happy place, wherever that is, whether it's on this world, maybe it's in the forest or the ocean. And I actually take it a step further and I put on some headphones just so they can tune out whatever is going on, because we don't know what's gonna happen, like in an office. Like I have neighbors, right? And, you know, I put on some Zen music so that they're within their own container. And that's when I start the spinal flow when I start on the coccyx. So what happens is there's touch points and it ignites your cerebral fluid up and down. So think of your spine like a two-way streak. If you have a blockage, it means you have it basically like a kink toes. You're not getting optimal flow. It doesn't mean you're not getting any. It just means we want to make sure that you're getting, you know, the best bullet you can get because then you can start healing yourself. So what happens is um after, you know, their session, I do ask them to, you know, just take a moment on the table to get their grant their 3D legs back because you really go on a journey and each journey is different each time. And it almost makes it feel like surreal. Like when I actually did it myself, when I was at, you know, being trained with it, I did fall off the table because you're like so happy to be like, oh my gosh, I feel so good. And then you're like, oh wow, definitely don't have my putting, you know? So I just allow them their 10 minutes to just be in that bliss. And then, you know, I have so many different like right now, I have seven different Google reviews, and I encourage people to share their experience because maybe somebody is going through the same thing. So my most recent client was like, Oh my gosh, I had the best sleep, I'm in complete joy, like I'm just I feel so good. And she's they're like, I want to tell everybody about you.

Anita Mattu 12:38

And that's the thing. Yes, when when it works, people do, you know, it's your calling card. Absolutely. And once we feel good, we do want to share it because we want that for everybody. Yes.

Isha Love 12:51

But it's nice for to hear from other people versus me being like, It's amazing, you have to try it, I promise you.

Anita Mattu 12:56

Absolutely. Yes. So how do Reiki um biofield tuning complement the spinal flow work you do?

Isha Love 13:08

Absolutely. So with biofuel tuning, it works like it's tuning forks. It works with your auric field, and then Reiki is energy just like either hands-on or hands-off, universal life force energy. So I either do all three or usually it's two at a time. So say if somebody had like just gotten into like a car accident and they came to me and they're like, I have a concussion. I wouldn't be using the tuning forks because it may disrupt their nervous system, right? So Reiki would be a better alternative because it will help their body accelerate with like healing and things like that, and give them that extra like sense of bliss of like, huh, I can just relax and let their body heal. Um, when I do all three, it's really when you're wanting to balance your mind, body, and spirit. And sometimes I do all three because that's what the client needs. Um, and the reason why I

Reiki And Biofield Tuning Added

Isha Love 14:03

I took it that way is because in this day and age, we're always working with one thing. Usually people are like, oh, I'm gonna work on, you know, my muscles and get a massage, and then they forget, like, hey, you know, not just you need to work on the physical, we need to work on our spiritual body and our mental body. And we're like, oh yeah. And sometimes we're not growing simultaneously in all three pillars. So I was like, okay, I'm going to help people with that without them even knowing, really. But I I educate them once they come to the office of the why.

Anita Mattu 14:37

Yeah. And that's so interesting, isn't it? Yeah. So how much of your work is intuitive versus structural techniques?

Isha Love 14:47

So the structural technique is completely spinal flow. That is, um, Dr. Crawley created it. She's a uh doctor in Australia who I studied with. So I use her methodology, and then everything else is intuitive when it comes to like the Reiki and the biofilm tuning. So I do quantum Reiki. So in the event, say somebody came to me and they're like, hey, I am going to therapy. I have, you know, tried all these different modalities, even medications, and they're like, I'm still hitting a roadblock with the same type of thing. And sometimes, intuitively speaking, it could be because there would maybe another lifetime. And if something does come up in a session that I can see, I'll ask, like, hey, I noticed there's a blockage in your throat chakra. Do you want to visit that? I'm seeing it's coming from maybe a past life. I don't get to see everything. I just get an inner knowing and I say, Do you want to know or not? And they say yes or no. If not, I just let it go away, right? And nine times out of ten, they're like, no, let's go ahead and do that healing section in this period so that I can go ahead and reintroduce myself into the world or whatever they need to do. And it's just so profound because I had a client that was like, Yeah, I do have a throat thing and I'm gonna actually um have surgery. And not only that, they're like, my daughter also has the same thing. And I was like, Well, it makes sense why it's not only, you know, from another lifetime, but now it's ancestral. I was like, Got it.

Anita Mattu 16:23

That's so interesting, isn't it?

Isha Love 16:25

It really is. I mean, you never know.

Anita Mattu 16:28

Yeah, the body does hold generational things from way back, yeah. It's the most emotional baggage, so to speak.

Isha Love 16:38

I always say the body keeps the score.

Anita Mattu 16:40

Yeah, yeah, the body keeps the score, definitely. Yeah. Why are people becoming more open to nervous system healing and holistic approaches?

Isha Love 16:50

I feel like, and this is just like on a grander scale, I feel like everybody is like firing their therapist and going to life coaches because the old system doesn't work. So the same thing with doctors. They're like, hey, we want to give you this stuff, and it's no longer client-facing. They we're people, and we want to be treated with that love and compassion, like you know, back in the old days. You would go to the doctor and it was the root cause, not you know, putting a band-aid on it. So, really, I feel like everybody's seeking out more of a holistic approach because we want to feel better. We don't just want a band-aid.

Anita Mattu 17:25

And then how do you personally take care of your own nervous system while holding the space for others? Because that must be challenging as well.

Isha Love 17:33

So, yes, absolutely. I am very in tune with energy in general. So I have to make sure my energetic boundaries are in force. I do believe in what I teach my students is, you know, your energy is your life force

Self-Care While Holding Space

Isha Love 17:50

energy, and we're responsible for the energy that we put out. And if I'm going through something, you know, you can't elbow to elbow not knowing, you know, transfer energy. That's that's just energy is energy, and it's always gonna be that way. So I do have to take my step back and do my meditation, do my belief work, do my journaling, do my shadow work. Like it's a constantly ever-evolving thing, it doesn't stop. So when people are like, oh, I'm healed, yeah, absolutely you're healed. Now you have the tools, but now you actually have to do the work and keep revisiting it.

Anita Mattu 18:25

That's right, absolutely. What has this work taught you about the body's ability to heal?

Isha Love 18:32

It has taught me that the body is always listening, and the bot one the body will heal itself if you give it the space and the right environment to do so.

Anita Mattu 18:44

And it's so true. It's about listening to our bodies as well. How often do we not we know things we can it one great thing I always say, it'll keep repeating it until you actually listen.

Isha Love 18:55

Absolutely. And nine times out of ten, your body already told you way before your logic mind, our body tells us, but we're not present enough to be like, oh yeah, I did have that thing, and I was, you know, having a little bit of like shallow breathing, and then oh yeah, I had some overthinking there. Then I had a panic attack, but I was like, oh no, it was just because I had some caffeine.

Anita Mattu 19:19

Yeah, there's always another, you know, that there's always the surface, and then there's the deep down work.

Isha Love 19:25

Right. And it's okay to be like, hey, we have to radically accept that sometimes

What Healing Feels Like Now

Isha Love 19:31

things come up and be like, oh wow, okay, this is mine. I'm not owning that. That's a projection. Okay, this is mine.

Anita Mattu 19:38

Yeah, that's right. And it does, it depends on how you deal with things as well. And let's be honest, like the world is so fast-paced, there's a lot of stress in it, and we're running from one thing to another, if not reading all the time, sometimes the rubbish online, you know, we've got to do what we can to make it the best. So, what does true healing feel like now for you?

Isha Love 20:07

You know what? True healing, I don't feel like there's ever gonna be true healing. I feel like that if you can get to a place where you feel secure within yourself and you're able to move through the world without taking on the weight of the world, you are doing God's work. Because it is so easy to get wrapped up into other people's things, and then you notice you're starting to carry it, and then you know what I mean? So taking that step back to be like, hey, I can be here for you with compassion, but I don't have to take it on.

Anita Mattu 20:46

So, what kind of clients do you work with? Is there any particular ones or just anyone?

Isha Love 20:51

I work with everyone from uh the whole family, from a baby to you can be pregnant, you can be in a wheelchair to your four-leggeds. So if you're like, I have an animal that needs spinal flow, I've actually did it on my dog. She had passed away last year, but she had cancer, and we did give her, you know, spinal flow, and it helped her with her pain levels because she started rejecting just the uh medication that the vet gave her, and she was like even not eating. So I had to go to the extremities of like cooking her chicken and rice because she was like, Nope, mom, I don't like that dog food, absolutely not. So, you know, we have to be in tune with our pets too, because sometimes they're telling us when something's not right, and sure enough, she had an allergic reaction to that dog food, and I was like, Okay, thank you for letting me know.

Anita Mattu 21:40

Yeah, that makes so much sense, doesn't it?

Isha Love 21:42

Yeah.

Anita Mattu 21:43

And they say animals have more senses than we do.

Isha Love 21:46

So true, so true.

Anita Mattu 21:48

So what would you say to someone who feels exhausted, disconnected, or overwhelmed

Who She Helps Including Pets

Anita Mattu 21:53

right now?

Isha Love 21:53

If somebody said they're exhausted or overwhelmed, I would say I am totally understand how it feels to feel that way. And you're okay to feel those feelings, but if you're open to share about it, you know, let's talk about it. Because maybe they just want to be heard. Maybe they just, you know, want somebody to listen to them. Or maybe they they need something that they don't know they need, right?

Anita Mattu 22:16

So if there was one key takeaway you want every listener to walk away with with today, what would that be?

Isha Love 22:22

It's okay to sacredly spiral because sometimes we know we we don't need the things that we thought we did. And it's okay to have compassion and be like, hey, this isn't working for me. What else is out there? And to keep finding what it is that aligns with you.

Anita Mattu 22:38

So where can the listeners find you online and connect with the your work?

Isha Love 22:43

So you can find me on every platform if you just look up Isha Love1111 from TikTok to Facebook to Instagram. And then

Sacredly Spiralling And Next Steps

Isha Love 22:54

if you were in the Tucson area or in Arizona or just closer, you can always look at my website too, which is onahathaspinalflow.com.

Anita Mattu 23:03

And all the links will be in the show notes. So listeners, please do go ahead and connect. And that'll be a fantastic conversation to be having.

Isha Love 23:12

Absolutely. And not to mention, like if you're somebody that's like, hey, I need a journal out there and there's nothing that gets me, I did create some journals that are on Amazon that meet you in the in the sacred, what I call the sacred mess, because sometimes we don't need, we're shedding the things we no longer need. And everybody talks about just light and love, but it's not always light and love. So I work in corporate America still, and I know how it is to have the deadlines to, you know, have to meet certain things. And sometimes we just want somebody to meet us. So those journals actually become your sacred portal so that you can journal and sacredly spiral with humor. You've written quite a few books, haven't you? Yes. I have about five different containers from someone that's maybe starting out journaling to someone who's like, hey, I really want to get to know like myself in a past life. So that that one's called like, I believe it's like a quantum journey writing across lifetimes.

Anita Mattu 24:14

Yeah, because all the links will be in the show notes and they'll be good to use, definitely.

Isha Love 24:20

Absolutely. And they're cute. Like this is one of them. Like you're going to pick your journal up every single day because it's in your face. It's not something that you hide and it just kind of blends in with everything else.

Anita Mattu 24:33

And that's the beauty of it, because you want to do it.

Isha Love 24:35

Right, absolutely. And it's beautiful. I go back and I reread my my journal all the time, whether it's my dream journal or just my journal in general. I'm like, oh wow. I remember that. And I give myself so much love. And you learn something new sometimes when you revisit things.

Anita Mattu 24:53

For sure.

Isha Love 24:53

I do appreciate being on your show. It's definitely a pleasure.

Anita Mattu 24:57

And thank you so much for sharing your insightful wisdom and your knowledge with us today. And by doing so, you have helped so many people better understand their bodies, reconnect with themselves, and create lasting change in their health and well-being. I truly want to acknowledge you for the difference you're making. Isha Love.

Isha Love 25:19

Thank you so much.

Anita Mattu 25:21

We are all about create the courage to be fearless podcaster. What is your definition of courage?

Isha Love 25:27

Courage to me is acknowledging that you may have fear, but working through it anyway. Because at the end of the day, you're all nothing's gonna look the same for anybody, and nobody's gonna be going through your journey, but you still have to keep continuing. And having the courage to face whatever comes at you and still keeping your autonomy and your belief system intact is so important.