Letters to You: January 18, 2026

When Your Body Feels Like a Stranger After the Holidays

Dear You (sleeping with that stranger),

I know how you’re feeling right now. You look in the mirror and your body feels unfamiliar. Your clothes fit differently. When you move, things feel... off. Heavy. Sluggish. Wrong.

The holidays changed something, and you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you don’t feel at home in your own skin anymore. Although, I have a sneaking suspicion it was all the travel, booze and food, just saying.

Maybe it’s physical: weight gain, bloating, that general sense of inflammation that makes everything feel puffy and uncomfortable.

Maybe it’s energetic: you’re exhausted in a way that sleep doesn’t seem to fix.

Maybe it’s emotional: you feel disconnected from yourself, like you’ve been performing for weeks and forgot who you actually are underneath all the roles you play.

Or maybe it’s all of it at once.

Here’s what I want you to know: this feeling of strangeness isn’t permanent, and it doesn’t mean you’ve ruined everything.

Your body isn’t a stranger, it’s just stressed. And stress makes everything feel different, because stress changes how your nervous system processes sensation.

When your nervous system is overwhelmed, your proprioception (your sense of your body in space) gets disrupted. This literally makes you feel disconnected from your physical self. It’s neurological.

The good news? Intentional movement is one of the fastest ways to rebuild that connection.

Not punishing exercise to “fix” your body. Not aggressive workouts to reverse holiday damage. But gentle, aware movement that helps you feel like yourself again.

This is what reset actually means; reconnecting to your body with curiosity instead of criticism.

Start small. Ten minutes of gentle stretching where you actually pay attention to sensation. A slow walk where you notice how your body moves. A Pilates session where you focus on breath and control rather than performance.

You’re not starting from zero. You’re just a little out of practice at feeling like yourself, and that’s okay.

Your body isn’t a stranger. It’s just waiting for you to come home to it.

And that journey back starts with gentle attention, not harsh demands.

You’ve got this. One breath, one movement, one moment of reconnection at a time.

Thanks for being here!