S3 Ep. 128: Alexi Neal | Rebuilding the Mind-Body Relationship in Motherhood

TL;DR Somatic healer Alexi Neal shares how pregnancy and birth reshaped her relationship with her body—and how nervous system work, rest, and self-trust transformed her postpartum experience.

Trusting the Body Again: How Somatic Healer Alexi Neal Found Her Power Through Motherhood

For somatic healer Alexi Neal, motherhood didn’t just challenge her—it completely transformed her.

Before having kids, Alexi had already completed thousands of hours in yoga therapy, trauma-informed healing, and nervous system work. She understood the science of the body. But when her first pregnancy arrived—alongside debilitating pelvic pain, a medicalized birth she didn’t feel fully informed about, and the exhausting demands of new motherhood—she found herself feeling totally disconnected from the very body she’d worked so hard to understand.

“I had to rebuild a relationship,” she shared. “I really had to start from the ground up.”

What Is Somatic Work—and Why Does It Matter in Motherhood?

Somatic work focuses on the nervous system and how the body communicates with the brain. As Alexi explains, 80% of our nervous system signals go from the body to the brain—not the other way around. That means physical sensations, posture, breath, and movement deeply influence how we think, feel, and function.

For moms? This is everything.

Through her practice, Alexi helps women reconnect with their physical bodies—not just to feel better, but to rebuild self-trust, process trauma, and reclaim their voice in decision-making during pregnancy and postpartum.

“It’s not about fixing something. It’s about creating a new relationship with your body, built on trust and conversation.”

From a Medicalized Birth to a Healing Home Birth

Alexi’s first birth ended in a 37-week induction that left her feeling physically depleted and emotionally untethered. She struggled to advocate for herself, second-guessed her intuition, and felt isolated in early motherhood.

Her second time around, she made a radical shift: choosing a home birth and prioritizing rest and nourishment in postpartum.

And the difference? Night and day.

From midwives who sat with her in hard moments, to a postpartum plan rooted in slow living and nervous system repair, Alexi gave herself the support she needed to feel empowered—not just as a mom, but as a human.

She says it best:

“I felt better two weeks postpartum with my second than I did months into postpartum with my first.”

Rest Is Radical—And You Deserve It

One of the most powerful takeaways from this episode is the importance of postpartum rest. Alexi embraced the “5-5-5” model: five days in bed, five days on the bed, five days near the bed. She had a postpartum doula, friends who helped with food and laundry, and a strong boundary around her physical and emotional energy.

And still? She had to fight the voice in her head telling her it was “too indulgent.”

But that’s exactly the point. As moms, we’ve been conditioned to downplay our needs. Embracing rest, community care, and nervous system support isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Words for the Mom Trying to Reconnect

Whether you’re navigating anxiety, a tough postpartum, or just feel disconnected from your body,

Alexi’s message is simple:

You are not broken. Your body is not wrong.This is a relationship—and like all relationships, it can be rebuilt.

Connect with Alexi

• Website: soulfullsomatics.com

• Instagram: @soulful.alexi

somatic healing, postpartum rest, mind-body connection, home birth story, nervous system work, yoga therapy for moms, maternal intuition, trauma-informed healing, rebuilding self-trust postpartum, empowered birth stories, the mama making podcast, motherhood, motherhood podcast, parenting podcast, postpartum, pregnancy, parenthood