WHAT IS THE TONIC APPROACH?

The Tonic Approach is a systems-level practice for nervous system regulation that rewires your body’s stress response to get to the root of anxiety and burnout.

The Tonic Approach is practical, body-first nervous system regulation. It helps resolve anxiety and burnout by retraining your body’s stress response—so you can feel steadier, sleep better, and get your life back.
If Rolfing is like having someone do yoga for you, the Tonic Approach is like having someone teach your body how to downshift. You’ll learn simple sensing and movement practices that calm your system and expand your capacity, without forcing or pushing through.
What it looks like
The Tonic Approach blends elements that might remind you of physical therapy, mindfulness, and gentle movement—but it’s none of those exactly. We work with small, specific inputs (breath, pressure, orientation, micro-movements) that help your nervous system register safety and choice. When your system detects safety, it can stop bracing and start rebalancing.
You’ll sometimes hear “nervous system work” described as relaxation techniques. This goes deeper. We’re not just trying to relax; we’re teaching your body to regulate—so it can shift out of survival mode when the moment has passed.
What we’re working with: your stress response
Your stress response is the set of automatic patterns—fight, flight, freeze, fawn—that kick in to keep you safe. When those patterns get stuck “on,” you feel it as anxiety, burnout, chronic tension, brain fog, poor sleep, and exhaustion. By giving your system the right signals in the right order, we help it repattern toward steadiness.
Think of it this way: your nervous system is the body’s operating system. The Tonic Approach updates the settings that determine how you respond to pressure, so you have more options than “on edge” or “checked out.”
The goal of the Tonic Approach
We aim to increase regulation and capacity—so you can handle life with less overwhelm and more ease. As your baseline steadiness improves, symptoms like anxiety, tension, and fatigue often decrease. Daily things get easier: sleep, focus, social time, boundaries, and recovery after stressful events.
Why patterns get stuck
Life leaves marks. Long seasons of stress, illness, injury, burnout, or high-pressure roles can teach your system that “on alert” is the safest place to live. Over time, that becomes a habit your body runs automatically. The Tonic Approach helps you unlearn those habits and install new ones that support rest, responsiveness, and resilience.
Client experience
“Sukie, you’ve healed me! I laugh m

Form and function, nervous-system style
Form (your postures, breath patterns, and micro-tensions) shapes function (how you feel and respond). And function (how you move through stress) reshapes form. For example, if you’ve been bracing your belly and holding your breath for years, your system may treat normal emails like emergencies. As we restore easier breath, orientation, and movement options, your body stops bracing for impact—and your reactions change.
What results feel like
As regulation improves, people often report:
• More steadiness and fewer spikes
 • Easier breathing and better sleep
 • Less tension in the jaw, neck, and shoulders
 • Clearer thinking and more social capacity
 • Quicker recovery after stress
Who it helps
The Tonic Approach is especially effective for:
• Anxiety and burnout
 • Chronic tension and stress-related pain patterns
 • Sleep issues tied to stress
 • Post-stress recovery after demanding seasons
It’s also supportive for athletes, creatives, leaders, and caregivers who want durable resilience—perform well without running on fumes.
Ready to get started?

At its core, this work is about coming home to yourself.
You’ve probably heard the term nervous system regulation. It’s useful — but what we’re really talking about is something bigger: a reclamation.
When you’ve lived in survival mode for too long, you lose touch with who you are. Your body gets locked in tension, your energy drains, and your sense of self feels far away. My work gives you a way back.
I call it a systems-level approach because it isn’t about fixing one symptom or chasing quick relief. Instead, we work with the underlying patterns in your body — through movement, sensory awareness, and systems thinking — so your biology and your identity realign.
The result? You feel like yourself again. Not the version running on fumes. The version who can laugh, rest, move, connect, and actually live.

This work isn’t another method. It’s a principle-based approach grounded in movement, sensory awareness, and systems thinking. Methods come and go — principles endure.