Why Healing Begins With Gentle SIPS™
- Brainz Magazine
- Dec 8
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Drawing on her own healing journey through cancer, Sarah Hurst is a coach and creator of the Mind Medicine Movement™, helping people calm the nervous system, reconnect to themselves, and take back their power to heal body, mind, and soul.
Most people believe healing begins with doing something. A plan, a treatment, a strategy, a list. We’re taught that if we can stay productive, keep moving forward, and do all the right things, healing will follow. But in my experience, both personally and with my clients, the opposite is often true. Healing begins in the moment we slow down enough to listen.
Because when the body is rushing, gripping, bracing, or surviving, there is no space for anything new to grow. Slowing down isn’t laziness or giving up. It’s the first medicine. It is the doorway to every part of the healing journey.
This is why the first pillar of my SIPS™ framework is Slow Down. Without it, the others simply can’t take root.
Slow down – The first sip of healing
Slowing down sounds simple, but for many of us, it’s the hardest thing to do. We live in a world that praises movement, achievement, and constant doing. Even in illness or emotional overwhelm, people often feel pressure to keep going, hold everything together, and stay “strong”.
But the nervous system can only heal in safety. And safety comes from slowness, softness, breath.
When we slow down, our breath drops, our muscles soften, and the mind begins to quieten. We create space between our thoughts and space in our body. In that space, we access the deeper parts of ourselves that we ignore when we are rushing.
Slowing down is the moment we come back into our body. It’s when we notice how we really feel, what we truly need, and what our intuition has been whispering under all the noise. Without this step, everything else, understanding who we are now, discovering purpose, and nurturing self-love, becomes almost impossible.
Slow down first. Everything else grows from there.
Identity – Who you tell your body you are
Identity isn’t just who we think we are. Identity is who our body believes we are.
The words we use, even silently, shape our internal world. When someone repeatedly says “I have cancer”, “I’m broken”, or “I can’t cope”, the body receives those phrases like instructions. The nervous system contracts, the mind loops in fear, and healing feels further away.
In Shadow Work, we speak of the Victim archetype, a very understandable response when life has become overwhelming. Its alchemised form, the empowered version of this same energy, is the Warrior. Not a warrior who fights relentlessly, but the part of us that stands tall, finds courage, and believes in the possibility of healing.
You don’t have to call yourself a warrior. But you will feel the qualities of empowerment grow as you soften the parts of you that feel helpless.
Identity expands when we slow down long enough to ask:
Who am I becoming?
Who do I choose to be?
What story do I want my body to hear?
When identity shifts from fear to possibility, the body responds. Muscles loosen, breath deepens, and hope returns to the space where fear once lived.
Purpose – Where hope lives
Purpose is one of the most powerful healing forces we have, and yet it’s often misunderstood. People imagine it needs to be something big, impressive, or world-changing. But purpose is usually simple, quiet, and deeply personal.
Purpose is the thing that reminds us why healing matters. It’s the spark that keeps us moving forward. It’s the anchor that steadies us through uncertainty.
And purpose cannot be found in the rush of survival mode. It appears in the spaces we create when we slow down.
This is where glimmers come in, the tiny, barely-there moments when something in your body says, “Ah… this feels good. This feels safe.”
A soft light through the window. A cup of tea warming your hands. A kind word. A breath that settles your whole chest. A moment when you feel even slightly more like yourself.
Glimmers are the nervous system’s way of showing you what brings meaning, peace, and joy. They are micro-moments of purpose. When we notice them, something inside us lifts. Hope returns. Healing becomes possible.
Purpose grows from glimmers. Hope grows from purpose. And healing grows from both.
Self-love – The gentle foundation
Self-love is often spoken about as something fluffy or indulgent, but in healing it is essential. Self-love is the moment you ask your body what it needs and actually listen. It’s treating yourself with the same tenderness you offer to others. It’s creating boundaries, choosing rest, and allowing yourself to be human.
And self-love becomes possible only when we slow down. If we are always rushing, we miss the chance to offer ourselves kindness.
Self-love is not a destination. It’s a practice. A gentle daily choice. A soft returning.
Healing begins with gentle SIPS™
This is the heart of the Mind Medicine Movement™. Healing doesn’t require force or intensity. It does not require perfection. It requires presence, compassion, and small, steady sips.
Slow Down
Identity
Purpose
Self-Love
Each one is powerful on its own, but together they create a pathway back to yourself. A way to step out of fear and into healing. A way to live more softly, more consciously, and more connected.
Healing begins in the moments we allow ourselves to pause. Healing begins when we choose a new identity. Healing begins when we follow glimmers of hope. Healing begins with gentle sips.
Your invitation for this week
Take one sip. Just one. Pause for one minute each day. Place a hand on your heart. Feel your breath. Notice how you speak to yourself. Look for one glimmer.
And ask quietly:
“What do I need right now?”
Let that be your sip.
The rest will grow from there.
Read more from Sarah Hurst
Sarah Hurst, Coach and Creator of the Mind Medicine Movement™
After walking her own path through cancer, Sarah Hurst discovered that true healing isn’t just physical, it’s emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal. She went on to create the Mind Medicine Movement™, helping others calm their nervous systems, rediscover purpose, and reconnect with themselves through her SIPS™ framework: Slow Down, Identity, Purpose, Self-Love. Today, Sarah supports people living with or beyond cancer and anyone seeking calm, clarity, and wellness through her coaching, meditation, and touch therapy practice in Hove, East Sussex. She also offers an online coaching service.
