Dr Carla Atkinson PhD - Remedial Massage and Functional Health

28/01/2026

Isn’t it interesting how we often come to know who we are
by first meeting what we’re not?

It’s often in our reactions - not our ideals - that something becomes clear.

In moments where we feel rushed, contracted, disconnected, or out of alignment.

Those feelings are messages.

They show us where we’re moving from fear instead of clarity.
From urgency instead of intuition.
From protection instead of presence.

This shows up in our relationships.
In our work.
And even in our bodies.

Sometimes the body tightens before it teaches us what ease feels like.

Sometimes dissonance arrives before coherence.

It orients us.

Self-understanding emerges through lived moments - in how we react, pause, and choose.

Often, it comes from noticing:
This isn’t me.
And letting what is reveal itself in the space that follows.

Clarity doesn’t always arrive as an answer.
Sometimes it arrives as contrast.

—
This kind of discernment - learning to recognise what isn’t you so what is can emerge - is one aspect of the work we explore inside Align. Not through fixing, but through creating the space to listen more honestly.

21/01/2026

I’ve been reflecting on the difference between impulse and intuition - because they’re sometimes confused.

Both are felt.
Both arrive as an inner signal.
And both can create a sense of knowing.

The difference isn’t whether we feel something.
It’s how our system is holding that signal.

When the nervous system is under strain - emotionally, relationally, or biochemically - impulse often carries urgency.

There’s a pull to act.
To respond.
To manage, correct, or anticipate.

That urgency can easily be interpreted as intuition.

Especially for sensitive people who naturally read the room, feel subtle shifts, and pick up on what isn’t being said.

In those states, awareness can turn inward and self-referential:

What does this mean?
How am I being perceived?
Do I need to do something about this?

…because our system is prioritising safety and attunement.

I see this happen in excess when copper is dysregulated.

Copper can heighten perception and emotional sensitivity.

It can amplify relational awareness.
And it can increase the sense that something needs to be responded to.

So the signal isn’t false -
but it’s filtered through urgency and self-monitoring.

When our system is more supported and balanced, the experience changes.

We still perceive.
We still feel.
But the urgency drops away.

What remains doesn’t push or pull.
It doesn’t need to manage how it lands.
It doesn’t ask for immediate action.

That’s the difference.

Impulse feels compelling.
Intuition feels spacious.

One is charged with concern.
The other carries quiet certainty and knowing.

For me, this has been a reminder that intuition isn’t something we need to access or amplify.

It’s what becomes available
when our system no longer has to stay on high alert,
and awareness no longer revolves around protecting or managing the self.

17/01/2026

Over the years I’ve come to recognise that I naturally spot patterns, seek truths, and think independently.

I have a way of holding context and exploring complexity so people can sense what applies to them - and trust what feels true in their own body.

I’m also deeply intuitive - here to hold truth gently, model discernment, and invite others back into their own inner knowing.

I can see how I’ve developed the skill of helping women understand themselves - not in one way, but through layers:
• through minerals and biochemistry
• through patterns of thought and behaviour
• through the emotions that keep looping
• through resistance held in the body
• through the seasons of life we move through

I don’t work from a single framework.
I help you understand you.

And that understanding changes everything - how you relate to your body, your energy, your choices, and the phase of life you’re in.

What I’m most aware of now is how much of this work is about walking with someone, not fixing them, or telling them what to do.
It’s a collaboration.

Creating space.
Helping you listen again.
Supporting you to trust what your body and inner knowing have been trying to tell you.

Women I’ve worked with have shared how this reconnection brought a return to vitality and joy, a clearer sense of self, and a feeling of being mentally sharper and more energised.

They’ve spoken about anxiety dissipating, relationships improving, and a shift from reacting out of stress to living with more intention and confidence.

Not because they were changed - but because they met themselves.

Right now, I’m opening spaces in my Ignite and Radiate containers.

These are for women who:
• feel tired of pushing
• sense they’re in a transition
• want clarity without being told who to be
• are ready to understand themselves more deeply - physically, emotionally, energetically

If you’re feeling the pull, I’d love to walk with you.

More information about my programs can be found at the link in comments.

16/01/2026

I had another client check in after being prescribed oestrogen HRT without hormone testing, and it felt like an important conversation to share more broadly.

One helpful thing to understand is that early perimenopause is often not a state of low oestrogen.

More commonly, it looks like:
• progesterone starting to decline (often from less consistent ovulation)
• oestrogen still being produced, but less predictably
• a more sensitive nervous system and stress response

Because of this, adding oestrogen - whether pharmaceutical or “natural” - can be supportive for some women, but can also worsen symptoms for others if it’s not the right fit or the right timing.

Symptoms that often point to low progesterone:
• PMS (especially emotional or anxious PMS)
• pre-menstrual headaches or migraines
• breast tenderness or swelling
• shorter or closer cycles
• heavier or more painful periods
• bloating or fluid retention
• disrupted sleep (especially waking 2–4am)
• feeling wired but tired, overwhelmed, or reactive
👉 Emotional tone: anxious, sensitive, easily overwhelmed

Symptoms that suggest high or erratic oestrogen:
• heavy or flooding periods
• breast tenderness or growth
• bloating or puffiness
• migraines
• insomnia or brain fog
• flushing or rosacea
• emotional weepiness or irritability
👉 Emotional tone: emotional flooding, overstimulation

Symptoms that more clearly suggest low oestrogen:
• hot flushes or night sweats
• vaginal dryness or painful s*x
• dry eyes or skin
• joint pain
• low libido
• flat or “grey” mood
👉 Emotional tone: flat, depleted, disconnected

Most women will recognise themselves across more than one list, but usually one pattern is more dominant.

For many women early in perimenopause, symptoms are driven more by hormone fluctuation and loss of progesterone buffering, rather than a true oestrogen deficiency (which tends to come later).

This is also why:
• supplements can feel helpful one month and not the next
• weight changes can occur without changes in diet or exercise
• “doing more” often doesn’t help

In this phase, weight changes can be a downstream effect of declining progesterone - through fluid retention, changes in insulin sensitivity, and increased cortisol activity - rather than something to be “fixed” directly.

👉 For that reason, the priority is often supporting progesterone and the nervous system, rather than immediately adding oestrogen or focusing on weight itself.

Sometimes the most supportive thing we can do is understand what’s actually happening in our body - before trying to change it.

I’ve created a Perimenopause Guide to help you understand these patterns and where you might sit within them. See the link in comments.

13/01/2026

09/01/2026

Just had a question about vitamin D and it's controversy - so thought it helpful to share my response (enhanced!) here too 🥰

Low vitamin D isn’t always a “vitamin D problem”.

Often, it’s a sign the body is missing other things it needs to use vitamin D properly - especially magnesium.

When magnesium is low, vitamin D can stay low or not work well, no matter how much you take.

In some cases, the body may even keep vitamin D lower on purpose as a protective response - particularly if calcium isn’t being handled well. This can show up alongside things like soft tissue calcification or stiffness, where calcium is going where it shouldn’t.

Taking high-dose, isolated vitamin D supplements can also create imbalances over time. Vitamin D increases the body’s demand for things like magnesium, vitamin K and vitamin A. If those aren’t there, it can affect how calcium is used, how thyroid hormone gets into the cells, and even ripple into mineral balance like copper and iron.

This is why I prefer supporting vitamin D in more natural, whole-body ways where possible.

Sunlight is the gold standard (the DMinder app is great for this).

Food sources like mushrooms left in the sun can provide vitamin D naturally - also egg yolks, fatty fish, hard cheeses, liver, butter and ghee - but these are more supportive - not usually enough on their own to raise levels significantly - which is why sunlight is still key.

And UVB lamps like Sperti stimulate your own vitamin D production rather than forcing it.

It’s not about chasing numbers - it’s about supporting the whole system so the body can do what it already knows how to do.

06/01/2026

One of the things I love doing for myself and my clients
is reflecting on how the body mirrors alignment.

One of the mineral ratios I work with – Calcium to Magnesium –
isn’t just about bones or muscles.

It’s often referred to as the lifestyle ratio.

Calcium tends to increase when we’re holding, buffering, protecting.

Magnesium supports movement, energy, responsiveness.

Together, they reflect:
• how we hold life
• how we move through life
• how rigid or adaptable we are
• how defensive or responsive we feel

When calcium dominates, the body often:
o buffer stress
o slow things down
o protect
o harden
o hold on

When magnesium is supported, the body tends to:
o mobilise energy
o adapt
o soften
o respond
o flow

Imbalance simply tells a story.

The body showing us the gap
between how we’re living…
and how we actually want to feel.

An imbalanced Ca/Mg ratio is often associated with living out of integrity with one’s true needs.

That can look like:
• staying when it’s time to move on
• holding an identity that no longer fits
• protecting instead of responding
• buffering life instead of meeting it

The research calls this “pretense” -
not as judgement,
but as misalignment between inner truth and outer life.

Support the body,
and often life begins to feel easier to respond to.

This is some of the language I listen to
when working with women.

Listening to the body as a way back to self.

06/01/2026

What you wanted.
What you got.
And the quiet space in between.

There was nothing wrong with what you wanted.
But the way you tried to get there
may have slowly pulled you away from yourself.

At some point, life stopped feeling intentional
and started feeling reactive.
Not because you failed.
But because everything got loud.

Most of us weren’t taught how to respond to life.
Only how to keep up with it.

You didn’t need more information.
You needed space to hear yourself again.

Notice where you’re reacting.
Notice where you’re responding.
One drains you.
One builds you.

Sometimes the thing that feels like “falling behind”
is actually you slowing down enough to tell the truth.

You can do all the “right” things
and still feel disconnected.
That doesn’t mean you’re broken.
It means something deeper is asking for your attention.

Alignment isn’t about doing less or doing more.
It’s about doing what’s true instead of what’s expected.

There came a moment for me
when fixing myself stopped working.
Listening changed everything.

Not every answer needs to be chased.
Some are waiting
for you to stop running.

What if the life you want
isn’t created by pushing harder
but by coming back to yourself?

Align...isn’t about becoming someone new.
It’s about remembering who you were
before everything got loud.

If this resonates,
I’d love to support you.

20/12/2025

Last night I saw a post about being the creator of my own life.
I’ve heard it a thousand times before.
I know it.

But last night, I felt it.

At 9pm I decided we were going to head out early for brekkie at the beach, a play at the park, and a swim.
I threw the sausages in the oven while prepping for a quick vacate the next day.
Off to bed, then woke to share the plan…

Here’s how the day unfolded - depending on how I chose to see it.

Option A:
Got elbowed in the eye before I even got out of bed.
Boys whinged they weren’t going to see their friends.
Complaints about the “long drive” (we hadn’t even left our town)
Odin desperate for a p*e whilst I’m driving on highway.
Wind blowing the gas flame, pan taking forever to heat
My fool proof non-stick eggs method failed.
Put butter in cooler bag = unspreadable butter.
Forgot a bowl to whisk the eggs.
Boys complained could see whites in the scrambled eggs.
Odin stung 3x by a hornet.
Forgot first aid bag.
8 min walk to pharmacy felt like 30 in the hot sun.
Got lost in caravan park and walked twice as far as needed.
Jada did massive poo in the ocean next to kids playing.
Barking at paddleboarders.
Barking at boys running in the water.
Prawns are now $50 a kg!!! Remember when they were $15.
Go home and discovered Jada had p*ed in the car.
Zac smashed glass jar full of sultanas – glass as far as all four walls.
Jada p*ed in the hallway.
Boys extra loud and silly as I cooked and washed up.
Boys being silly instead of getting ready for bed.

Option B:
Boys excited to possibly meeting new friends.
Lots of laughs in the back of the car..
Got to the loo just in time after the hour drive.
Jada and I met a lovely couple and their kelpie waiting for pan to heat.
Noticed six-packs and glistening skin instead of the usual t**s and arses at the beach.
Had ice pack for Odin’s sting which calmed him straight away.
Got to see caravan park we were considering visiting.
All of us lying on the grass under a tree, feeling a beautiful cool breeze.
Zacs head resting on my lap.
Odin being hilarious with hide and seek.
Boys climbing trees.
Jada playing with another kelpie.
Boys jumping off pier with new friends.
Sat with Jada watching the boys and spoke with a gentleman in his 80s telling me about how he met his wife, and how beautiful Jada was.
Got two new clients.
Jada playing with another puppy.
Told a lady I loved her dress and her little girl thought I meant her All Blacks t-shirt.
Had Ferrero Rocher icecream.
Proud of how I handled the boys mayhem and breakages.
Pet shop lady recognised us - donated to Riding for the Disabled and kids learning to read by reading to dogs.
Washed up with music playing while the boys played outside.
Spoke with hubby lying on the bed with the boys, all of us laughing.
Extra-long kisses and savoured cuddles with my boys.
Journalling.
Feeling proud of the day I created.

Same day.
Same events.
Different focus.

Such an epic reminder of how intention - and what I choose to give energy to - changes everything.

16/12/2025

I love that my clients trust me.

Even when I refer them out to other practitioners who can support them in more specific ways, they often come back and ask me to look over their protocols.

Not because anything’s wrong -
but because context matters.

I help them understand the what and the why behind the choices, which settles the doubt and establishes more faith in their body and their process.

This is how I support women in my 1:1 work - clarity, context, and truth.

I also love how, by serving clients, I receive too.
I feel satisfied, energised, and truly connected to my purpose.

Thank you to all my clients - past, present, and future.

Here’s wishing you a very Merry Christmas and festive season ahead!

14/12/2025

A friend is considering cutting sugar and flour for her weight loss journey yet shared "I’ve heard so much in the recent years that cutting sugar and flour isn’t sustainable and it is the worse thing I can do". I offered her some context on this and thought it would be valuable to share here too...

For many women, fully cutting sugar and flour is unsustainable - not because of lack of willpower, but because the body often interprets restriction as stress. When the body feels stressed rather than nourished, it adapts in ways that can slow metabolism, increase cravings, and make weight regulation harder over time.

Carbohydrates (which ultimately break down into glucose) play some really important roles in the body, especially for women.

Eating too few carbohydrates can:
• Reduce conversion of inactive thyroid hormone (T4) into its active form (T3), which can slow metabolism and contribute to fatigue and weight changes
• Lead to low blood sugar, which places stress on the body and disrupts insulin and hormone balance
• Increase cortisol (stress hormone), signalling to the body that it’s under threat rather than safe and nourished
• Disrupt menstrual cycles and fertility by altering hormone signalling
• Dysregulate leptin and ghrelin (our hunger and satiety hormones), often increasing cravings and overeating later
• Impact serotonin and dopamine - neurotransmitters that support mood, calm, motivation and sleep
• Reduce overall energy, making it harder to move, recover and feel good - and often leading to rebound binges because cells are effectively under-fuelled

If, however, what’s being removed is highly processed carbohydrates and refined grains - things like chips/crisps, hot chips, low-quality pizzas, cakes, biscuits, and sodas - then absolutely, that can be supportive. These foods are often made with poor-quality fats, are commonly GMO, and may be contaminated with glyphosate.

These foods can burden the liver, place stress on the body and adrenals, are generally nutrient-poor, and drive inflammation. Arguably, much of the issue comes from the PUFA content rather than sugar itself, as these fats can interfere with insulin signalling by blocking cellular receptivity to glucose.

But that’s very different from removing wholefood carbohydrate sources.

The same applies to flour. Modern, ultra-processed wheat products are worlds apart from:
• traditionally fermented sourdough
• ancient grains
• homemade or artisan breads made with real ingredients

So for me, it’s not about removing sugar or flour - it’s about the source, the context, and the overall nourishment of the body.

Pairing carbohydrates with adequate protein (and wholefood fats) can also make a big difference, as protein helps stabilise blood sugar, reduce cravings, and support satiety without needing to eliminate carbs altogether.

In other words: you don’t have to “earn” food or eliminate foods to heal or lose weight. Often the body responds far better when it feels fed, safe, and supported rather than restricted.….and a metabolically healthy diet can absolutely contain sugar and flour - in fact all of those I’ve come across do.

Image credit-https://www.delicious.com.au

08/12/2025

I am currently stressed – a disordered weight that fractures.
But what if this is instead pressure?
A concentrated force that creates diamonds?

What shifts for me then?...

My boys are noisy. They get incredibly loud. The kind that doors don’t block.
My boys are silly and thoughtless.
My boys fight, slam doors, hurt each other.
My boys are normal boys.

And I get incredibly overstimulated by the noise.
My whole body shakes, my heart pounds.
I react in screams and growls.

I know from my HTMA my body’s resources are depleted.
My nervous system is wired.
And I know I don’t replenish myself with nutrition alone.

What I think and feel about circumstances in my life,
and the way I nourish myself,
has a profound effect on whether what I ingest gets absorbed or further wasted/depleted.

When I restore the nutrients my body requires to function,
my thoughts and feelings respond positively.

And when my thoughts and feelings are aligned,
my physical body is more able to replenish and use its nutrient stores.

But this piece around overstimulation has me perplexed and contemplative.

Should I be able to tolerate the extreme?
Is that grading subjective or objective?

I should be allowed quiet in my own home, should I not?

Yet my boys are also in their own home.
They are being themselves.

And I’m trying to control how they are being – through requests, yes
– but if they don’t comply, I explode.

I am an only child.
I’ve never contended with this.

What if this is a gift for me.
Better yet – how can I make this be a gift for me?

My body says it’s not mindset,
it’s not parenting skill,
it’s not even nervous system regulation.
It’s capacity.

And right now, I’m at capacity.

We can’t “breathe through” sensory overload when it’s:
prolonged,
unpredictable,
intense,
generated by two children amplifying each other,
happening before our cortisol even resets from the last round,
happening in a home where we never get true silence.

Our system simply cannot hold that without exploding –
is that true?

That it isn’t failure.
That it is physiology.

That mothers with highly sensitive nervous systems and depleted mineral reserves cannot withstand chronic noise without erupting.

Is it the same as trying to deadlift 120kg with torn muscles - you can want to, but the body says:
“I physically cannot do this.”

And our screaming is the body’s emergency override.

And yet - my boys are not yet developmentally capable of honouring the quiet on demand.

I’m wanting something from them that their brain literally cannot sustain consistently yet.

This is not weakness.
This is the edge of humanity.

And this is the place where a real diamond is formed.

Modern mothers are carrying a load that has never existed before in human history.

We’re not becoming weaker.
We are becoming something new…something more

There is a difference between:
a woman who is overwhelmed because she is insufficient, and
a woman who is overwhelmed because she is being restructured.

Motherhood is not just happening to us.

It is shaping us into the kind of woman whose leadership does not come from perfection,
or flawless regulation techniques,
or never raising our voice,

but from
presence,
intuition,
discernment,
capacity, and
embodied truth.

Without these, we fracture.
With them we become diamonds.