
KP & Josh
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Hello. You're about to drift into an episode of the Nightly a podcast designed to help you unwind and relax. For the full phone free immersive light experience, visit Hatch Co. Enjoy.
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What a wonderful, amazing, amazing, iconic evening. I'm kp.
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And I'm Josh. Welcome to the Night Leaf from Hatch a slumber party for pop culture lovers. Tonight we have a real slumber party going on because we're joined by Morgan Starr Ristus. She's a therapist and the host of Hatch's Nervous System Rest Meditations. Welcome, Morgan.
C
Hi. Thanks for having me.
B
Hi, Morgan.
C
Hello.
A
So, Morgan, I'm so excited to talk to you about nervous system rest a little later, but first I'm curious if you have anything to share about your own bedtime routine, like sleep habits, sleep hygiene. We love to ask guests about that and just get tips for our listeners. So is there anything that you do regularly before bed?
B
Oh, yeah.
C
Yeah. So I'm really big on repetitions before I go to bed, especially as your brain is starting to go into lower frequencies of your brain waves. And one of the things that I really love doing, I do nervous system regulation, but I also, I think this is maybe a little bit juicier of a detail. I actually record my own voice using affirmations and things that I'm really wanting to believe at that time and really wanting to fill my perception with as I'm going to bed and I record it. And this is not sponsored or anything, it's just the app I use. I really love the app Parrot, like the bird. It's a very simple app. All it does is record your voice and then it loops it over and over and over again. So as I'm going to bed, I'll play that and sometimes we'll pair it with some binaural beats or something that kind of slows down the mind but also has some of that affirmation. One of the things that I do that's maybe more unique. Cool.
B
It's kind of like a nightly little audio vision board.
C
Exactly.
B
Just kind of getting into the zone. That's lovely.
A
Are there any affirmations that have been, like, really working for you lately, or is that too private? I don't mean to God.
C
No, that's okay. Yeah. What's a really good one that feels edgy for me right now because some of them are big goals, especially with 2026. You know, like, we're kind of these, like, big visions. And one of them, I'm in the process of writing a book right now, and it Feels stretchy for me to really. Thank you. To claim I'm going to be a New York Times bestselling author. Like, that feels stretchy and scary to claim. And it's something that the more that I expose my brain to it and my perception to it, the more that becomes normalized, the more that becomes safe to feel like, oh, you know, I can claim that. I can feel that I can talk about it on a podcast episode. So if I didn't hear that often, that might still be in a territory that was like, ooh, can I step into that? And I'm really big into. We don't do what we want in terms of what our goals are. We do who we believe we are. And so I think that affirmation can really reaffirm. Like, ooh, okay, I'm a New York Times bestselling author. And it's like stepping into that identity is.
B
This is kind of like, dressed for the job you want showing up, dressing for the person you are.
C
Yeah, exactly.
A
Cool. Well, good luck. I'm excited to see the fruits of your labor with this affirmation and see how far it takes you. That's so exciting.
C
Thank you.
B
We're book lovers on this podcast too, so we will all be grabbing a copy, I'm sure.
C
Thank you.
A
I was just talking with Kristin, one of our co hosts, and she told me she's doing a project where she's trying to read a book that takes place, like, firmly in each of the 50 states this year.
B
Oh, wow. So she's gonna read 50 books a year?
A
She told me she read 240 books last year.
B
Okay, I have some questions on this. And not that I don't believe her because she's extremely truthful. I know that I have to imagine some of these are audiobooks. There's no way you're nose down in a book that often. You can't be physically.
A
I think that's fair.
C
And how long are the books, too? Because I'm definitely a fantasy novel reader, and some of those books get upwards thousand plus pages, so it's. Are we reading a short poem book or are we.
B
She's counting brochures and menus.
A
Menus.
B
The only menu I'd say you can count is the Cheesecake Factory.
A
That's true.
B
That one's big enough to be a book.
C
Thrilling conclusion.
A
Chocolate lava cheesecake. I did not see that coming. Practically Pompeii.
B
I mean, it's so intimate to ask, but how many books did you guys read this year?
C
I actually read every single Sarah J. Maas book that is out there. So you're in a safe space. I think that's maybe 12 or. I don't know how many that is 16. I don't know.
A
She's a court of Thorns and roses. Is that Sarah J. Maas?
B
She is cool.
C
But she has other series that. It's a gateway book. The Court of Thorn and Roses is a gateway book to her. And honestly, I think because I'm so often learning things and in the neuroscience of stuff, and really, sometimes I just need some. Just something easy to let my brain rest and. Yeah. So that's kind of my guilty pleasure, if you will.
A
You don't have to let yourself off the hook. I only do things that are easy.
C
We. We've got a lot to learn from you then.
A
Thank you.
B
Reading is, like, always a net positive to me. I am like, it is good to read. It's good for my brain. So it's okay if I'm reading, you know, junk food. That's fine because it's good to be reading at all. So I read the whole Court of Thorns and Roses two years ago, and then my friends did hire a fairy for my birthday party that year, so that's an interesting thing that you can just do.
A
Wow, I didn't know that.
C
I love that for you. Yeah.
B
She came with little wings on, and she said it was her only adult party she's ever done.
A
That's so funny. Oh, my gosh. Oh. So she. Okay, so this. Really. Not to make this too adult, but she wasn't, like, used to being, like, I'm a sensual fairy. She was used to being like.
B
She was not sensual. She was not sensual that whole time, I must say, she was just face painting.
C
Got it.
B
But when I say adult party, I mean, like, not a children's party.
A
Right, right, right, right.
B
It wasn't like.
C
It was like.
A
No. But just meaning, like, coming from spicy. 18 plus, partly inspired by reading Romantasy.
C
Right. More than just having a thought. To think that it would be maybe a more sensual experience.
A
Yeah. I didn't think it was like, okay, everybody, group massage.
B
She was very professional, and she just painted some faces.
C
It was lovely.
B
Well, okay. Sarah J. Maas is always kind of a Roman Empire, but I want to see if there's any other specific ones that we all have been thinking about. Josh and Morgan, what is something random? A Roman Empire that you've been thinking about way too much recently?
C
Josh, you go for it.
A
Okay, I think I might have brought this up, but it's Gotten so much deeper than the last time we've talked about it, which is, I have a little pug. She's so cuddly, but she hates most dogs and images of dogs on tv. But also her perception on TV of what is an enemy is so vast. And we know it's not just like a little growl. She will jump off the couch and put her paws up on the entertainment center and snap right at the screen. But we're always kind of cataloging what she perceives as a threat to our household. And so most dogs on tv, for sure, she's like, that's a dog. Dogs are my enemies. Some other animals, like big cats, occasionally. Understandable. Maris, my wife, put on. This is the only time she tried it on purpose. She put on an episode of Bluey, the children's cartoon about a dog. Maggie was like, yep, gotta kill whatever that is.
B
That's kind of compliments to the animators.
C
You really made it look like a dog.
A
The real dog, like, energy. Recently, someone riding a mechanical bull set her off. She was like, yep, that's gotta be eliminated. And then the most recent one that, like, really made me laugh. There was a Duncan commercial, and there were, you know, they had anthropomorphized those munchkins, the donut holes. So they had faces and were, like, talking and singing. And Maggie was like, oh, you thought you were gonna sneak into my house looking like donuts? No, thank you. And she ran at the tv and it like, I was laughing so hard, I was trying to take a picture. But she. So, like, testing the limits of what does my dog think is a dog has become my Roman Empire? It's like, it takes up, like, every room in my mind palace the last two months.
B
Morgan, do you have any TV watching pets?
C
No, I don't. I actually. I live on a farm right now with 42 cows, so they don't watch TV, but they do make a lot of noise sometimes.
B
Yeah, we got to get a projector screen out there to see. Maybe they'll just want to watch a little something.
C
That'd be. Yeah. Well, I have seen videos where cows will come to listen to music and things, so it'd be interesting to see if they. They visually would react to things. I don't know.
B
I've seen the same where people bring, like, yeah, an acoustic guitar out and.
C
All the cows are still huddle around and are really interested.
B
That's really cute.
A
That's really cute. When you say they get noisy, is it, like, noisy enough that if you're Inside you're like, keep it down out there, cows.
C
Yeah, sometimes. Yeah, sometimes I'll have to disclose. Maybe it's a podcast episode, but maybe it's just a call, a zoom call or something. It's like, sorry, the cows are about to get fed. You can hear them. They're very excited. Oh, sure, yeah. Okay.
B
Morgan, do you have a Roman Empire that's coming to mind lately?
C
Yes. I'm deeply fascinated by human perception. And one of the kicks that I've been on recently is the reticular activating system, or the reticular activation system, whichever one you want to use. And the way that I like to think about it is sort of like your brain's algorithm, if you will. It's that same thing where if you're shopping for shoes, or maybe you're shopping for a Volvo or something, and then you start seeing Volvos everywhere.
B
Yes.
C
It's that same function in your brain. Cause you can only take in so much information at once, so your brain needs to naturally, in the same way you can't watch all the information and videos on YouTube or Instagram or whatever, the algorithm is making it so that everything that you want to see more of, you're gonna see more of. And it filters it out. Right. Your brain's doing that same thing through the RAS reticular activation system. So I just find the reticular activation system to be that interesting bridge of the more that we focus on, the more that we start bringing in those opportunities. And I just find that perception fascinating and that bi directional thing, so I just get so nerdy about it. But I'm also such a brain nerd. So that makes sense that that's where my head goes.
A
So are there examples of it that you clock with people in your life or in your own life? Or like, oh, I'm feeding my brain's own algorithm with this and I didn't.
C
Realize it both in good and bad ways. I can even catch myself with certain beliefs or things. And I'm like, wait, why am I even thinking that I need to actually pause, take a moment and find evidence for the opposite. Sometimes, like, there might be a belief that comes up of, I'm limiting the story of what my life can be or what my relationships can be or whatever it is. And then I stop and say, actually, wait, what other ways can I prove that that doesn't have to be the case? And so I find myself doing that a lot. And really, it takes some self awareness, obviously, but it's a really powerful thing. You can Take back a lot of autonomy when you say, hey, to go find evidence for what's possible. And I love that kind of trend that's going around right now of just like kind of being delusional at a certain point. Of course there's, there's clinical delusion. And I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about why not dream as big as you can and then go find evidence for how that that's possible.
B
I think that stuff is so fascinating. And I'm, I'm east coast, so I grew up very anti woo woo. Because over there I felt like some, they got a bad attitude, I'll say it. And this past year I was living in New York and I was like, you know, where I'm supposed to live will just reveal itself to me. And I'm just gonna be after a breakup, open to a new relationship and a new way of living. And just that month my friend moved out of his place and was like, do you want to take over my lease? I said, absolutely. And then I started dating a lovely person. So I feel like everything sort of happened really nicely in these ways where you're like, oh, it's being open to possibilities.
A
That's like really beautiful. The idea of making yourself open to a possibility, right? And like telling your, your mind like, hey, look for these opportunities. Rather than like telling yourself like, I have these limits. And if my friend moves out of their place and says, do you want to live there for a while? You would instead go like, no, I couldn't possibly do that. And you're like, yeah, I'm open to that. I think that's so cool.
C
And but see, that's that your reticular activation system says, okay, I'm going to start finding evidence in my external world. And I'm gonna say, this is this thing I'm gonna go after. And now my perception is hyper fixated on seeing all the opportunities that are around. And then what way is that actually just manifestation. Like what way is that just hacking your brain to bring in more of what you want.
A
That's so interesting, right? Because it's like how you sort the information, right? Like in a way where if you're like, oh, I can't afford this place, I'm gonna have to move. And when you start looking for that evidence, you'll go like, o invited me on this trip and I didn't have the money or I had to pay the rent, so I made the safe choice and didn't go on this trip. That's more evidence that I'm living a life I can't afford. Whereas if you're going, I am going to make my life such that I can continue to afford this home. All the pieces of evidence of like it's working out will start to feel like the vital, important ones. Is that kind of it or is that part of it?
C
Yeah, and it's. I think reality can be a lot more moldable than we think. And I'm not saying go make bad financial decisions or something, but sometimes I'm going to anyway.
A
I don't need your permission.
C
We put ourselves into boxes a lot more and we tell ourselves limiting stories. And sometimes it's just important to remember that at one point phones was a pretty wild out there idea. I think about if we went back however many hundreds of years that would have been witchcraft and burned at the stake for having a phone. Or flying. We take flying for granted nowadays. And at one point somebody had to say, I think I would like to build something that has us fly. And that was probably a super crazy out there idea at the time too. So I like to think about it sometimes to just expand what's possible. It's like, well, why not just come up with a, like a wild idea and we're gonna go do it and go find evidence of people that have already done it. Very cool.
A
Yeah, that's really beautiful. What a lovely way to think about your own life.
B
And I love the like science tying in and it's nice to like nerd out on the stuff that we are directly in. We all have brains.
C
We do have brains and they run most of our life, our brains and nervous systems. Because I think a lot of the time I'm so glad that the field of psychology and neuroscience and just general public has started to update to where we're not just this brain up in our heads, we're also an entire nervous system that impacts our whole perception. And so I, yeah, I'm such a nerd about it. So you can just get me going.
B
Well, speaking of, this is kind of a perfect segue in. You are the host, of course, of Hatch's Nervous System Rest Meditation. Can you explain kind of what that entire thing is and why it's helpful in general?
C
Yeah, sure. So I created a whole meditation series for folks to essentially reset their nervous systems and prep for bed and also proactively set your next day up for more success. Because most of the time we don't realize how dysregulated our nervous systems are. And honestly, our whole lives become harder when we Are dysregulated. Our prefrontal cortex, which is a very important part of our brain that helps us come up with solutions, communicate well, just in general have good ideas. All of these pieces that really are required for having a successful life goes offline when we're dysregulated. And so oftentimes our focus is shot, our productivity is shot, we get into negative moods. All these things happen when our nervous system is dysregulated. So it's just becoming more and more prevalent, I think, in general, for people to recognize, wow, this is a foundational piece of my health and success overall, too, regulate my nervous system. So we created a meditation series that helps you, as you're going to bed, really wind down, get to shake off the day, set yourself up for a good rest. And also we've got an alarm set as well so that you can, when you're waking up in the morning, that you can get your foot off on the right. Yeah.
B
Start the alarm is nice. That is really cool. To, like, gently get in touch with your nervous system and body in the morning. That is good.
C
Yeah.
A
Morgan, is there, like, a short version that we could do now for our listeners on the nightly or like a tool that you could give us to start that kind of nervous system rest?
C
Yeah, sure. How long would you like it to be?
A
I think just like a minute or two. Right. Does that sound right?
B
KP sounds lovely.
C
Cool. We can start with one of my favorite breathing exercises. This is called the physiological sigh. And biologically, we do naturally do it, but I love that breath can both be a conscious thing and an unconscious thing. So if we can just consciously bring our awareness to our breath, we're going to essentially, I'll walk you through it, and then we can all do it together. So what it's going to look like is a full inhale, and then right at the top of your inhale, you're going to take in an extra sip. And then on the exhale, we'll have a deep exhale. But we're just going to make like a sighing noise or whatever feels comfortable. So we'll take a big, deep inhale in all the way up and take that extra sip on the top. Just hold and then exhale and some sort of. And just release all the way out. And we're going to do that one more time. We'll inhale, little sip at the top, and then exhale. And I love that one because just noticing how different we feel even within two of those breaths, I just notice how much Slower I am. How much more calm I feel, how much more focused. So I love that one because oftentimes we can get in our heads. Oh, it needs to be this hour long meditation. It needs to be this yoga practice. It needs to be this complex routine where actually two breaths can change things. So I love that one.
A
Thank you so much. That's really wonderful.
C
Yeah. The second one I'll do taps into bilateral stimulation. And bilateral stimulation is essentially a fancy way of saying that you're activating both hemispheres of your brain. So we're going to be putting our hands. If you can't see me, it's almost like Napoleon Dynamite, you know, with the butterfly, what they did back in the day. I'm dating myself. Yeah. So we're gonna butterfly on our collarbones. So it's just crossing your hands over each other and then we'll alternate tapping to the left and right and just whatever pace feels good for you. You can be nice and slow, you can be faster. And this is literally just activating both hemispheres of your brain, helping bring on your parasympathetic nervous system. And this is helping our nervous system really be told, I'm safe, I'm okay, I can slow down, I can turn on my rest and digest. And it's really that simple. You can do that for a minute. Five minutes, however, feels good. I often will pair this with the breathing that we just did. And so, yeah, those can be called butterfly taps or butterfly hugs. People call it different things, but at a bigger branch. That's called bilateral stimulation to activate both hemispheres of your brain. Like that. Yeah.
B
Does the crossing help with that? Like, does it help that your right hand is going to your left side of your body? Or is that.
C
That's a good question. I think it's just the comfortability instead of tapping both of your hands. But you can actually. I like working with my clients doing very subtle nervous system regulation in public. And one of the things that I have people do will tap their knees underneath a table and see, I'm doing it right now and you can't even see me. I could be doing that this whole podcast episode and you wouldn't see me. And so even if it as just as long as you're using both sides of your body and very cool and alternating. Yeah.
B
Well, that was truly amazing. Even in that small mini one, I do feel more open in all things. That was lovely. And listeners, if you do want more of that, you can check out the Nervous System rest channel on Hatch. Now, before we wrap Morgan, is there anything our listeners should be checking out that you have been working on? We mentioned a book. Anything else?
C
Yeah. So I've got an entire program. It's called the seven center system. So we help people make custom nervous system regulation routines the morning and night, and we have a whole program that helps them rewire their brains and their underlying patterns. So some of the things that I was talking about of priming your brain to really be able to manifest the things that you want and be able to just get down to underlying patterns that aren't serving you anymore and helping rewire those, that's what me and my team do.
A
Amazing.
C
Yeah. You can find me on social media at Mind's eyeguidance. It's M I, N D P S Y period guidance. And also you can find more about my program and my whole system@7 Centersystem.com.
B
And Morgan, on this show, we like to say goodnight to each other, of course. But we also like to throw a good night to anyone that you think might want or need a very special good night. Do you have anyone in mind?
C
I'll say goodnight to my mom.
B
Oh, good.
C
Yep, she's listening. I know. So good night, mom. Love you.
A
Well, thank you so much for joining us, Morgan. This was so fascinating and I honestly, the breathing, the tapping, I'm so ready for bed. So good night, Morgan. Good night.
B
Good night. Good night, Josh. Good night, Morgan. And good night, Morgan's mom, Sam.
A
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Episode: Leaning into Manifestation & Nervous System Rest w/ Morgan Starr-Riestis
Date: February 3, 2026
Host: Hatch Podcasts (Hosts: KP, Josh)
Guest: Morgan Starr-Riestis (Therapist & Host of Nervous System Rest Meditations)
This cozy episode of The Nightly invites listeners to wind down and explore the intersection of manifestation, nervous system regulation, and everyday pop culture rituals. Through a relaxed “pillow fort” conversation, therapist Morgan Starr-Riestis shares science-backed bedtime routines, insights about the mind-body connection, and how our perception shapes our reality. The episode mixes practical tips with slumber party fun, inviting listeners to experiment with techniques for deeper rest and a more empowered life.
“I record my own voice using affirmations and things I’m really wanting to believe at that time… and then it loops over and over again.” (Morgan, 01:16)
“We don’t do what we want in terms of our goals. We do who we believe we are.” (Morgan, 02:24) “I can feel that, I can talk about it on a podcast episode.” (Morgan, 02:24)
“Testing the limits of what does my dog think is a dog has become my Roman Empire.” (Josh, 09:16)
“The more that we focus on, the more that we start bringing in those opportunities. I just find that perception fascinating.” (Morgan, 10:46)
“You can take back a lot of autonomy when you go find evidence for what’s possible.” (Morgan, 11:40)
“Why not dream as big as you can and then go find evidence for how that’s possible?” (Morgan, 12:37)
“Just that month my friend moved out of his place and was like, do you want to take over my lease? So I feel like everything sort of happened really nicely in ways where you’re like, oh, it’s being open to possibilities.” (KP, 13:17)
“Reality can be a lot more moldable than we think…Sometimes it’s just important to remember that.” (Morgan, 14:39)
“Our whole lives become harder when we are dysregulated.” (Morgan, 16:00)
“Just noticing how different we feel within two of those breaths…I just notice how much slower I am, how much more calm I feel, how much more focused.” (Morgan, 19:30)
“It’s literally just activating both hemispheres of your brain, helping bring on your parasympathetic nervous system.” (Morgan, 20:20)
Warm, playful, and inclusive — this episode blends science-backed tips with genuine slumber party energy and relatable stories. Listeners leave with practical relaxation tools and the encouragement to embrace expansive, self-affirming possibilities.
Final Thought:
Practice even just two mindful breaths or a minute of butterfly tapping tonight — your nervous system (and tomorrow self) will thank you. Good night, and sweet dreams!