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Dr Kiri Walden • Nervous System & Resilience Educator (DC, AK)

@drkiri__

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I help high-achieving women understand their
body + nervous system, so they can perform
without burning out.
@wildcoastcollective_
📸 @kiricreative_

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One of those moments where life expands and my body contracts.

@splorefestival Speaking about the Neuroscience of Sound a topic that I find so fascinating 🩵

Celebrating my small win here for feeling the fear & doing it anyway.

People say I’m confident. What they don’t see is whats happening underneath: the tight chest, the scanning, the constant awareness of who’s around me where the exits are.

Because Ive been stalked. More than once.

My nervous system learned something early, visibility isnt always safe.

And when thats your baseline you don’t just walk into spaces. You manage them.

You learn to take up space. But heres the truth Im still unpacking. Part of that confidence was built on trying to feel like I belonged there in the first place.

Like my body had to work overtime to feel okay being seen. So an opportunity like this doesn’t just feel exciting it feels exposing.

It asks a deeper question, Can I be seen and feel safe at the same time?

Im bringing my tools with me
one hand on my chest,
one on my belly
slow inhale through the nose, longer exhale out the mouth.

If you want the simple calm your body guide I use for moments like this,

comment BREATHE and lll send it. 🩵

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Thanks for supporting @rebecca_bee_gunson with your amazing sound journey to finish 🩵

@fluxboutique.co.nz for the amazing photos from this event

Special thanks to @wendy_firehorse for taking the chance on me x also Wendy’s husband @brett.crockett for getting the av stuff sorted 🔥

#breathe #keynotespeakers #speakupspeakout speaking splore taken in Tāpapakanga Regional Park by @drkiri__

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7 months ago

Who are you trying to impress?

Honestly… the younger me.

The one who thought she had to be tougher.
Quieter.
More “normal.”

The one who didn’t understand why her body reacted the way it did.

Now I understand my body, emotions &
nervous system.
I train it like I train my body.
I take responsibility for it.

Not to impress anyone.
Just to show her she was never broken.
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#nervoussystem #mentalhealth #littlemermaid taken in Raglan, New Zealand by @drkiri__

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8 months ago

Almost when you least expect it, things begin to fall into place.

Travelling through my ancestral lands reminded me that life rarely unfolds the way we think it should.

What was left behind was often making space for what was about to arrive. The quiet carried guidance. The uncomfortable moments created movement. The uncertainty kept me searching. The endings made way for new beginnings.

Looking back, I can see that the doors that closed were not rejections, but redirections. Every lesson, every setback, every wrong turn was leading somewhere. Even in the moments when nothing seemed clear, life was still unfolding exactly as it needed to.

There is a strange kind of freedom in releasing the stories we’ve built around ourselves. The stories about who we are, what we’re capable of, and how our future is supposed to look. Sometimes growth asks us to loosen our grip on the familiar and trust what is calling us forward.

This journey was a reminder that not everything we lose is meant to be mourned. Some things leave our lives so that something greater can enter. Some chapters close because a new one is already being written.

I hope you allow your life to be bigger than you once imagined. I hope you recognise the opportunities hidden within the challenges. And most of all, I hope you recognise the light when it finds you.

I’d love to know, what is something that didn’t go to plan but ended up leading you exactly where you needed to be?
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#nervoussystem #surf #indegenous #maori #direction by @drkiri__

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4 months ago

No words needed 💙
You deserve the best things in life.
Don’t forget that by @drkiri__

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16 hours ago

This video is for the haters 😂

Because if you’d told me a while ago that I’d be out here doing half the things I’ve done, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you.

Dancing under a mountain with the moon out. 🌙
Getting outside and doing things I never thought I’d have the confidence to do.
Putting myself out there.
Doing the questionable little dances 😂 alongside speaking at festivals & continuing to push myself way outside my comfort zone.

I’ve done A LOT of things I never thought I could do, and I’m not planning on stopping now.

And yeah, sometimes people have opinions.
Sometimes people don’t like what you’re doing.
Sometimes people talk shit.

It’s not nice. It’s uncomfortable. And of course it gets to me sometimes because I’m human.

BUT… it’s also reminded me of who my true friends are.

The people who actually back me.
The people who are genuinely happy to see me doing well.
The people who don’t need me to be a certain version of myself for them to support me.

And maybe that’s the biggest lesson in all of this.

Life isn’t meant to be spent trying to be comfortable and liked by everyone.

You’re never going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

So find your people.
Follow your people.
Do the things that make you happy.
Push the boundaries.
Do the thing that scares you.

And forget the people who don’t actually matter.

Because I’d rather be out here living, trying, laughing, dancing and having a crack at life than sitting on the sidelines worrying about what everyone thinks.

So to the haters… cheers 😂

You’ve actually reminded me exactly who my people are. 🖤

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#DoItAnyway #backyourself #keepgoing #liveyourlife #nervoussystemregulation taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @drkiri__

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16 days ago

@squid005 @easylager shall we run this again 💙😂
Accept this time I’ll help judge not sure if the knees will let me pull this one off.
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#girlsshred #snowboard #railjam #shred by @drkiri__

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16 days ago

Just driving home, doing absolutely nothing exciting… and then the sky goes and does this. 🥹🌅

It’s the little things, really.
The random moments that make you stop, look up and think, bloody hell, life is pretty beautiful.

Grateful for the small things. Always.

Was going to mute myself but thought why the hell not show the excited self I am about nature !

#excitement #natureisamazing #myvoice
#nzdrive by @drkiri__

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21 days ago

Nature + sunshine can help:
• Calm your nervous system
• Boost your mood
• Support better sleep
• Help your body make vitamin D

We spend so much time inside, in our heads, on our phones and rushing from one thing to the next.

Go outside. Walk barefoot. Sit in the sun. Get some fresh air.

Simple things, but your body notices. by @drkiri__

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22 days ago

Three years off the mountain and straight into the Remarkables for the @nzjuniorfreeridetour . 🏔️❄️

Safe to say I was a little underprepared, so getting a warm-up Thursday the day before was a bloody good call.

But getting back up there, seeing all the groms sending it, and finding myself riding a double black after all that time away... pretty epic.

Iv grown up on these mountains & was nice to come home again 💙
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#freeride #photography #snowboarding #skiing by @drkiri__

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a month ago

We’re on a mission to do better. Not perfect. Just better. Thanks so much for your support so far, it means the world! 💙 by @drkiri__

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a month ago

If your brain is racing and you can’t seem to calm down, drop everything and put your legs up the wall.
This simple inversion flips your circulation and tricks your nervous system into 'rest and digest' mode, lowering your heart rate and melting away stress. No effort required.

Hold for 5–10 minutes and breathe.

Shake at the end is optional but dang you feel good by @drkiri__

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2 months ago

Gifted from @hyoumankind 🌊

Some things you don’t realise you needed until your body tells you.

I’ve been using my Hyoumankind pillow every night and I love it!. I used to wake up with neck pain and now… nothing.

I was pretty excited when this box landed on my doorstep. A pillow made for slow mornings, salty hair, sunshine and taking comfort wherever the day takes you.

Very ready to put this one to work. ☀️🌊 by @drkiri__

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2 months ago