The "Yes" Recession: Why Your Bladder is a Boundary Issue (and Other Lessons from Brenda Winkle)

I’ll be honest: lately, I’ve felt like I’m saying “yes” to everyone except myself. So, when I sat down for our latest Spotlight Around Town interview with Brenda Winkle, the force behind Your Yes Filled Life, I wasn’t just hosting—I was taking notes for my own sanity.

Brenda is a somatic coach and breathwork expert who bridges the gap between high-level leadership and “the science of woo.” And let me tell you, she stepped all over my toes in the best way possible.

The “Bladder Boundary” (Yes, We Went There)

We started somewhere I didn’t expect: the bathroom. Brenda dropped a truth bomb that I’ve been thinking about ever since. She told me:

“Pay attention to when you have to go to the bathroom and notice how often you are delaying your own body’s functions for someone else’s convenience... It is a doorway into boundaries and self-trust.”

I realized right then that holding my bladder is metaphorical for every other area where I’m not honoring my needs. If I can’t even manage my own physical boundaries, how am I supposed to lead a business with conviction?

Why Your Brain Only Has 20% of the Story

For the skeptics in our PNW community (I know you’re out there!), Brenda grounded her work in some pretty staggering biology. She explained that we are often making decisions with only a fraction of the data available to us:

“Eighty percent or so of the neurological signals that are coming to the brain come from the body. They flow upward... only twenty percent of the brain’s signals flow downward. If we’re relying only on our brains, on our structured mind to make our decisions, we’re missing out on most of the information.”

When we’re stressed, our bodies view our goals as a “threat.” That procrastination we all feel? It’s not laziness. It’s a nervous system loop.

The “Identity Lag” is Real

I asked Brenda about those seasons where life changes faster than we can keep up. She called it an Identity Lag, and even she isn’t immune. She shared a story about getting a major speaking invite and then “forgetting” to send her headshots four different times.

“There’s this myth that there are certain people who have worked through every issue... and that’s just not true. We are all humans. The arrival fallacy is truly a fallacy. It doesn’t exist. We’re always evolving and growing into the next phase of ourselves.”

Why Leaders Need to Regulate

For the business owners and HR folks listening, Brenda’s message on “emotional safety” is the ultimate pro-business strategy. In a world of “quiet quitting,” she argues that:

“The most regulated nervous system in the room is the most powerful person in the room. If we can start with our leadership and get really well regulated, we’re gonna be making more sound decisions, we’re gonna be less reactive, and more responsive to our people.”

My 2:00 PM Reset

Before we wrapped, Brenda had me do a quick appreciation practice. I looked around my office at my monitors, my lights, and even the books that help me do this work. The shift in my energy was instant. As Brenda said, it’s about taking those 90 seconds to let an emotion actually land so it doesn’t get stuck in the pipes.

🎙️ Want to fill your life with “Yes”?

Brenda offers everything from one-time “Breathwork for Leadership” sessions to 12-month deep dives for teams who are ready to stop surviving and start thriving.

• Check out Brenda Winkle at: Your Yes Filled Life
• Listen to the Podcast: Your Yes Filled Life (Available wherever you get your ears on some wisdom).
• Follow Brenda on Facebook and Instagram

About Brenda Winkle:

Brenda Winkle is an energetic leadership guide, intuitive channel, and somatic mentor helping visionary professionals, founders, and entrepreneurs reclaim their energy, trust their inner knowing, and lead with clarity, soul, and ease.

Blending decades of experience in leadership and education with intuitive gifts, energy healing, and trauma-informed somatic work, Brenda supports high-capacity leaders—executives, educators, physicians, creatives, and spiritual seekers—through transitions that demand more than mindset alone. Her grounded yet expansive approach helps leaders come home to themselves and lead from presence, not pressure.

Known for her calm authority, psychic precision, and nurturing presence, Brenda creates high-frequency spaces for deep recalibration—whether she’s speaking on stage, guiding breathwork, conducting a choir, or working 1:1 with clients ready to step into their next chapter.

If you’re feeling like your 'Yes' tank is hitting empty, Brenda has a free 10-minute Energy Audit that helps you pinpoint exactly what’s fueling you and what’s draining you. You can grab that at brendawinkle.com/audit.

What makes Brenda qualified?

• Certified Advanced Trauma-Informed Breathwork Facilitator
• Certified Advanced Trauma-Informed Somatic Coach
• Usui Reiki Master Teacher
• Trained Psychic Medium & Oracle Reader
• Highly trained in ThetaHealing® Meditation Techniguqe and Clendinning
• Master’s in Educational Leadership (Boise State University)
• More than 2 decades as a Public Educator, Choral Conductor, and Professional Development Speaker