The Sunday Reset: How Moms Can Reclaim Their Health (and Why It Heals Your Kids Too)
Episode 38 — Experience Miracles Podcast | Host: Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP — Pediatric Chiropractor & Founder of PX Docs | Published: September 17, 2024 | Duration: ~80 min Guest: Heather Brown — Podcaster, Course Creator, Fitness Enthusiast & Founder of Healthy by Heather Brown
Key Takeaways
- Mom’s health is directly connected to her child’s healing. Dr. Tony Ebel explains that when a child plateaus in care, the most common underlying factor is an exhausted, burned-out mother. When mom prioritizes her own health, it becomes the catalyst that breaks the child’s healing stall.
- The Sunday Reset is a weekly planning practice covering mind, body, and spirit — starting with 10 minutes of stillness, followed by reflection on the past week, then intentional scheduling of non-negotiables for the week ahead.
- Heather Brown survived a fourth-degree tear and postpartum depression after a traumatic birth. She rebuilt her health identity not through exercise (which she lost temporarily) but through meal planning on Sundays — which became the foundation of the Sunday Reset.
- Heart Rate Variability (HRV) data from Dr. Ebel’s practice consistently shows that moms with perfect nutrition and fitness routines still tank on HRV when they aren’t caring for their soul. Spiritual health is not optional — it’s neurologically measurable.
- Chiropractic adjustments are the “cheat code” for moms who are doing everything else right but still have no energy. A healthy, resilient nervous system improves efficiency, clarity, and energy across all the other pillars.
Why Moms Struggle to Put Themselves First — and Why It Matters
Mothers are the most essential variable in a child’s healing journey. Dr. Tony Ebel and health coach Heather Brown have both seen this truth play out repeatedly — in clinical practice and in their own families. When a mom is depleted, the entire household feels it neurologically, emotionally, and physically. When mom heals, kids tend to follow.
This episode is built around one question: how do you actually make your own health a non-negotiable, not just something you intend to do? Heather Brown developed a practical weekly system called the Sunday Reset after surviving a traumatic birth, a fourth-degree tear, and postpartum depression. What started as Sunday meal planning became a comprehensive mind-body-spirit practice that she now teaches to women through her membership community, Healthy by Heather Brown.
Dr. Ebel frames the conversation through the lens of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) — the neurological measure of nervous system resilience that his practice uses with parents and kids. He has seen, over and over, that moms who exercise daily and eat well still produce poor HRV readings when they neglect their spiritual and emotional health. And that moms who add regular chiropractic adjustments to an already healthy routine see measurable improvements in energy, adaptability, and mental clarity.
Heather’s Story: From Fourth-Degree Tear to Sunday Reset [00:05:00 – 00:22:00]
Heather Brown: Before kids, I was what people called the energizer bunny. I taught Pure Barre, I had a marketing job, and I honestly found most of my identity in my fitness — in the endorphin high, the community, the routine. I didn’t even know at the time that I had turned exercise into an idol.
When I got pregnant, everything seemed fine. Healthy pregnancy, fit mom, birth plan in hand. And then the actual birth happened.
It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Complications from the start — oxygen on, baby’s heart rate dropping, pushing and pushing and nothing happening. When my son finally arrived, we were in this euphoric moment. And then my doctor told me, very casually while still sewing me up, that I had a fourth-degree tear. The worst tear possible. All the way through. She told me I wouldn’t be walking past my mailbox for the first six weeks.
The full weight of that didn’t hit me immediately. I was crying, exhausted, trying to get my baby to latch. But when I got home and I realized I couldn’t move my body — couldn’t exercise, couldn’t regulate my stress the way I knew how — I started unraveling.
I cried multiple times a day. I wasn’t sleeping. At my two-week appointment, I told my doctor I just wanted to feel like myself again. She told me that was a sign of depression and put me on antidepressants. Everything spiraled so fast. I didn’t even know I was depressed. I just wanted to be me again.
“I essentially idolized exercise. I found my identity in being that teacher, my coping mechanism in that endorphin high — which are all great things until you put them above the Lord.”
I got off the antidepressants after one round — not the recommended way to do it, and I want to be clear about that. But I’m grateful I came through it okay.
What pulled me through was finding something I could still do from the couch, postpartum and unable to move: meal planning. I had worked at a major meal planning company, so I started planning our family’s meals on Sundays. It felt small, but it gave me a sense of contribution, productivity, and identity when everything else had been taken away.
That Sunday meal planning became the cornerstone of what is now my Sunday Reset.
What Is the Sunday Reset — and How Do You Actually Do It? [00:28:00 – 00:37:00]
Heather Brown: The Sunday Reset is how I intentionally take care of my mind, my body, and my spirit — and plan it all out on the calendar. Because we all know as moms: if it is not in the calendar, it is not happening.
It starts with 10 minutes of stillness. No phone. Sitting outside on the porch or wherever you’re comfortable. Just being present. That sounds small, but it is genuinely difficult.
“The Sunday Reset for me is how I’m going to take care of my mind, my body, and my spirit tangibly — and planning it out on the calendar. Because as moms, if it is not in the calendar, guess what? It isn’t happening.”
Dr. Tony Ebel: I want to stop here because this is actually a data point. In our practice, we measure Heart Rate Variability using a technology called INSiGHT Scans, and you have to sit still for the reading. We literally had to call the manufacturer and ask them to develop shorter capture windows — one minute, two minutes, three minutes — because moms cannot sit still for three minutes. We can graph it. Around 37 seconds in, they start shifting, fidgeting. The movement creates what we call “artifact” in the HRV reading. The data shows how hard stillness actually is for most moms.
So when Heather says start with 10 minutes of stillness — that is a real practice, not a throwaway suggestion.
Heather Brown: Once you’re still, you start reflecting backward on the previous week. No judgment — just learning. Ask yourself: What went really well? What did I struggle with? Did I overbook my calendar? Did I serve my family and my faith the way I intended? Did the meal plan work or not?
Then you look forward: What does this coming week need from me? When is my husband on call? What nights are the busiest? What are the moments I want to protect for my family that I need to actually put in the calendar?
From there, you plan your meals, schedule your movement, schedule your spiritual accountability (Bible study, church, small group), and communicate with your spouse about when you need help so you can actually follow through.
The mind, body, and spirit triangle is the framework. You can go to the gym every day — but if you never open your Bible or do anything for your emotional or spiritual health, you will still come up empty. I know because I did.
Building Your Ideal Weekly Calendar [00:37:00 – 00:44:00]
Dr. Tony Ebel: I am obsessed with the ideal week. Michael Hyatt’s Focus Planner is a great resource for this. Every Sunday, I spend one full hour — sometimes at a coffee shop while my daughter is at junior high ministry — planning my entire week.
People ask me constantly: how do you get so much done, stay energized, and still get your workouts in? The answer is: it’s planned. One hour of intentional planning prevents a week that would absolutely crush me.
Here’s the sequence I’d recommend:
- Find stillness first — before any planning.
- Reflect backward — learn from the week that was.
- Put non-negotiables in the schedule. Not on a to-do list. In a time slot.
Heather Brown: My team knows that 8 to 9:15 a.m. is blocked. That is my workout time. I’m at Burn Bootcamp, at Pure Barre, or working out in my online membership with clients. Life happens — if my kid has an appointment and I have to move the workout, I handle that on Sunday, not Tuesday morning when I’m surprised. I already have a plan B.
The calendar also covers Bible study (every other Friday), Wednesday night small group as a family, date nights with my husband, and one lunch with a girlfriend every other week. If I don’t schedule one-on-one time with Eric, I’m not a great human. That goes in the calendar too.
And I want to be honest: I also plan my food. Because so often we moms grab goldfish off the kids’ plates and call it lunch. When I’m meal planning on Sundays, I know what whole-food nutrition I’m going to eat that week. It keeps my energy stable and eliminates the afternoon crash.
Quick Energy Hacks: What Actually Works [00:44:00 – 00:50:00]
Dr. Tony Ebel: Let’s rapid fire this. If you have 30 minutes to work out and need energy — what do you do?
Heather Brown: 10 minutes of intensive core work, then walking. That combination gives me more than almost anything else.
Dr. Tony Ebel: Food — what are your go-to whole foods for energy?
Heather Brown: Canned tuna. Don’t judge me — it’s easy, affordable, and protein-packed. I also use a good protein powder (I’m currently using Gainful and Ascent). And Chomps protein sticks if I’m on the go.
“Yours isn’t going to be hers, and it isn’t going to be mine — but it’s going to be yours. Go home from this episode and ask yourself: what is my workout, my food, and my supplement? And are you prepared to have them available when you need them?”
Dr. Tony Ebel: And it’s worth knowing — Dr. Tony’s college buddy happens to own Chomps, which is a Chicago-based company. Small world.
Heather Brown: Supplements: liquid collagen (my joints notice immediately when I skip it), magnesium (non-negotiable for me), and — this one I forgot until the very end — Celtic salt. Throwing a pinch of Celtic salt multiple times a day gives you minerals that water alone doesn’t provide. Even during a fast, a pinch of salt gives you an instant zing of energy. The Bible talks about salt and light — and when you feel that zing, you understand why.
Dr. Tony Ebel: Our whole team is basically Stanley cups, trace mineral packets, and Celtic salt. I’m considering hiring a donkey to carry all the hydration gear from everyone’s cars to the door.
HRV, Nervous System Health, and Why Moms Need to Get Adjusted [00:50:00 – 01:05:00]
Dr. Tony Ebel: I want to bring this home with the nervous system piece, because this is the thread that ties everything together.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a measure of nervous system resilience. A good HRV means your nervous system is adaptable, energized, and recovering well. A poor HRV means your body is in a state of chronic stress — even if you can’t feel it explicitly.
Here’s what we see over and over in our practice: moms come in with nutrition dialed in, workouts consistent, sleep managed. And their HRV tanks. Why? Because they are not taking care of their soul. They don’t have stillness. They don’t have spiritual connection. They have internal strife that workouts and supplements simply cannot fix.
And then there’s the other group — moms doing the mind, body, and spirit triangle — and their HRV is in the green. The nervous system responds to all of it: the food, the movement, the sleep, and the soul.
The fourth pillar — the one that makes the triangle into something more — is chiropractic adjustments.
When your nervous system is healthy and structurally clear, you get more efficiency from everything else. More clarity. More energy. If you are taking your kids to a chiropractor and sitting in the room while they get adjusted, talk to your doctor this week. Get on the table. Get your INSiGHT Scan. Get your HRV measured. Add chiropractic to your own health plan.
“Chiropractic is the cheat code that will change everything — your energy, your mojo, your life as a mom and dad. When your nervous system is healthy and resilient, you have more efficiency, more clarity, more energy all by itself.”
Heather Brown: I can’t believe I almost left this out, but going to the chiropractor is one of my Sunday Reset non-negotiables. It makes a real difference — and I schedule it just like I schedule everything else.
Why Mom’s Health Is the Child’s Healing Cheat Code [Throughout Episode]
Dr. Tony Ebel: This is one I stress about more than almost anything. We talk constantly about the baby’s brainstem, the vagus nerve, the nervous system — and that is our clinical calling. But what I worry about is that we’re not talking enough to moms, for moms about moms.
When I’m in our practice and a child starts getting better, I find myself turning to mom. On the third visit with a mom this week, after answering all her questions about her child, I turned to her and asked: “Can I ask you a few questions I haven’t asked yet?” And we started talking about her — what she’s been through, what she’s carrying, where her health is.
The reason I do this: in our practice, when we hit a stuck point with a child — when the adjustments are working, the plan is right, but the child isn’t progressing — the answer is almost always that mom and dad are exhausted and not healing. There is a neuroemotional connection between parent and child that is not metaphorical. It is measurable.
When mom puts her health first, that is the catalyst. That is the cheat code that actually gets the child moving again.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Sunday Reset and how do I start?
The Sunday Reset is a weekly planning practice developed by Heather Brown to help parents — especially moms — take intentional care of their mind, body, and spirit. It begins with 10 minutes of phone-free stillness (prayer or journaling), followed by reflection on the previous week, then forward planning: scheduling workouts, meals, spiritual commitments, couple time, and anything else that matters to you. The key principle is that if it isn’t on the calendar, it won’t happen.
Why does it matter so much that moms take care of their own health?
According to Dr. Tony Ebel, when a child’s healing plateaus in chiropractic care, the most common underlying cause is an exhausted parent. There is a neuroemotional connection between parents and children — measurable through Heart Rate Variability (HRV) — that means mom’s nervous system state directly affects the family’s overall health environment. When mom prioritizes her own health and healing, it often becomes the catalyst that moves a stuck child forward.
Can postpartum depression and traumatic birth affect a mom’s long-term health identity?
Yes. Heather Brown experienced a fourth-degree tear during childbirth and subsequent postpartum depression, and describes losing her entire fitness identity and coping mechanism in the recovery period. The path forward wasn’t about getting back to the gym immediately — it was about finding a new way to feel productive and purposeful (meal planning) and rebuilding her health identity around all three pillars: mind, body, and spirit, not just physical fitness.
What is HRV and why does Dr. Tony use it with moms?
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a measurement of nervous system resilience — how well your body can adapt to stress and recover. Higher HRV means a more adaptable, energized nervous system. Dr. Tony Ebel measures HRV in parents and children using INSiGHT Scans in his practice. He has found that moms with excellent nutrition and fitness routines still show poor HRV when they’re not addressing spiritual or emotional health — meaning the nervous system responds to all pillars of health, not just the physical ones.
How does chiropractic care fit into the Sunday Reset?
Heather Brown schedules her chiropractic adjustments as a weekly non-negotiable, the same way she schedules workouts and Bible study. Dr. Tony Ebel describes chiropractic as “the cheat code” for parents who are already doing the other things right but still feel low-energy or depleted. When the nervous system is structurally clear and functioning well, it improves efficiency, mental clarity, and energy across all other areas of life. Find a PX Docs office near you at the PX Docs Directory.
I’m a mom taking my child to a chiropractor — should I be getting adjusted too?
Yes. Dr. Tony Ebel specifically addresses this in the episode: if you are sitting in the room while your child gets adjusted but not getting on the table yourself, talk to your chiropractor this week. Ask to get scanned, get your HRV measured, and add your own care to the plan. The nervous system care that is healing your child will also help you show up with more energy, presence, and resilience as a parent.
Resources & Related Content
- The Perfect Storm Framework — Understanding the root cause of childhood neurological challenges
- Birth Trauma — Why birth interventions affect the nervous system (referenced throughout this episode)
- Find a PX Docs Office Near You — PX Docs Practitioner Directory
- Healthy by Heather Brown — Heather’s membership community, digital courses, and Instagram (@healthybyheatherbrown)
- Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt — Mentioned by Dr. Tony as a tool for ideal week planning
- Next Episode: Stimulate the Vagus Nerve: Why it Matters and How to Do it – PX Docs