The Importance of Cultivating Nervous System Resilience

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with information? If so, you’re in the vast majority! According to researcher Jonathan B. Spira,  94% of workers have felt “overwhelmed with information to the point of incapacitation” at some point. Another ⅔ of workers felt that they didn’t have enough time to get everything done. 

These metrics point to a reality that we all already know about! The pace of life is hastening and the demands on workers (and humans) are at an all-time high. There is an expectation that productivity must result from every waking hour of the day. Resultantly, many people find themselves burned out from overcoming their bodies’ needs in a rat’s race to “get shit done.”

The way our bodies respond to and process our external realities is through the Nervous System, an important body system comprising the brain, spinal cord, and nerves to all tissues of the body. As the pace of life accelerates, so too does the nervous system’s need to process and respond to stimuli. This is especially true of the highly sensitive nervous system. 

In the absence of nervous system regulating tools, the body loses its ability to respond from ease and control and instead resorts to anxiety, overwhelm, or dissociation as means of coping and adapting from survival mode. These are beautiful adaptive tools if your life is under threat! But are less adaptive if you have work deadlines you need to meet or projects that need to be completed. Our modern culture has normalized working from survival mode. It’s so common that it seems normal. 

What should be normalized is operating from the ease, pleasure, and creativity that results from a regulated Nervous System.  For many, this feels out of reach. Even slowing down enough to breathe and meditate may produce anxiety for someone who is acclimated to stress-hormones like Cortisol running their show. We can literally become addicted to these hormonal rushes!

I used to be someone who said “I work well under pressure.” What I meant by this was that I would put myself under a great amount of pressure (often by procrastinating), so that my stress hormones could fuel me into action. I’ve now found the Nervous System resilience to take on the pace of our hastening external reality without depending on the chemical high of a Cortisol rush.

While using practices like seated meditation, yin yoga, and relaxing bath bombs are amazing for giving the Nervous System a reprieve, I found that they did little to prepare me to re-enter the fast-paced world of being a graduate student (and now a small business owner).

Rather than expecting my system to immediately soften into full relaxation mode, I found that the vigorous and dynamic asana practice associated with Kundalini Yoga allowed me to build up my capacity to manage stress and strain while staying with the rhythm of my breath and cultivating an equanimous mind (or at least doing my best). It gave me the tools to meet the world head-on with a resilient and adaptive body prepared to take it on! 

I have also continued to get adjusted by a Chiropractor weekly even though I have no symptoms. I do this because I know that each adjustment helps to program my body into learning how to release built-up tension that will inevitably accumulate if I seek to meet life at the pace that it asks of me. 

Consequently, what constitutes a healthy nervous system is a resilient one! I still absolutely advocate for gentle recovery practices following extended periods of activity. But what I believe our hastening work culture is teaching us is to equally hasten and refine our Nervous System’s processing skills. This is literally all a blessing in disguise asking us to fine-tune our human experiences.

If you are seeking support in meeting life’s demands head-on with preparedness, I would love to support you through Chiropractic care and yogic practices! 

Meet me in the Ethers: Instagram.com/dr.hopemcloughlin

Book your Adjustment at my practice, Naad Wellness Studio Here. 25% off Initial for Newsletter fam!

Flow with me: Mondays at 5:30pm Yoga for Nervous System Health at Lizard Yoga