Your Nervous System does EVERYTHING!
I was recently asked by a student what the Nervous System does, and almost didn’t know how to answer. The reason being is it does so much!
The primary role of the Nervous System is communication, which it does by relaying information from brain to body and body to brain. It helps us pick up information from the baroreceptors that detect pressure changes in our blood vessels to ensure we’re meeting our demands. It allows us to see, feel, and respond to our external reality through perceptions we experience through the 5 senses. It helps us contract our muscles (including the smooth muscles of our GI system and the cardiac muscle that pumps blood through the heart). You get the picture.
The Nervous System has a hand in nearly all body functions through it’s communication role, but most importantly it does its job based on the state it’s operating from. For example, if we’re under chronic stress, our Nervous System assumes our bodies need to fight or flee and prepares the body for this energetic demand by raising blood pressure and heart rate and sending blood away from the core toward the extremities.
On the other hand, if we’re in a calm, parasympathetic state, our bodies direct more blood flow to our core and gastrointestinal system where a majority of our healing potential resides according to gut microbiome research over the past 10 years. We also have greater access to the prefrontal cortex, an area within our frontal lobe that allows us to think critically and ask deeper questions to gain self-awareness.
We also know that whatever we’re perceiving in our reality, whether threat or safety, we’re more likely to perceive more of! That means if you’re used to being under stress, you’ll filter everything you perceive through your senses as more cause to be stressed (even if the stimulus is neutral). Or if you feel safe, you’re more likely to perceive safety in the cues and people around you.
Here’s how you can take control of your state to heal better and perceive more safety in your environment:
Know where you’re at. I use my breath as a clue into my neurological state. Observe the depth and length of your inhales and exhales and observe how it changes throughout your day and as you carry out different activities to understand your natural rhythm. That way you’ll be quicker to observe when you’re deviating from this rhythm.
Breathwork. Breath is easy and powerful because it’s the only aspect of our autonomic function that we have conscious control over! By regulating the breath, your state will follow.
Co-regulation. Practice these tools with others (you can even forward them this e-mail). Humans are social creatures and healing happens in community. Build skill through practice.
Let’s keep in touch:
Book your Adjustment
Book Yoga for Nervous System Health at Lizard Yoga
Instagram @Dr.HopeMcLoughlin, @IntegrateChiropracticATX