Re-Sculpting your Nervous System for Ease

It’s common knowledge that having less stress in your life lowers your heart rate and blood pressure.  It reduces the flood of cortisol and adrenaline in your blood stream and overall, reduces inflammation, potentially disrupting the on-set of various diseases. Having less stress also allows more of your brain to participate in the present moment because your amygdala and brain stem are less likely to coop the moment, truncating your executive functioning (problem solving, planning, organizing and decision making capabilities).

Though many agree that having less stress in our lives improves our physical, emotional and mental health, I believe that knowing how to turn on the relaxation response can exponentially improve the quality of one’s life far beyond these baseline measurements.   As you engage in the process of teaching your nervous system to turn on the relaxation response, I also believe you would also be wise to cultivate a sense of responsibility for the experiences you allow into your mind-body connection.

I can almost hearing you saying “what do you mean, the experiences I allow into my mind-body connection?”

I am referring to the experiences that enter through your sense perceptions (particularly the auditory, visual and gustatory avenues) and affect your state of being (mentally, emotionally and physically) and sway or shift your overall mind-body connection in one direction or another.  In many ways you could say all that you consume is either amping up your nervous system or calming it down.  It’s either enhancing your sensitivity, awareness and presence or numbing it down.  In many ways you could say what you consume through your senses is improving your attachment quotient and your ability to be in the present moment, fully engaged, or diluting your attachment quotient, leaving you feeling adrift, unconnected or in affectional.

As an individual taking up the leadership of your life, you understand that a major part of your life’s work includes a sense of responsibility for how you care for your nervous system, mind-body connection and emerging Self.   You take responsibility by employing the practice of conscious consent as you consider any decision regarding the inputs, environments and experiences, you will expose your nervous system to.

When considering how to use your free time you may ask yourself “do I want to watch the news, read a book or take a walk around the lake?”

If you’re interested in the news you may consider “do I want to watch all the bright lights, urgent vocalizations of the newscaster, and disruptive images, or instead read about an unfolding news event?”.   

When considering a dinner engagement with a friend you might ask yourself “do I want to go to a restaurant or have a picnic in a beautiful location?” When faced with a choice of restaurants “do I want to go to the loud one where conversation might be difficult or the one with a calmer ambience?”

When considering your visual entertain you might ask yourself “Is this a moment where I want to digest an action movie or one that opens my heart?”.

It’s always helpful to consider the environments you find yourself in, and to attentively notice which side of your nervous system they feed: the stress oriented side or the relaxation oriented side.  Activities you engage in can be nutritious or like junk food, full of calories but devoid of any real sustenance, and it’s important to remember your environments are communicating with all of your senses: visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory and olfactory.

You may be thinking “wow, building somatic resiliency is complicated” and yes, it can be, until its not.

There comes a tipping point where you just naturally move away from what does not serve you, in favor of that which does.  There comes a point in your life where you are naturally drawn towards that which resonates with this new state of ease in your nervous system and you move away from, or loose interest in, that which does not.

As you re-sculpt your nervous system for ease, learning to disarm anxiety, stress and overwhelm, you naturally elevate your physical, emotional and mental vitality, commencing a process of mind-body coherence I call Taking up the Leadership of Your Life.

Are you ready to become your most coherent Self?

I sure hope so.  This world needs more coherent people; it needs the gifts and talents waiting silently, deep within your coherence, to emerge and unfold into their full potential.