Have you checked your brakes lately?
The fast-paced, firey energy, although fun, can sometimes get to us and lead to burnout. Running around to kids soccer games, last minute packing for vacation, planning social gatherings - it’s like it never stops.
So when it comes to our body during all this chaos, who’s running the show? Often times we forget that as stress builds around us, our body (if not taken care of properly) starts to run it’s brakes down to the wire so to speak. Heart rate elevates, blood pressure rises, digestion slows down, tension builds, mind spins, sleep diminishes, and we get out of sync with our innate rhythms as we prioritize other endeavors before our health.
Just as our cars have two different pedals to speed up and slow down, so does our nervous system. The Autonomic or “Automatic” System does EVERYTHING for us…without us having to think twice! The first pedal or system - the Sympathetic System AKA the “Fight, Flight, Freeze” side - focuses on survival and responds to stress via increased heart rhythms, dilated pupils, sweat, increased muscle activation, arched/fighter-stance posture, and decreased digestive and menstrual rhythms (because when you’re running from a tiger, the LAST thing your body cares about is having a baby or digesting that Chipotle you had for lunch).
The second pedal or system - the Parasympathetic System AKA the “Rest, Healing, Digest, and Repair” side - focuses on our growth in development. THIS is where we want to be majority of our life, unless of course we experience a TRUE threat to our livelihood.
As Dr. Bruce Lipton (author of Biology of Belief) states, “We cannot be in growth and protection at the same time.”
More often than not, most of us are driving 90mph down the highway (i.e. Sympathetic dominance) and have lost awareness of HOW to use our brakes (stimulating the Parasympathetic side). We then get stuck in a pattern of chronic, internal stress in our nervous system which eventually leads to greater dysfunction, lack of zest for life, stress physiology and posturing, and a host of symptoms that pull us away from true health and vitality.
So what do we do about it?
Simply put - each time we adjust and realign the spine and nervous system, it gives the body a chance to “pump the brakes” and move into a state of healing. Each adjustment pattern interrupts the stress response in the body, slowly yet powerfully bringing the body to a more peaceful, relaxed state. It is in this STATE that our body can begin to heal, learn how to respond better to stress, and access the parasympathetic state more often. As we teach the body HOW to be in this state more often, the bodymind desires to be there because THAT is where we can be MOST energy efficient and healthy.
Nature is intelligent. We were DESIGNED to be 100% well. You don’t have to think about healing the cuts on your skin, do you? Or for you moms out there - did you once have to tell your baby to grow? I didn’t think so 😉
It’s like teaching a kid how to tie their shoes.
In the beginning it takes more work, more guidance, more effort, more coaching. Eventually as we learn those strategies to tie our shoes (aka healing/peaceful/optimized states), we can then access such states more often regardless of what’s happening around us. We then become the drivers of our own destiny.
What’s next?
If you’re looking for hope beyond the physical, mental, and emotional challenges you’re facing, let us help you get your brakes checked and guide you on a path to THRIVING. You are not ALONE. AND you deserve to feel healthy and well. Reach out to us and see how we can help this summer - what have you got to lose?
With awareness comes responsibility. And with responsibility comes action. With ACTION comes powerful, sustainable transformation.
Yours in health,
Dr. Mel