Two very effective ways to regulate the Nervous System is to incorporate regular Meditation and Breathwork practices into our daily routine.
Meditation is a way to still our mind and to become familiar with ourselves, to get to know ourselves within the stillness of meditation.
Many forms of Breathwork therapy involve breathing in a conscious and systematic way. Many people find breath work promotes deep relaxation or leaves them feeling energised.
When we are feeling stressed or anxious, our sympathetic nervous system (SNS - Fight or Flight) has been switched on. One of the most noticeable signs of a person being in an SNS state is that their breathing is short, fast and shallow. When we consciously slow down the breath, extend the exhalation and regulate our breathing, this can have a profound effect on the body's stress response. Slow or regulated breathing sends the signal to the body that we are safe.
One of the most powerful effects of regulated breathing is its ability to switch off the stress response in the body and to switch on the relaxation response, also known as the parasympathetic nervous system. When we are feeling stressed or anxious, our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) has been switched on. One of the most noticeable signs of a person being in an SNS state is that their breathing is short, fast and shallow. When we consciously slow down the breath, extend the exhalation and regulate our breathing, this can have a profound effect on the body's stress response. Slow or regulated breathing sends the signal to the body that we are safe. From here, the parasympathetic nervous system switches on, this will help us to feel calm, relaxed, peaceful and clear minded. IN the PNS state, our body can use all of its internal resources to heal and balance our body and mind. When we are calm and relaxed there is better Oxygen delivery to all the cells of our body, including the brain, this is one of the reasons people who practise regular breath work may notice a reduction in brain fog and will notice clearer thinking. The calming of the nervous system can help switch off the fear centres in the brain and to switch on the parts of our brain that are designed for more complex thought. Two very effective ways to regulate the Nervous System is to incorporate regular Meditation and Breathwork practices into our daily routine. Meditation is a way to still our mind and to become familiar with ourselves, to get to know ourselves within the stillness of meditation. It helps us develop or redevelop a relationship with ourselves in a world that keeps us so busy and active. When we are willing to sit still with ourselves and observe our thoughts, our feelings and what and how we react to being still and quiet; we learn about ourselves and begin to see patterns and ways of being that do not support our nervous system. To “Know thyself”. The Ancient Greek Aphorism “Know Thyself” is Literally The Key to a Meaningful Life. “Know yourself” is the basis of all philosophical commandments, Socrates once observed. The phrase “Know thyself,” is centuries old, but it’s still one of the essential health enhancing skills and Nervous System Regulators of this century. Aristotle also said: “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Who are you, really? Do you know? “Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?” Charles Bukowski asks. Self-knowledge is the sum total of who you truly are as a person, not an employee, writer, creator, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, or wife. The true self as it really is. The more we practise this inner stillness and calm the mind and begin to focus on the breath and slow the breath down, the more we tap into our connection with ourselves, our body, our thoughts, feelings and emotions. We slow down our breath and we go quiet. A practice of meditation is well documented to calm the nervous system, helping to regulate it. Meditation when practised regularly can move us into Theta state, that state of sleep, but not asleep; awake but not awake, we become more conscious of our thoughts, feelings and emotions. In this ‘Theta’ state the subconscious becomes a very open suggestion. We can literally re-program our brain in the Theta state. We slowly over time become more aware. In this state of Theta, the brain slows down enough to access the subconscious mind. This is where all the patterns and programs run that drive us unconsciously on a daily basis.
Once we can become aware of the subconscious thoughts that drive our behaviour and feelings; we have the power to change them for behaviours, thoughts, feelings and emotions that align with a calm and regulated Nervous System. The subconscious is like an old movie projector projecting a movie from the past into our present and producing emotions, thoughts and feelings from the past. Meditation helps us come into the present moment when practised consistently. It helps us become familiar with the daily behaviours, thoughts, feelings and emotions that drive us. When we can slow the brain down, we bring our focus to the breath and the current moment. Meditation takes us from a state of a narrow focus, task & ‘doing’ to an expanded focus; not doing, BEING. We come out of an over stimulated, aroused state of being to a calm, broader state of focus. Sensing space, opening and broadening our focus on the nothingness; we begin to open the compartments of the brain that fire out of order, incoherently when we are in a busy or in a stressed state, and we successfully slow down it’s activity and brain activity begins to synchronise. What syncs in the brain, begins to link in the brain. We start to feel more like ourselves. There is an integration that develops. We develop brain coherence. We begin to start feeling whole. We begin thinking more clearly. We can think coherently and with clarity. We develop a vision of the future we’d like to create. We are literally “dialling down our thinking neocortex (our analytical mind). We begin to sense space, we’re no longer thinking.
We slow our brains from High Beta brain wave states to lower Beta state and then to Alpha (the creative state), this is an imaginary state, we begin to see in pictures when the “thinking" (over stimulated mind starts to slow down). With enough practice, we can move from Alpha to Theta state. Theta is the hypnotic state (asleep but not asleep; awake but not awake). Hypnotic states cause us to be very suggestible to information. Suggestibility is our ability to accept, believe and surrender to information as the truth without ever analysing it and that’s what programs the subconscious mind. Our ability to create becomes amplified. If we work on regulating our internal state every day in this way, we find as novice meditators the body begins to respond to these positive changes caused in our biology by regulating our nervous system. We become more resistant to things happening in the outer world (our environment) because our internal environment is regulated and the more we practise, the more at peace internally we become. We are no longer victim to our environment.
Our stress response becomes managed over time. Many forms of breathwork therapy involve breathing in a conscious and systematic way. Many people find breath work promotes deep relaxation or leaves them feeling energised. The diaphragm is referenced often during breath work, it is a long muscle that is situated below the lungs, it is a large dome shaped muscle. When we inhale, this large muscle contracts and flattens, creating more space in the chest for air to enter the body. As we exhale, the diaphragm relaxing, moving upwards, decreasing the volume in the chest and pushing the air out of the lungs. Breathwork focuses on getting more oxygen to the body. Most of us are shallow breathers, this causes us to not have enough oxygen in our bloodstream to facilitate optimal health. The main function of the respiratory system is to bring oxygen into the body and deliver it to the bloodstream, which will transport it to the cells of the body. Every cell in the body requires oxygen to function. Oxygen, also known as O2, is responsible for creating energy in the cells of the body. Once Oxygen is delivered to the cells of the body, a waste product called Carbon Dioxide or CO2 is created. CO2 is exhaled out of the lungs. Breath Work for this reason is a powerful tool in our journey towards optimal health. Breath work helps increase awareness, relaxation and improves focus. One of the most powerful effects of regulated breathing is its ability to switch off the stress response in the body and to switch on the relaxation response, also known as the parasympathetic nervous system. When we are feeling stressed or anxious, our sympathetic nervous system (SNS - Fight or Flight) has been switched on. One of the most noticeable signs of a person being in an SNS state is that their breathing is short, fast and shallow. When we consciously slow down the breath, extend the exhalation and regulate our breathing, this can have a profound effect on the body's stress response. Slow or regulated breathing sends the signal to the body that we are safe.
From here, the parasympathetic nervous system switches on (Rest & Digest or Feed & Breed), this will help us to feel calm, relaxed, peaceful and clear minded. IN the PSNS state, our body can use all of its internal resources to heal and balance our body and mind. When we are calm and relaxed there is better Oxygen delivery to all the cells of our body, including the brain, this is one of the reasons people who practise regular breath work may notice a reduction in brain fog and will notice clearer thinking. The calming of the nervous system can help switch off the fear centres in the brain and to switch on the parts of our brain that are designed for more complex thought. Through Breathwork we can slow the breath, slow the brain down and our brain is a Pharmaceutical store of feel good hormones like Serotonin (in light), Melatonin is a hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness (in the absence of light) and DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) the potent psychedelic compound increased connectivity across the brain, with more communication between different areas and systems.
Scientific studies show changes to brain activity are most prominent in areas linked with ‘higher level’ functions, such as imagination. DMT is a potent psychedelic found naturally in certain plants and animals. Our brain releases DMT under certain breathwork experiences. Our brains can literally exude all these natural feel good chemicals when we can slow it down enough. Serotonin is one of the natural help control when you sleep and wake up, as well as how you feel pain, well being and sexual desire. Serotonin works with Melatonin to help control when we sleep and wake up, as well as how we feel pain, well being and sexual desire. Consistent Meditation and Breathwork help regulate the Nervous System for all the reasons above. We recommend a regular practice and we run weekly groups with guided Meditation and guided Breathwork on the beautiful Sunshine Coast 10 minutes North of Maroochydore and 15 minutes South of Coolum Beach near beautiful Mudjimba Beach and Twin Waters. How do we learn to Meditate or Do Breath Work? The first step to learning to meditate is to set the intention to sit still no matter how uncomfortable we may become in the beginning or how busy our mind may be or if we fall asleep. It is a discipline built over time. It takes practice and discipline to still a busy mind. Focusing on our in breath and out breath is a great place to start. Allowing thoughts to pass through is a good practice in the beginning too. Using guided meditations in the beginning can be one way to develop the discipline to sit still. We can join a group or we can use YouTube. We have a playlist on our YouTube Channel to assist our clients to practise meditation. We also have a short video on a Breathwork exercise by Doctor Joe Dispenza or you can join our Breathwork Group. Another great way to meditate is to book an Access Bars treatment.
Access Bars are 32 points on the head that line up with the Chinese Meridian lines and when lightly touched, these points begin to slow the brain waves down, accessing the subconscious mind. It’s a deeply relaxing process, assisting the recipient to go into that ‘Theta’ state explained (deeply relaxed; asleep but not asleep; awake but not awake) through gentle touch. Non-invasive, gentle, painless. Check out our website for details and Medical Videos explaining the process further and the results through brain scans and Regulation Thermometry (Thermal Imaging of the Organs of the Body).