Understanding your patterns logically, but your body still reacts in the same old ways?
Do you ever feel like you understand your patterns logically, but your body still reacts in the same old ways?
Let me share with you a new perspective that you might not have heard before.
So, I am super passionate about working with both the body and mind, and one thing that I see time and time again in my holistic therapy practice is that:
‘'While the mind can gain insights in an instant, the body often needs more time.’’
Our nervous system has wired itself according to what was needed earlier in life, oftentimes way earlier, when we were very little.
So right now, the nervous system adapted to the perception of a five-year-old is, in fact, running the show.
It is not YOU who is feeling anxious; it is simply the tendency of your nervous system right now.
4 Parts to working aligned with your nervous system
So here are the four parts of working with your body, which is actually working in alignment with your nervous system.
Familiarise our system with relaxation and safety
So first of all, we need to familiarise our system with what relaxation and safety in our system mean. When our nervous system has the tendency to contract or disconnect, relaxing can even feel daunting.
Meaning having a daily practice where you are tuning into a relaxed, open state.
Your body is either in contraction or expansion, so what makes your body expand?
This can look like breathing, shaking, dancing, stretching, or a bit of everything.
2. Toolkit to feel the self-efficacy in moments of trigger
Then we want to have a clear game plan to handle overwhelming or triggering moments, so we feel the self-efficacy to handle whatever comes our way.
Different practices that remind your amygdala, the threat assessment part of your brain, that there is no actual danger.
3. Gradual exposure
From there, we need exposure in a gradual way.
Our amygdala learns through experience, not explanation.
You can tell yourself a hundred times that you don’t need to be afraid, but the amygdala will still react based on the memory of when you were afraid.
To truly desensitise the amygdala, we must gather new experiences that prove the coast is clear.
Do not “quit” when the anxiety is at its highest. Stay in the experience until you feel your heart rate drop even slightly. That drop is the exact moment your amygdala learns it is safe.
4. The body keeps the score
Then lastly: our body keeps the score, so having guided emotional releases can be extremely helpful, so that the body can let go of old, unexpressed things it might be holding.
Somatic massage therapy is one of the ways to do that.
Want to learn Somatic Massage therapy?
Want to learn how to guide others through deep emotional releases and deep relaxation?
Join our Weekend Somatic Massage Therapy Practitioner training in Amsterdam.
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