What Is A Healthy Nervous System?

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What Is A Healthy Nervous System?

Have you ever desired something that you really wanted, but maybe don’t have the funds yet to buy the thing? Or it’s not the right time?

For me, it’s mostly traveling. There are so many places in the world I would like to visit. I get so excited when I see videos of Africa and Asia, and their food…omg the food! Makes my mouth water.

Big travels are not happening anytime soon. I would like to, but I am not there, quit yet.

This reminds me of when our mind and body are not on the same page.

We may desire to experience less to no stress, anxiety, grief (you name it), but our bodies, are not there yet.

You see, most clients I work with, have a goal insight when beginning sessions. They want to experience more relief, peace, joy, in a very short time frame. But their bodies, their nervous systems, are not able to hold space for the elevated states they are setting their mind on (at least not to the extent they wish). It’s a slow process, at their nervous system’s pace.

We first begin with building a relationship with their unique nervous system, and with some knowledge, and what supports them. What activates health, before diving into what their main problem they want to resolve is.

Not knowing about a healthy nervous system then leaves you pushing yourself and symptoms backfiring, leading to more anxiety, stress, depression, and into the path of autoimmune, disease, and chronic illnesses, and shorter lifespan.

Today, I am sharing with you simple and easy practices, you can cultivate now, to have a relationship with your nervous system.

What is the autonomic nervous system? 🤓

The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) regulates all the basic functions of our bodies (and organs), connecting from the base of the brain stem to base of the spine, and to organs. The ANS operates automatically and we have no control over this, and it’s the source of our survival responses.

We have two branches: Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). The SNS helps us to self protection into a fight or flight response when we perceive danger.

The PNS helps us to relax, digest, rest, and increase immunity, and to connect with others. The PNS, however, acts like an emergency brake, when there’s too much of the SNS, it automatically slows everything down, resulting in the freeze response. When this stays stuck on, shutdown occurs, and no energy is deactivated.

Healthy Nervous System Response

A healthy nervous system is when it’s responding appropriately to the environment it’s in.

In the mental health and wellness worlds, it’s massively marketed that to have a healthy nervous system we need to feel calm and zen all the time. That’s not accurate. We want our nervous systems to be flexible to the right environment.

The Sympathetic branch of our nervous system is like the gas pedal, that gives us energy for any action we plan, and it helps us to prepare for threat. Like when we go for a run to exercise, or we are about to present in front of an audience, or we are being attacked by a dog.

The Parasympathetic branch acts like the brake pedal for our nervous system. It helps us to unwind and relax, and to deactivate the arousal of the sympathetic activation. Like when we lay down and look at the sky above and being present with it, or when we are taking a break after going for a walk and are heart rate is slowing down.

Creating more of a healthy pattern in your nervous system requires a lot of patience. It’s a slow practice of noticing, feeling, supporting, doing, and presence. We cannot control our bodies to do this, but we can set the just right conditions for our nervous systems to respond positively, at it’s own time.