What staying healthy really means…

Sometimes you just have to state the obvious, so here it is: there’s no physical health without a regulated nervous system.

The nervous system, particularly the autonomic nervous system, is in charge of regulating all of the other body systems such as the immune system, the digestive system, the cardiovascular and  hormonal system.

So it follows that a dysregulated nervous system will wreak havoc on the other systems and thus on specific body functions in the long term.

Unfortunately stating the obvious doesn’t necessarily mean we take the next logical step.

For example, how many of us take active steps to regulate our nervous system on a daily basis?

How many of us even know what that means or how it would look?

We think about being in shape and we watch what we eat, but how many of us think we need to find ways to check in with the nervous system and see what it needs?

If you’re stuck in Freeze, your nervous system needs to be upregulated.

If you’re stuck in Fight or Flight it needs to be downregulated.

Nervous system regulation is a skill that can be learned and mastered. It takes dedicating  time and effort until we learn to do it on the go.

It takes quieting things down so you can hear what your body is telling you through interoceptive awareness. What the body is saying is a reflection of the state of your nervous system.

Most of us have a hard time doing it on our own, at least in the beginning. It helps if someone can hold the space for you and guide you through that.

How about beginning to learn how to regulate your nervousness as a way to take care of your health today?