The foundation of Seed Yoga Therapy rest on 4 pillars. Pillar one is honoring the nervous system.
In this video learn about the brilliance of the nervous system, how to honor its wisdom and how to work with it so it doesn’t get stuck in fight, flight or freeze.
As a mental health therapist my training kept me primarily in the realm of the mind. I found people could understand where their suffering may came from, but it didn’t necessarily change their direct experience. In the work I do with my teachers and in my own healing I am learning that focusing more upstream can get closer to the roots of suffering. This include understanding that everything we do happens in the nervous system, which is wired to protect us at all costs. All the thoughts and behaviors I have, even if they don’t serve me anymore, are an effort to keep me alive. These same thoughts and behaviors have served me at some point even if they don’t anymore. When I honor the nervous system I can work with it instead of fighting it and I can see that none of it is personal. It is physiological, and ultimately we will never win in a fight against the nervous system.
Honoring the nervous system can:
- Make our experiences less personal.
- Give access to objectivity.
- Use the body to support healing, instead of trying to think our way through a nervous system state.
- Hold a broader understanding of the wisdom of our responses even if they aren’t comfortable.
- Increase compassion towards ourselves and others.
How the nervous system work? The nervous system is vast and complicated, and this blog includes a bit of information as I understand it in hopes to support you in your own process.
First think of a time when you felt completely at ease. Can you describe the experience? What did you see? Hear? Smell? Taste? Feel?
The first line of defense when there is a threat is fight or flight. This is a brilliant response because if the nervous system believes it can outrun this threat or fight it off we will survive, but the nervous system doesn’t distinguish between a “real” or perceived threat.
The next line of defense is to freeze. This is the next best option if I’m unable fight or run away, as it floods the body with pain-reducing hormones and their is a possibility of the threat retreating when there is nothing to fight or chase after. Freezing is also a brilliant response to trauma.
Let’s explore an example.
If I have a conflict with co-worker I might get mad and blame them for not meeting my needs or I might experience anger and blame towards myself for not being a good colleague. This can be an internal or an external fight response.
Or I might walk away from the conversation, go to a coffee shop to buy a cookie. This is a flight response.
Or I might be shut down, stop talking, go home and collapse on the couch in despair in a freeze response.
In any given moment all these responses may come to our aid, depending on the level of threat we perceive. Many people have one state we tend to default to more than others. None of these are bad or good, right or wrong. They are simply ways we are wired and conditioned to respond to threats.
Knowing you are in a fight, flight or freeze response can be useful because you can take care of that response, but first we need to know what care your unique nervous system needs.
When in a state of calm it may be useful to reflect on these different states. What helps you when you want to run away from something or someone? It is doing something physical? Talking to a trusted friend?
What helps when you want to fight? It is taking a break to be by yourself? Is it journaling?
What helps when you freeze? Is it cuddling with your pet? Is it making sure you are warm enough?
Reflect on ways you can support yourself when you go into these states and it is also useful pay attention to the fluctuations in the nervous system. These states are happening all the time, in big and small ways. In the time you spent reading this post did you notice any shifts in your system? By noticing the changes in your nervous system state you can:
- Support those responses quicker because you will notice them sooner.
- Observe when the nervous system is calm and easeful, which many times is ignored because there is nothing screaming to get attention.
- Begin to become friends with your nervous system instead of being at war with it.
Included in the video above is a practice to support you access the safe, peaceful and easeful part of your nervous system. Enjoy!