How is your nervous system doing? With the state of the world right now, many people are experiencing symptoms of a nervous system running on overdrive – insomnia, anxiety, extreme fatigue, digestive issues to name but a few! The fact that collectively we have all experienced ongoing changes to our lives in the past couple of years means that some of these symptoms have settled in and may be starting to feel normal.
So, what is going on in our bodies?
These symptoms are all related to issues within a part of our nervous system called the autonomic nervous system. This is made up of three parts: the enteric nervous system (gut/digestive system), the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for fight, flight or freeze responses), and the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for a rest, digest and restore responses).
Fight or Flight Response
The sympathetic nervous system activates our fight or flight responses when we encounter threatening situations, emotional stress, or anxiety. It then sends impulses to the adrenal glands, which release stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol into the blood steam, increases heart rate and blood sugar levels. Now, this is all well and good if we are legitimately being chased by a lion! However, most of us on a daily basis are not – we are simply going about our daily routine, but our nervous systems are activated as though that lion is lurking around every corner!
Rest, Digest and Restore
What we really need is for the other branch of our nervous system to be active – our parasympathetic. The role of the parasympathetic nervous system is to regulate or restore our body to resting state, it allows us to rest, digest and repair. The vagus nerve is a long and complex nerve that comes from the brain and wanders through the body (also known as the “Wandering Nerve”) regulating our organs as it goes before finally finishing in the gut. It is also the largest contributor to our parasympathetic nervous system.
The Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve controls many of our vital biological functions, including mood regulation, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. Often due to increased amounts of stress we find ourselves operating in a sympathetic autonomic state, where we are constantly engaged in an aroused state of fight or flight. This dysregulation of the nervous system results in many mental and physical ailments such anxiety, depression and stomach and digestive issues. A healthy parasympathetic nerve response, which is governed by the vagus nerve, is essential for our mental wellbeing and physical health. When we support this parasympathetic nerve response, we can repair, digest and absorb the nutrients in our food properly and regenerate.
Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can support and increase your vagal tone and we at Evolve are here to help.
CranioSacral Therapy
Healing the nervous system takes time and support. CranioSacral therapy works directly with the nervous system and vagus nerve, assisting us to shift from states of ‘fight or flight’ into states where we feel emotionally and physically safe. Each time we experience this shift we strengthen the nervous system pathways that encourages this transition to occur naturally. Over time this increased vagal tone ‘rewires’ our nervous system and restores a healthy balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic parts.
You can book in with one of our skilled practitioners here at Evolve easily via our online booking system.
Deep belly breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing is something that you can do at any time to instantly stimulate the vagus nerve and lower your stress responses. A simple technique is square breathing. You can begin by inhaling for the count of four, holding for the count of four, exhaling for four and holding for four and continuing this.
Need a little extra help with your breathing? One of our Evolve therapists, Karen Leo, specialises in the Buteyko Breathing Method and retraining optimal breathing patterns. Buteyko Breathing Method is a therapeutic approach to breath retraining. As you learn to breath more slowly, calmly, and effectively a variety of common challenges begin to reduce. These include asthma, anxiety, and sleep concerns – it also stimulates the vagus nerve supporting a sense of overall calm and connection.
Research shows clear link between healthy gut bacteria and increased vagal tone. We can support a healthy gut biome by eating an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables and incorporating fermented foods such as kimchi and sauerkraut which are rich in good bacteria. Additionally, it is often beneficial to include a daily probiotic such as Metagenics Ulta Flora or BioCeuticals Ultra Biotics both of which are available from the Evolve Clinic.
Meditation
Meditation is a wonderful way to reset the nervous system and can offer individuals a science-backed way to reduce anxiety in the present moment.
One of our favourite mediations here at Evolve is Practicing Gentle Kindness toward Ourself by Sarah Blondin and can be easily accessed via the Insight Timer App.
Have you started to notice the smell of spring in the air? Maybe you have started to feel the urge to start spring cleaning? There is a reason for this cyclical inspiration!
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is transitional season and space; we keep one foot in winter and step one foot into summer. Taking things slowly as we unfurl from the cold, dark winter and move upward and outward toward the expansiveness of summer.
The shift to spring is a subtle change that brings with it new energy and excitement for the warmer weather.
We can think of the body as a small version of the universe around us – a microcosm of the macrocosm. As the seasons change, so should we. Humans should be adaptable; to flow with the seasons is to live in harmony. Just like bare, dormant trees begin to grow buds and blossoms; we too can harness the power of spring to slough off the old and usher in a fresh, new experience of health, mental clarity, and emotional well-being.
In Chinese Medicine, Spring is associated with the wood element that governs the liver and gall bladder. The liver and gall bladder work together to move blood and bile, and play pivotal roles in spleen and lung health (immune system and seasonal allergies), tendon health and our vision. During these transitional months, disturbances may be manifested in these organ systems, and you may experience symptoms such as:
+ muscle tension
+ sciatica
+ headaches, especially migraines
+ visual disturbance
+ menstrual irregularities, PMS, fibroids
+ digestive disturbance
TIPS FOR THE SPRING SEASON
+ Get moving!
Spring is the time to slowly get moving again after the reduced activity of the cold winter months. Movement is not only good for your physical health, it supports your emotional health by shifting stagnation and old hurts.
+ Spring clean
Take the time to engage in a little spring cleaning, whether this be your home, your e-mail inbox, or your digestive system. Now is the time for “out with the old and in with the new”.
+ Make a to-do list
The energy of spring often brings with it a desire to start bringing the dreams of winter introversion to fruition. Why not make a list and start taking steps toward creating the life your heart desires!
+ Eat your greens
The colour associated with Spring is green and the taste is sour, these are perfect places to focus your eating awareness. Be inspired by the luscious green veggies of the local farmer’s market, when we eat according to the season, we restore inner and outer balance.
CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY AND SPRING
As we feel the urge to get moving again, we can become aware of some of the stagnations that have built up during winter. One of the core aspects of CranioSacral Therapy is to support your body in restoring movement and flow. This might be supporting the fluid to flow with ease through your central nervous system, nourishing your brain and spinal cord. It may be supporting your immune system, hormones, or digestive system to move more easily and supporting inner health. It may even be supporting you in letting go of hurts and anxieties that are lingering, so that you can move forward and thrive in your life!
At Evolve, we love nothing more than supporting you in finding your natural rhythm (did you know even the nervous system has a rhythm?!), so please reach out and let us know how we can support you move with ease into Spring.
There’s little doubt that 2020 has brought with it, a substantial shift in the mental health of Australia’s population. Trends indicate that the numbers of people suffering from stress, anxiety and panic attacks is on the rise and is a true threat to the future state of Australia’s mental health.
Many of our patients arrive at our clinic with the classic but very real symptoms of stress and anxiety. Much of the time, people are aware something isn’t right but aren’t sure what the root cause is, or the extensive litany of symptoms that stress and anxiety can cause to our emotional, spiritual and physical selves. Our patients find themselves manifesting in a myriad of different ways – becoming irritable, restless, suffering from fatigue, chest pains, insomnia and a racing mind amongst many other symptoms, all seemingly unconnected but potentially debilitating if not properly managed. It’s been estimated that stress related workers compensation claims have doubled in recent years, now costing over $10 billion each year. Let’s unpack the enormity of that number. The huge number of people impacted by stress and anxiety if the average payment is just $250,000. That’s an average of 40,000 people whose claims were so debilitating, that they went to court. Imagine the thousands of other cases, perhaps no less serious but of which we have no recording and we’ll understand the scale of the issue we’re dealing with.
What does stress do to our body?
We try to help our patients understand that its normal to feel stressed and anxious in small quantities. It’s when we wait until stress and anxiety become overwhelming that issues start to become more marked in our bodies. In our modern, digital world, stress triggers can exist on a constant level, which stimulates a response in our body. Stress and anxiety stimulate changes in our body and activates our ‘fight or flight’ response, leaving us constantly in an inflammatory response and unable to self-regulate our hormones and responses. In turn, the appearance of mental and physical stress symptoms can cause further stress and perpetuate a vicious circle, people feel unable to break.
How can CranioSacral Therapy help stress?
At Evolve Manual Therapy, we practice Craniosacral Therapy (CST) which is a light touch manual therapy which works with the body to promote greater wellbeing and health. It’s a whole of body approach which works to remove restrictions within the cranium and sacrum (head and pelvis) and helps shift the body out of stress mode into a calmer, more relaxed state. Our practioners gently apply manual pressure to help increase mobility and circulation within the craniosacral system. When the body slows down during a session, it’s like untangling a tightly knotted ball of wool – where the stressed and confused reactions and responses get a chance to unravel and rebalance. Our bodies have an innate ability to self-correct and heal and CST, as a non-invasive therapy allows our mind and body to correct in an absolutely safe, non-medicated way.
The science shows the enormous benefits experienced by a wide range of patients suffering with stress or anxiety related symptoms. At Evolve Manual Therapy, we encourage patients to seek support early, whatever the source of stress. We all need help from time to time.
