And Now We Heal
/
March 16th, 2021 marked one year since we closed our doors for what we thought would be a two week hiatus to help ‘flatten the curve’. I don’t think any of us really had a clue what would unfold over the months that followed. And undoubtedly, none of us would have thought that one year later, we would be continuing to put the pieces of our life back together again.
It has been a long year filled with uncertainty, unpredictability, loss and trauma. The long-term, chronic stress has been detrimental to our overall health and wellness and can accelerate our aging process. While we are hopeful that the worst of this crisis is behind us, the concern lies in how this last year has impacted our overall physical and mental well being. The good news? We can recover and the magic can be found in the parasympathetic nervous system.
The nervous system is comprised of two components; the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is associated with the fight or flight response that results in the release of cortisol (stress chemicals) throughout the bloodstream. The parasympathetic is associated with relaxation, digestion, and regeneration. We want a healthy balance between the two systems, but when we are faced with long term stress, our sympathetic nervous system will be over activated leading to a host of physical, emotional and mental symptoms. Bringing our bodies back to a parasympathetic state (where our heart rate slows and our breath is calm and relaxed), allows true healing, detoxification and cellular regeneration to take place.
Harness your own healing ability by tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system with these tips:
Cold Water: Splashing cold water of your face or taking a cold shower (even for a minute) activates our vagus nerve, which reduces our stress response.
Nature: Nature is the antidote for stress and the more time we spend in nature, the more time we are deactivating our sympathetic nervous system, allowing our bodies to heal.
Deep Breaths: Breathing deeply is clinically proven to reduce stress levels and tap in to the parasympathetic nervous system. Inhale through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of seven and exhale through your nose for a count of 8.
OM: Make the sound ‘om’ as you slowly exhale, which stimulates the vocal cords and vegus nerve, reducing your stress response.
Come See Us: Every service we offer at Therapeutic Bodywork is designed to provoke deep relaxation, activating the parasympathetic nervous system and healing the body.
Touch Your Lips: Our lips actually have parasympathetic fibers running through them Gently running yoru fingers back and forth over your lips can activate the parasympathetic nervous system.