We are not only water, and flesh and bone, but also fire. Our brain is alive with electrical energy and needs proper nutrients, and stimulation to remain healthy. I believe that by allowing our bodies to wither and atrophy over time, we smother the fire in the brain and nervous system, and age accordingly. Is it possible that we can keep our “youth” even as we grow older by not allowing our sensitivity and vitality to grow dim? I think we can. How?
Primarily we have to deal with stress, and the tension it produces in the body. It is this tension/anxiety which causes us to try to dampen down the overexcitement (stress) in the brain and nervous system in whatever way we can. We often rely on easy tools (food, alcohol, sex, drugs, gaming, consumption, etc.) to change the state of our nervous system. These things don’t get at the cause, they’re distractions at best. These stress/tension patterns are tenacious, and are the mechanism by which we become increasingly contracted and tight. We end up wasting energy holding tension which is counterproductive to efficiency and fluid movement of the body. This causes the postural and functional rigidity, as well as the functional decline in the brain and central nervous system through neglect.
This is where I hope that I may be of some help. It is my intention to go in and work out all the tension I can get to in the deep musculature of your core, and to do so in a manner which doesn’t violate your sense of what you can handle. It is challenging but should not be traumatic. It should also take you deeper than less challenging work, as it causes you to be actively passive, to work at letting go as opposed to just lying there.
What at first seems intense becomes less so as you learn to let go, to not resist. This is where I feel the real value in my work lies. It is a form of bio-feedback in which you let go at deeper and deeper levels, calming the brain and CNS. This mechanism is called the relaxation response, and it is very profound in it’s healing effect on the body. It is an antidote to stress and it’s attendant tension.
Under stress our instincts will always take us into sympathetic response, or fight or flight mode. Most of us live in a state of overstimulation, and over time, this is very destructive. We can, with practice, reinforce the relaxation response, or para-sympathetic response. This is characterized by relaxation and a sense of peace and well being, and an ability to trust and to let go of control. It’s a state we should fall into naturally when the stress is over, but don’t if we’re stuck in stress patterns as a result of constant stress. It’s a hard habit to break. Because this is a feedback loop, the tension and anxiety builds, and our ability to get to a truly relaxed place may become harder and harder as we age. Fortunately, with practice we can reverse the cycle, and create momentum for improvement. We simply have to pay attention and work at it.
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