Splash Face: tones your vagus nerve in the morning and resets/wakes up your nervous system
e.g., Splash face and eyes in the morning with cool water 💦
Why Tone the Vagus Nerve?
Decreases stress and anxiety (activates rest & digest system)
Deepens breathing
Lowers heart rate and increases circulation in the body
Opens emotional capacity (feeling grounded and lighter)
Ready to get started?
Vagus Nerve: Breathing for Relaxation
Spotify – Summer Hits Playlist
Cat-Cow Yoga Pose – Yoga With Adriene
WEBSITE DISCLAIMER
This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.
Can increase the powerhouses of energy in the body
Want more energy? Build up the big muscles in your body
The coordination of eyes, mind, body, breath
Activates the brain
Attention turns inward
Awareness of what is happening inside the body
Can modulate and control the parasympathetic (rest & digest) nervous system
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
How to Tap – with Nick Ortner of The Tapping Solution
Originated by Nicolas Ortner (CEO of The Tapping Solution)
Tapping on end points of meridian on the body to calm body and release stress and overwhelm (example)
Meridians on the body:
Pathways in which qi (our energy) flows
When there’s pain there’s a blockage of qi
Meridians connect all of the organs and qi flow
Tapping on end points sends a calming signal to counteract fear responses from the amygdala
What are your stress healing solutions?
WEBSITE DISCLAIMER
This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.
“Self- Regulation is how we manage stress.” – Dr. Stuart Shanker
Photo by Karolina Grabowska
Whether it’s been adjusting to life changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as lining up for 30 minutes to get into Costco, dealing with the illness of a loved one, or simply finding the motivation to get up in the morning, stress is something we all encounter on a daily basis, regardless of our age. Even babies experience all sorts of stress, beginning in their mother’s womb and even more so when they are born into the world.
Dr. Stuart Shanker, Founder and Visionary of The MEHRIT Centre defines stress as: anything that requires our internal system to burn energy in order to maintain some sort of internal balance. What he means by internal system is our autonomic nervous system (ANS). Stress has a physiological affect on our bodies, can be both positive and negative and vary from person to person (See: Stress & Stressors). When we talk about stress, we must also talk about how we manage it. This is called: self-regulation.
Self-Regulation
Dr. Stuart Shanker defines self-regulation simply as: how we manage stress. This is where our autonomic nervous system comes into play. Our autonomic nervous system is responsible for regulating many of the functions, organs and muscles in our body. Some of the functions it is responsible for regulating include our:
Heart and breathing rate 💓
Blood flow 🩸
Body temperature 🌡
Digestion 🍴
The autonomic nervous system is is made up of two parts: the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) (i.e., accelerator) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) (i.e., brakes).
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
Is responsible for the energy used from stress
Is connected to our fight-or-flight stress response systems
Helps to keep us safe from threat/danger
Is responsible for our quick action and is fueled by adrenaline
Is what gets you up in the morning when your alarm goes off
Physiological responses (particularly when in danger) include:
Pupils: dilates, to take in more light
Heart rate: accelerates, pumping more blood throughout the body
Digestive system: decreases activity
Liver: stimulates glucose production + release (for immediate energy)
Adrenal glands: stimulates adrenaline + cortisol production (the hormones that provide the muscles with oxygen and energy to react to danger)
Scenario #1
Imagine your smoke detector goes off while you’re sleeping. Your SNS activates, your heart rate increases and adrenaline fuels your body for action so quickly you don’t even realize it’s happening.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
Is responsible for rest, digest and recovery (from the energy used from stress)
Liver: stimulates bile release (a fluid that helps with digestion)
Scenario #1 (con’t)
You realize your alarm detector malfunctioned. Your PNS activates, calming you down and restoring your body back in balance. When both of the SNS and PNS are in balance, you are in what’s called homeostasis. It’s important that the SNS doesn’t remain activated for prolonged periods (i.e., remaining in excessive states of stress). This can cause an over production of cortisol (a long-term stress response hormone) that can impact brain function and overall health. Alternatively, you don’t want to become and remain lethargic and withdrawn (i.e., remaining in a constant parasympathetic state, such as not wanting to get out of bed in the morning). Stress in healthy doses and degrees is a natural part of our healthy development, growth and resiliency, and as human beings, our ability to manage it effectively is what allows us to thrive.
This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.
Did you know that you have two brains? One you already know is in your head, which is your brain. The other is in your stomach, which is known as your gut. Your brain and your gut are connected, literally. Your brain communicates to your gut and your gut communicates to your brain.
…but what does this really mean?
While many of us know or are beginning to understand just how important the development of our brain is to our overall health and well-being, we may not realize just how important our gut is too. For some, or few, this might be the reverse. Some may attribute their overall health and well-being mostly to their gut health and what they consume, and not so much to their brain. But really and truly, both matter and both work together!
so…how does this really work?
Parts of our body is made up of our nervous system. Commonly known as the central nervous system. This system is comprised of our brain and spinal cord. A less commonly known part of our nervous system is called the enteric nervous system (ENS). This system consists of our gut, which is formally known as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Our GI tract begins where food is taken in through our esophagus, to digestion in our stomach and then expulsions. Our gut can function on its own reflexes while communicating back and forth with our brain. Both the brain and the gut’s nervous system consists of a network of nerves, neurons and neurotransmitters. (See: The Vagus Nerve). This is how it gets its name the “second brain”. They both work together to support our overall health.
Here is an example of how this brain-gut connection works.
Photo by Ola Dapo
Imagine yourself in a stressful or fearful situation. For some, this may be delivering a big presentation or encountering a frightening animal. In fearful and distressing types of situations, your brain’s central nervous system (specifically the sympathetic nervous system) is turned on and your body prepares for a fight, flight or freeze response. Simultaneously, your body’s enteric nervous system (comprising of your digestive system) begins to slow down in an effort to conserve your body’s energy to be used for the situation you are in. As you stand before others, prepared to deliver a big presentation, you may experience what is commonly known as a “butterflies in your stomach feeling” which is often a result of strong nervous, anxious, frightening or feelings of excitement, depending on the situation you are in. This is an example of how your brain affects your gut.
Experiencing persistent problems with your gut such as stomach pain or troubles with digestion can also give rise to feelings of stress and anxiety about the state of your body’s health and well-being, which in turn can have an impact on your mental health.
so listen up !
Taking good care of both your brain and gut is important. In such a way that is best for you. Ensuring you fuel your mental, physical, emotional and social well-being is key, so is being mindful about what you fuel your body with. Fueling your body with foods that support and promote the health of your gut is fundamental. This can include a balanced and nutritious diet that consists of prebiotics, which are foods that are high in fiber such as bananas, oats, apples berries. As well as probiotics, which are good bacteria that help to balance the organisms in your intestine and can be found in yogurt. (See: Gut Health 101)
How brain and gut health is ensured will look differently from person to person and that’s OK! It’s about finding a healthy balance, whether that’s in consuming specific foods or enjoying a SMOOV blend that’s just right for you!
WEBSITE DISCLAIMER
This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.
