HI, HELLO, ILY!!
How are you!? How are you feeling!?
Are we ready for Christmas 🎄!?
Well... are we?!
In my family’s case, we’ve decided to take it slow. Usually, my mum and I would work on baking all kinds of bakes and sweets from the Czech Republic (cause she's Czech). One year we managed to bake around 25 different types of sweets... THAT was crazy.🤪
But we’re changing our approach this year...
We’re taking it slow, RESTING FROM ALL THE RUNNING AROUND.
Because we’ve travelled around Christmas and New Year’s Eve before... but honestly... what a hassle... the airport filled, everyone going places, everyone buying, spending... overspending...
We are just gonna spend it like hermits, have a nice dinner, take it easy... 😌🧘
How are you spending your Christmas holidays?
Are you taking the time to catch your own breath?
Or are you rushing rushing rushing to places, events...?
And does it work for you or would you like to change over some things?
You might have your own ways of celebrating... with friends, co-workers, family... whichever way works for you... I hope you have a good time... <3
I am asking this just because in today’s blog post I wanted to revisit The Art of Noticing... a topic I started mentioning in my previous blog.
But, today... I am here to dive a bit deeper into it...
In this occasion, I wanted to introduce to you The BrILLianCe of the Nervous System (NS)
Let’s make this very easy to visualise and explain...
We are human beings
Human beings are made of nerves that connects our bodily functions. This is called the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
The ANS is made of two branches that regulate our bodily functions
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
(Now, don't worry! let me explain what each of these things mean...)
So, as you can see from the picture,
we are in a Rest and Digest state or the Parasympathetic Nervous System is on the when we are:
relaxed
when our breathing is slow
our heart rate is slow
we feel at peace
On the other hand,
we are in our Fight or Flight state or Sympathetic Nervous System is on when:
we feel stressed
when our breathing is quick
our heart rate increases
we feel anxious.
All the things that appear on the image above go to show how the two different states look, and how they feel in our body... what organs they involve and how.
The thing is... as it's been mentioned in one scientific article:
The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is the housekeeping manager for the body.
The PNS is responsible for energy conservation & maintaining vital bodily functions.
As James, Giordane, professor of neurology and biochemistry at Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. said: "It can be thought of as the control mechanisms for the housekeeping, maintenance and sustainability operations of the body."
Thus, it is in our highest interest to bring the PNS into our lives...
To bring back that relaxation, baby!!
And then, out of nowhere, the rabbit hole appears🫣...
"Oh, then ALL WE HAVE TO do is all become monks and be OK with everything that happens in our lives, so that we can always keep ourselves living in the Rest and Digest state and always live calmly & optimally🧘"
Well, not exactly 😅
The Fight or Flight state is there for a reason.
We had to survive somehow when the idea of a stable income, a house and good medical care didn’t exist and we spent our days foraging for mushrooms and roots and were hunted by lions in the wilderness... somehow we had to move that body of ours to get into a safe spot as quickly as possible.
Thus, the Flight or Fight response is necessary for our survival.
The thing is... nowadays we see stressors and triggers everywhere.
The Modern Lion 🦁- as I like to call it - is: a work deadline, the traffic jam, the nasty boss, the unruly child, the addictive social media platforms, the dramatic news all over the papers...
And this doesn’t allow us to disconnect from our Sympathetic state... AKA, we do not know how to relax, how to go into the Rest and Digest Mode, because we are under the perception we’re under constant pressure.
We. Simply. Do. Not. Get. A. Chance. To. Relax.
Then...
What would happen if we create a bit of space and time to BREATHE?
To... COME BACK to our natural Rest and Digest state?
To simply... EXIST.
Would the world crumble?
Don’t think so.
We’d probably feel more at peace, less stressed, more confident.
In ourselves. With others. With our interactions with the world...
We’d probably even better our digestion, slow our heart-rate, relax our muscles.
We’d be able to shift to our Rest and Digest mode.
And we would be able to start perceiving things around us.
In a way we couldn’t perceive before. We’d start Noticing.
We’d get initiated in The Art of Noticing.
We’d slow down in our morning walk or drive to work.
We’d stop rushing to and from places if it really isn’t needed.
We’d stop from time to time to remind ourselves that actually... we are not doing so bad... we’re alive... and that, in itself, is sometimes enough.
We’d see the beauty in leaves, in saying "Hi" to people, in preparing a nice nutritious meal, in going to the shop to buy groceries...
When WE slow down, THE WORLD AROUND US slows down.
And we allow ourselves to enjoy the moments we’re experiencing.
So... are you taking some time to enter your “rest & digest” these holidays? What are you doing to get yourself to slow down? Do you find it difficult? Or have you been in touch with these ideas before?
With much love 💕,
Teresa.
(P.S. Next blog will include tips and tricks to help you achieve this calmer state! Looking forwards to it!!?? Leave your comments below!!)
REFERENCES
Ede, R. (2023, marzo 8). Rest and digest: The parasympathetic nervous system. Livescience.com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/parasympathetic-nervous-system-rest-and-digest
Jerath, R., Edry, J. W., Barnes, V. A., & Jerath, V. (2006). Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system. Medical Hypotheses, 67(3), 566–571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2006.02.042
Stocker, A. (2023, junio 2). Breathing and the nervous system. Aria Integrative Medicine. https://www.ariaintegrative.com/2023/06/02/breathing-and-the-nervous-system-mood/
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