Someone Else’s Thoughts on Parasympathetic Mind

Here is a link to Morgana Morgaine’s thoughts about Parasympathetic Mind. It is an excellent elaboration, and creates new information about what PSM is and why it is important from the life coach’s point of view.

SCENAR Promotes Homeostasis and Well-Being

Webster’s dictionary defines balance as the state of equilibrium between contrasting, opposing, or interacting elements. From planetary ecological balance to being able to stand up on our feet, balance is a delicate, intricate, and wonderfully orchestrated cornerstone of our outer and inner reality. We ignore this cornerstone at our own peril.

In our work with SCENAR great attention is paid to assisting the body in returning to its inner state of balance or homeostasis. This involves working with the autonomic nervous system which, for the most part, operates without our conscious control. It maintains the internal balance of the organs and systems in response to external stimuli.

There are two aspects to the autonomic nervous system: the sympathetic system (often called the “fight or flight” response) and the parasympathetic system (called the “rest and digest” response). These two aspects operate in opposition to one another. When one is operating, the other one isn’t. When you are running from a saber tooth tiger, the last thing you want to do is “rest and digest.” Ideally, there is a balance between the systems based on the fluctuations of conditions. The sympathetic system keeps us alert and responding to the environment in ways that promote our survival, and the parasympathetic system rests, heals, and restores the body from all the activity required by the sympathetic system. The sympathetic system uses up the resources of the body and the parasympathetic system recovers and restores those resources to be available if needed again.

Our modern world challenges our bodies in maintaining the balance between these two systems. In general we are inundated with demands, information, time urgency, conflicts, and confusion that our bodies interpret as being threats to our survival. We worry and feel anxious, angry, resentful, or frustrated. We don’t have time to attend to eating well, resting, relaxing, and even when we try to rest or relax we are still ruminating about the issues. The parasympathetic system is shut down. Our bodies are in a near constant slow sympathetic system boil. We have a word for this: STRESS. We have lost our inner balance. Living too long in this state leads to disease as the body is unable to heal itself.

When the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are working as they should, the tendency is to rest often and easily. One can, however, perform at “peak ability” with equal ease. When challenged by stress, the balanced person is able to respond with vigor and fortitude. The parasympathetic system reduces the activity of the brain, the muscles, and the adrenal and thyroid glands. When no situation is pressing, the balanced person can comfortably choose to rest and can sleep deeply. They engage in lifestyles that allow the body to be nourished and restored.

When we are stressed and the sympathetic system is dominating, the sensations of pain are amplified. The SCENAR addresses pain by activating the parasympathetic system which releases neuropeptides to address the pain and restore the inner balance. In only a few minutes of treatment people will visibly relax. After a few sessions, very frequently people will become interested in taking better care of themselves and talk about ways they can do that. They also usually have an overall improvement in their mood. It is amazing to watch. (Read about some of our clients’ experiences on the “What Our Clients Say” page.)

If you are stressed and in pain, you might want to look into experiencing a SCENAR treatment series. It could make a big difference not just in your pain but in your overall health and sense of well being.

Things You Can Do For Foot Pain

I have run into another flurry of a certain type of painful situation and it is foot pain. I have written about foot pain previously, but wanted to provide readily available information about things that anyone can do to prevent and relieve foot pain.

Stretching is the single most important thing you can do for foot pain. Tight hamstrings can communicate issues all the way from the sitzbones to the Achilles Tendons. Keeping them stretched and flexible is an important way to maintain the health of the foot. Two easy stretches we have found helpful are:

The Runner’s Stretch – Place your hands about two feet away from each other on a wall while standing about two feet away and leaning into the wall. Step forward with one foot, while leaving the other with the heel on the ground behind you. You are looking for a gentle sensation of stretch, not discomfort in that leg. Krista Kelley at Mission Rehab Services told us that a stretch any shorter than 45 seconds is not worth doing, so count slowly to 45 and then switch the positions of the feet and stretch the other leg. Doing this in the morning and evening will help the hamstrings to not get so tight. Muscles get tight from normal use so slowly that we may fail to recognize the sensation. Doing this exercise will help you become more familiar with the feeling of muscle tension so that you can monitor the status of your hamstrings more accurately and stretch them more effectively, thus preventing issues from arising.

The Hamstring Stretch – While laying in the bed, before arising, use a towel or strap and loop it under the ball of the foot. Holding an end of the towel in each hand, gently raise the leg while using the towel to keep the foot at a 90 degree ankle to the leg. Raise the leg until you feel a gentle stretch, not pain. Hold for 45 seconds, bring the leg gently down to the bed, and do the stretch on the other leg. Over time you will be able to raise the leg higher and higher as the hamstring is re-educated to be relaxed rather than tight. This will prevent the discomfort and possible micro damage to the tendons that can occur when getting out of bed when hamstrings have tightened up during sleep.

Things you can do to improve the health of your feet:

Massage - In the evening, while relaxing, deeply rub and massage your feet in a conscious way from the tips of the toes to the backs of the heels. Let it be your intention to touch every single inch of skin on the bottom of your foot. When you find areas that are tender, press into them and hold. In just a few minutes the tenderness will dissipate and the area will relax. This can also be a good way to improve your overall health through Reflexology.

Strengthen the Muscles of the Foot - The muscles in the feet need exercise and strengthening, just like any other muscle in the body. However, shoes are not conducive to exercising foot muscles. Take off your shoes and socks and while sitting in a comfortable position, imagine (or use real ones if you’d like) that you are picking up marbles with your toes. This strengthens the muscles in the arch which tend to flatten as our foot muscles weaken with age and wearing shoes.

Strengthen the Muscles of the Ankle and Top of Foot – How many of us have sat on the beach and almost unconsciously (because it feels so good), moved our feet back and forth from side to side in the sand, digging a little trough. This motion strengthens the muscles in the ankles and top of the foot to provide better stability for walking. You don’t need sand to do this. Sit in a comfortable position and imagine doing this little activity as if you were at the beach, moving your feet against the floor back and forth from side to side. If you vividly imagine you are at the beach digging the comforting little trenches with your feet, your body will not know that you are not, and other benefits such as shoulder and neck relaxation can be experienced as well.

Our feet are probably the most ignored area of the body. They carry our weight and do whatever we ask for most of our lives without complaint. As we age, our inattention to caring for our feet can take its toll. Notice your feet. Appreciate how hard they work for you. Do kinds things for them like massage or hot soaks. Become friends with your feet. They will love you for it!

Nine Supplements to Boost Your Mood

Part of the action of SCENAR is to boost mood through the stimulation of the parasympathetic system causing the release of endorphins and the neurotransmitters that regulate the emotional state. Our experience of happiness is a unique biochemistry in the brain, and nutrition also plays a vital role regulating it. I have found that clients who pay attention to their diet and lifestyle around eating respond much faster to SCENAR treatments. If the body has at its disposal the nutrient building blocks needed for the production of regulatory peptides, the availability of the internal pharmacy for healing is greatly enhanced, facilitating a rapid recovery.

The major cause of mood regulation difficulty is stress. When the sympathetic system is turned on for long periods of time, the parasympathetic system is turned off and the body can’t recover well. Stress depletes the body of the chemicals it uses to heal itself, including the “feel-good” neuropeptides (endorphins) and neurotransmitters(serotonin, dopamine, nor epinephrine, and gamma aminobutyric acid – GABA). The most used pharmaceutical drugs these days are for reducing anxiety and depression. Before turning to these drugs, which can have significant side-effects, it is worthwhile to try a natural route.

Other than regular exercise, a good multivitamin, and fish oil which improve overall health and help with mood regulation, there are some supplements  that can help lift depression, reduce anxiety, improve your resilience to stress, and improve sleep.

Be Aware: If you are already taking drugs for depression, anxiety, or insomnia, talk with you doctor about adding natural supplements. There can be negative interactions which you want to be mindful of. It is always a good idea to thoroughly research any substance you are considering taking into your body, whether pharmaceutical or natural.

There are nine nutritional supplements that can help you reduce the effects of stress and improve mood: Read more »