Deep Reset techniques to help your nervous system

Words by practitioner Patchula Thompson

These days, we live very stimulated lifestyles, which causes our nervous system to be in a constant state of 'yang'. How many times do you do the following each day?

1. Drink coffee

2. Run late

3. Feel nervous (maybe you have a work/school presentation or an exam)

4. Feel anxious (social setting, work setting etc)

5. Experience frustration, sadness or heavy emotions

6. Do high-intensity exercise

7. Feel scared or fearful

8. Spend time in front of a screen

These are all very stimulating experiences that, depending on the state of your nervous system, can put you into a sympathetic or 'survival' state. Historically, the sympathetic state was activated when we experienced emergencies, such as being invaded by another tribe or chased by an animal. When the survival state is activated, blood flows to our muscles and brain to ensure we can run fast and think quickly, which is excellent! However, to maintain this, blood flow ceases to our digestive system and our reproductive system. So if this state is activated multiple times a day, our poor digestive system and reproductive system suffer. In addition, our heart is under pressure from needing to pump more blood to our muscles faster. Over time, this can lead to chronic issues not only with the physical body but also with our emotional state.

Unfortunately, in modern-day life many of these yang-activating experiences are unavoidable, but there are techniques that we can use throughout the day to ensure we meet these moments as calmly as possible, encouraging maintenance of our parasympathetic or 'yin' state. Being in this state is balancing and healing for the body mind, and spirit. 

Some practices that can be useful to switch yourself from a sympathetic state into a para-sympathetic state are:

1. Deep breathing exercises

2. Meditation

3. Self-massage techniques

4. Cold water exposure

We learn in detail all about these and many more restful practices in our Deep Reset online course which contains a variety of pre-recorded content that can be accessed by you at any time after a one-time purchase.

Click here to learn more about this course and begin your Deep Reset journey.