What’s in the brain is in the body and what’s in the body is in the brain.
This is a fact that we have known for a long time, but as science digs deeper we have far greater knowledge of what this really means.
What’s in the brain is in the body….you cannot separate the 2!
The systems in our body, (skeletal, muscular, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive) all have a direct communication pathway to our brains through the nervous system. It’s a super highway of information that operates in full command, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
These systems are not only relaying information to your brain about how you feel on the inside, but they are also relaying information to your brain about the environment on the outside. Whether it’s loud in the room or quiet, hot or cold, friendly or hostile. All systems go all the time. In the same way, your brain is receiving this information and doing something with it. It’s communicating back to all of these systems telling them what to do next with the information it’s receiving.
If it’s cold the body recruits the skeletal and muscular systems to grab a jacket and put it on as well as to begin to shiver so that your body can preserve heat. If the environment is hostile the brain will secrete stress hormones to the body to get your heart to race or body to sweat or even to raise your voice. Anything it needs to protect you in that situation and to get your attention so you protect or leave. This information is stored in memory so that when you encounter similar situations again your brain knows what to do in a short amount of time based on past experience.
Have you heard the saying, “It’s all in your head!”
Well, whoever said it wasn’t wrong. Unfortunately, their bedside manner or method of delivery was more than likely negative making you feel what you were experiencing wasn’t true. When in fact nothing could be farther from the truth. What’s in the brain is in the body remember? With the knowledge of this superhighway of information, we are able to understand at a deeper level how to heal in more ways than one. We have tools such as brainspotting and NLP available to us to begin to redirect information and thoughts that put us on alert.
At one time those thoughts or reactions served a purpose in one form or fashion, but if you feel stuck, you are likely operating on “outdated information” and those programs need “updating”. By recommunicating current information to your body, the brain moves from dysregulation to regulation thus allowing the nervous system to relax. The nervous system, remember, is the one responsible for this communication super highway.
When the nervous system can relax and is no longer on hyper-alert, for example, “No one knows what’s wrong with me! They just tell me it’s all in my head! What am I going to do?”, the body actually begins to understand why it’s feeling what it is in a rational sense instead of out of fear. It really is incredible!
Most often there has been a situation or multiple situations which have put your body on high alert.
Maybe it was an unknown test, years of chronic pain, bad relationships, toxic work environment.
All of these situations are examples of why the brain is on alert and that the communication process with the body begins. Often times we ignore what we are feeling because it starts out so small. Just a headache, heartburn, or backache. Maybe it’s high blood pressure or diarrhea. No one typically sees these as communication to your brain. You just take the Tylenol or Tums and move on.
The problem is that when you just treat the symptom and don’t get to why it’s happening, the body only begins to send you stronger signals to get your attention. It’s how were are perfectly designed. But 95% of the time, we just treat the next symptom, and now we are taking stronger pain medication or getting MRIs done, etc… There are a whole host of examples and quite honestly I could type all day long about those I have seen in my office both for PT and coaching. It’s all the same.
When we learn to listen to our bodies, and understand that they are working for us, not against us, that’s when the deepest healing begins. Both in the brain AND in the body.
Because you CAN NOT separate the two!
For this and more information please visit my website. Or give me a call. I’d be very happy to walk with you and your story offering a new perspective on how your brain and body have been communicating to you on your behalf.