11/23/2022
Recently, I have been doing some research on our Autonomic Nervous system. In layman's terms, this is our automatic nervous system. The systems that kick in when they need to whether we like it or not.
We have three strands in this section, Parasymathetic, Sympathetic and enteric. (we will talk about enteric another day) Parasympathetic is our rest and digest system that kicks in when we feel safe and comfortable. Sympathetic is the system that kicks in when we are in flight or flight mode (stressed, trying to survive).
Lately I have been experiencing a lot of people coming in with their sympathetic nervous system in overdrive and firing. This is not good long term. It is great for when you are pushing your body in exercise, or running from a predator animal. However, our bodies are meant to go in and out of each system and not stay in one or the other. We live in a stressful world, and probably feels like we're just surviving sometimes. Your body might feel like you have an elevated heart rate, sweating, tight muscles etc. That is because your sympathetic nervous system is firing. Long term overdrive of your sympathetic nervous system can lead to some serious health conditions, including kidney disease, heart attack,
So, what does this have to do with Massage Therapy? Massage therapy can shut of your sympathetic nervous system, and in response to that turn on your parasympathetic system. This is good because this is when your body heals, digests, recovers. The power of therapeutic touch is huge and for letting your body have a source of healing. When I massage, I'm helping your body circulate, relax, send its hormones, helpers to the muscles where they need it. That's why you feel relaxed because your body feels like it no longer has to be in survival mode.
Let me know when you're ready to get out of survival mode.
