Unfrazzle Yourself
I always always always “read the room” when it comes to teaching classes. When a group of people congregate for yoga, Pilates or a some sort of fusion format, their collective energy informs me what’s up. Sometimes, we need to get moving right away. Sometimes, we need to settle in for a bit. Sometimes, the class needs to be extra alignment focused, and sometimes, the class needs to center around mindful breathing. It all depends on what intel I gather when people walk in the room.
This year, pretty much every time I teach a class, “nervous system medicine” is in order. (I suspect all the chaos and distrust “out there” is really freaking out the collective…) I’ve been sensing so strongly that people have been in fight or flight mode for too long. Did you know that fired up adrenals and heightened cortisol levels, feeling stressed or anxious, shallow and/or tight breathing, and a general sense of being out-of-body, are all related? They are, and they are all signs the nervous system needs a break. Here’s a simple way to down level the nervous system with movement:
STEP ONE: Kick off your shoes. Free your feet and connect them to the ground.
STEP TWO: Close your eyes. Let’s stop the visual external stimulation, and focus on the sensations within one’s self.
STEP THREE: Breathing slow and low, and in and out through the nose. This is one of the best ways to calm down in general.
STEP FOUR: Do a forward fold from a standing position. Touch the floor with your fingertips, and gently shake your head yes and no, letting blood saturate your brain. Forward folding is soothing to the parasympathetic nervous system, cooling to the body, and softens the tension in the neck and shoulders. Touching the ground reinforces one’s foundation and gives feelings of safety and security.
STEP FIVE: Move like water, flowy and fluid. Watery motion, just like rhythmic rocking, is a self-soothing technique that truly works for all types of nervous system disorders.
This five step series could take 5minutes or 50minutes. It could be a warm-up before a tennis match, a pickle ball game, a run, or a dance class, or you can turn it into its own full workout. Do not hurry, do not rush. Be intuitive. It’s optional to have peaceful music playing in the background. In essence, the five step nervous system medicine protocol is coming home to one’s own body, and remembering the body a safe and sacred space.
Got stress? Movement can help, and it might even cure. (It’s empowered wellness for us, right? All day, everyday 🤗.)