We All Need To Read This

I want to share with you an email I received that's important for all of us to read, and I'll tell you why in a moment...

"Hey Amy, 

I just wanted to say thank you.
For all your education around the nervous system. 

I have just got home from the dentist, and it’s something I’ve always fought, resisted, hated. 

For my check up I saw someone who made me super uncomfortable. Usually I’d put myself through something because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But I requested my usual guy to do the fillings today. 

Every part of me wanted to clench, grip, scrunch. 

But I kept repeating, am I safe? Yes. Do I feel pain? No. Ok. It’s safe to soften. I unclenched my glutes. Kept my eyes open. Stayed in the space. 

And I kept hearing your voice in my head. 

If it’s ok to do so. Be here. 

Ugh I’m so happy I could cry. 

It’s so magical seeing your learnings unfold off the mat. 

So grateful for all your lessons.

Kate"

Here's why her email is so brilliant & important:

A healthy nervous system is NOT built through relaxation.
Read.that.again.

The aim isn't to have a calm relaxed nervous system 24/7.
We want it to be flexible and adaptable.

And in order for that to happen, we need it to experience some stress, challenges and even make it reach points of failure.
This means it's important we endure moments where we're pushed outside of our comfort zone in order for our nervous system to effectively function under stress.

Thus, stress is a necessary & an integral part of nervous system resiliency.
But, the key my friends and listen to this carefully...
It also needs the opportunity to recover from that stress.

And it needs to recovery fully & completely, otherwise this resilience becomes depleted.
This is where so many of us fall short & fail.
We either push ourselves too far beyond the ability to recover OR we over-ride our neurobiological limits by saying "it was no big deal" or "I just have to suck it up".

Here, I'm going to highlight Kate's words again:

"I saw someone who made me super uncomfortable. Usually I’d put myself through something because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But I requested my usual guy to do the fillings today."

This was one of my favourite parts of the email because
1) she still placed herself out of her comfort zone & practiced nervous system resiliency by going ahead with the procedure
2) yet...she knew that if she went with this new person who she felt too uncomfortable with, the stress would have been too overwhelming most likely causing a total dysregulation and an inability to fully recover from the experience altogether
(common to see with chronic stress or trauma)

Kate, in real time, was using her vagal break.
She was able to take herself, consciously, from an aroused 'fight or flight' state & shift into a ventral vagal state of 'safety'...how?

Pendulation.
(a phrase coined by the incredible Peter Levine)
Please take 3 minutes & 36 seconds to watch this video so you fully understand what pendulation means before we continue, the video also beautifully articulates this entire email.

Okay, now...

Remember when Kate said she kept repeating to her self:
Am I safe? Yes
Am I in pain? No
She stayed in the space.
She kept hearing my voice "be here".

Pendulation.
It is the act of 'pendulating' - going back & forth from a stuck/defensive/fear/anxious state to a state of safety.
This is known as going up & down the polyvagal ladder.

Pendulation requires an anchor to the present moment.
And it also requires enough self-awareness to know you're stressed and uncomfortable in the first place.
So many of us are so chronically stressed & dysregulated, that we aren't even aware that we're in that state to begin with.

But Kate was able to acknowledge her discomfort & consciously perform pendulation to bring herself into a state of calm alertness.

If Kate didn't have this education around the autonomic nervous system, more than likely she would have either become 'stuck' in her sympathetic nervous system or even a hyperarousal state via the dorsal vagal nerve where feelings of shut-down, dissociation, trapped and helplessness occur.
(this is also known as the freeze response)

If Kate didn't have this education, if she consistently over time operates in chronic stress & is unable to be flexible with her nervous system, well it often eventuates to constant dysregulation & allostatic load aka 'wear and tear' on the body ie:
chronic pain
muscle tension
autoimmune issues
migraine
POTS

We want our vagal brake to slow our physiology down after stress to help us come back to a calm state.
 A healthy vagal brake makes daily life so much more manageable, my friends.
A healthy vagal brake enables a calmer heartbeat that isn't constantly triggered of set-off by benign or negative things in your day.

The world needs people who have stronger vagal breaks.
The world needs more individuals who can pendulate & oscillate from states of contraction to expansion.

Because our biology is wired for connection.
And as Peter said
"the basic life feeling is one of expansion. People that are really engaged in their lives, that are living their lives fully, they feel so much expansion".

Consistent practice brings increased self-regulation and resilience to your nervous system.
You can learn how to consciously respond differently, no matter your past, history or trauma.
The contracted reactions of anger, resentment, anxiety and overwhelm are not your only options.

Nervous system education and regulation is the heartbeat of my teachings.
It is the most beneficial and invaluable tool I can teach you.
I know that because it has changed my own life.
I will teach you how to become more resilient, how to make stress your friend, how to recovery fully & importantly strengthen your own vagal brake.
And this is why my platform isn't $3 a week.
You will never find booty challenges or invitations to get shredded here.

I am doing my absolute damn best to make as many people's lives
feel beautiful, healthy, regulated and expanded.
Please, let me teach you this stuff.
You won't ever regret it.
You can join me here if you're not yet a member

Amy xo