RESTING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
MoveMENTS & MOMENTS
Easy Hacks to Maintain Balance Daily
Have the last few years left you in a state of overwhelm? Are you in a cycle of intermittent sickness or Do you often feel unable to find space to do the things that give you joy? Fatigue is that feeling of being deeply exhausted all the time. Many definitions of fatigue concentrate on the physical, however a lot of modern fatigue is emotional as well as mental. Triggers such as stress, anxiety, viruses, or sleep problems can cause this physical experience of fatigue. But what causes of these triggers?
Systemic inflammation occurs when the immune system is constantly defending the body, this response is caused by stress, infection, or chronic diseases, and left untreated it can put the body in a pro-inflammatory state. When this happens, the immune system is ready to create an inflammatory response. This is great if we need our body to battle infection in short bursts, however a prolonged inflammatory state creates a myriad of other cognitive symptoms including: memory lapses or confusion, depression, decreased physical activity, physical fatigue, lack of motivation and loss of appetite.
How can we reduce stress and other triggers to release ourselves out of this cycle?
The key lies in our nervous system.
Our body consists of multiple nervous systems ~ lets keep it simple ~ the ones we want to concentrate on here are the Sympathetic and the Parasympathetic Nervous Systems. The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for the “fight or flight” response during any potential danger. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system inhibits the body from overworking and restores the body to a calm and composed state.
When we consciously choose to give our nervous systems a break, we’re allowing our entire system to recalibrate.
ways to BALANCE your NERVOUS SYSTEM daily:
Listening to Beats
It’s wonderful to listen to your favourite music, dancing in your lounge-room or singing along in the car. And these acts will increase your joy each day. Scheduling music into tasks is a quick and easy life hack, to elevate your schedule. You can take this experience deeper by including Binaural Beats into your daily listening.
Binaural Beats are claimed to induce the same mental state associated with a meditation practice, but much more quickly. In effect, binaural beats are said to: reduce anxiety, increase focus and concentration, lower stress, increase relaxation, foster positive moods, promote creativity and help manage pain. Binaural Beats are most effective when listened to via headphones, however just including them in your nighttime routine will still have a positive effect if headphones are unavailable.
Binaural Beats are two tones that are interpreted by the brain so please refrain from listening will carrying out important higher risk tasks such as driving, operating machinery or any other job requiring uninterrupted concentration. You can find Binaural Beats on all the regular digital platforms.
Moving Your Body
Movement is the fast route to supporting the nervous system. Anything from dancing, shaking, running, lifting, yoga, pilates, gyro, swimming, and cycling. Exercise supports and re-sets the nervous system by supplying more oxygen to our whole body. In fact daily breathing exercises are just as effective as cardio, so you can choose a brisk walk over cardio if it suits. Moving and breathing doesn’t need to be complicated: Our hacks include walking instead of driving, even parking further away from your destination. Running for 10 to 15mins - incorporate movement into your tasks and run to the local shops.
Aerial Movement combines acrobatic arts, fitness, pilates and yoga. More than just “Aerial Yoga”, we offer a suspension movement system with therapeutic value ~ with techniques to encourage natural deeper breathing and inversions to tone the cardiovascular system.
Rest with Weight
It’s well documented that using weighted blankets has a positive effect on anxiety, stress and deeper rest. It’s been suggested that weighted blankets can also lower the resting heart rate in some people. So add a blanket in your warm down savasana or in the evening as you drift off to sleep. You can always remove later as needed. Physical contact will release endorphins and oxytocin, this can be an embrace ~ more hugs everyday! As we move into our Aerial cocoon and resting inside the Aerial silk your body also has the physical feedback of being held, suspended and weightless, but wrapped. A very similar feeling to the weight of blankets at home.
Practicing simple daily hacks like these can reduce the cycles of overwhelm and depletion, in this way we can release stress and anxiety ~ for a good sleep, better productivity and more joy in each day.