Reset your nervous system
Reset your Nervous System
Priya Vassen offers calming, rebalancing and energizing tools to reset your nervous system. These include pressure points, body tapping, resting poses like child’s pose and various other movement practices.
In a perfect state of health our internal systems are held in a condition of intelligent, dynamic balance by natural fulcrums. Fulcrums are present in our systems in physical and dense areas like bones, tissues and fluids to rarified and ethereal areas such as beliefs, thoughts and memories.
Fulcrums themselves are stable. They are points where the functions of the body are organised. The body will create fulcrums for the most optimum coherence, functionality, ease and awareness.
When trauma, injury or disease is experienced, false or inertial fulcrums are created as an adaptive response. Given space and time, the body will use the information from the adaptive response and calibrate back to a natural point of balance. If we are not well-resourced or supported, or we feel unsafe, or are in survival mode, the adaptive and inertial fulcrums remain and cause distortion. In this case our mobility and motility are compromised. And, though we may not be aware, we use energy to maintain them sometimes exhausting the body. Holding inert fulcrums contribute to ageing and decrepitude.
There are distinct methods we can use to recognize distorted fulcrums, and simple tools to regulate the states caused by them. To begin, it is important to tune into your body and psyche and when it asks for something, give it that something – be it rest, sleep, exercise, water in all its forms, food, bodywork, quiet, nature, conversation, fun, whatever the body is asking for.
Note that there is wisdom in all states, embrace the lessons of imbalance and start from acceptance which is the best place to allow imbalance to alchemise. During this deep process of healing, be kind to yourself, and be light and gentle. It definitely will shift. We heal and learn more through play and pleasure than rigidity and censure.
Allow yourself to explore and understand your own design – and let all the external noise and imposed reference points lodged in your system be swept out. This is your time.
Reset your nervous system by identifying your state.
- An overly heightened/activated state may have symptoms of overwhelm, anxiety, sleeplessness, restlessness, agitation. This is when the nervous system needs soothing and calming.
- A sedate state might require resourcing or if stagnant may need to be activated.
Ideally we should be on a continuum of alert and calm. When stuck in either, the medicine is to first recognize what state we are in and then titrate to that effect.
Working with the lymphatic system is key. The lymphatic clears away waste products. When the lymphatic system needs clearing we may have symptoms like a feeling of stagnation, heaviness, overwhelm, repetitive thinking, indigestion, dullness, lethargy, tiredness, uncentredness and ungroundedness.
With these lymphatic practices you are literally working with the waters of your body.
Being well-hydrated is a good idea to flush out waste from the lymphatic system. If at any time in the process of doing these exercises you feel nauseous, then stop. Keep your heart rate relaxed. Focus on lengthening exhales. With each of the following practices, once you get going it should feel self-propelled, generating and as though you could carry on the practice indefinitely.
Reset the nervous system with Lymph Practices
- Body Tapping – Stand upright and keep the body relaxed, suspend yourself from the crown and feel the connection to the earth by micro-bending the knees. Find your breath. Form a very light fist or and tap the body in the manner described below.
- Arms: Tap up the outside from the fingertips to the shoulder joint and then down the inside of the arms. Then pay attention to the armpit area where there are many lymph nodes and tap down the side of the rib cage
- Legs: Tap down the outer leg from hip to little toe and up the inside from big toe to inner groin. Spend extra time at the inner groin and behind the knees. Tap around the outer hips and buttocks
- Kidneys/Lower Back: lean forward slightly and very gently tap around the lower back area from underneath the base of the rib cage to the top of the hips
- Belly: Return to a relaxed standing position. Very gently tap the belly up the right-hand side, under the ribcage right to left, down the left and along the bottom left to right. Be specific with the direction as you are tracing the direction of elimination through large intestine and you don’t want to reverse that
- Neck: tap with fingertips or stroke very gently down the neck toward the heart. Pay particular attention to the area under the jawline
- Face: Tap the face very gently, you can even drum the fingers. Pay particular attention to the area under the eyes, the sinus cavities in the cheekbone area and along the jawline
- Skull: Tap from the top and front to the back of the neck to the occipital area and down the back of the neck
Come back into your relaxed standing position and observe. The body should feel warm and tingly. Bring your attention to your breath, feel the connection to the earth through your feet and suspend yourself from the top of your head. Relax your belly and allow yourself to breathe naturally from here.
Other practices to help the lymphatic are walking – especially in nature and rebounding. Rebounding – if you have a rebounder or trampoline, that’s ideal, but if not, just bouncing on the floor is great. While bouncing, focus on lengthening your exhalations. It’s definitely not jumping up and down. It’s bouncing, with the emphasis on the downward motion which is causing a rebounding upward effect. You will feel this more easily with a rebounder.
Overly Heightened States in need of soothing
- Child’s pose: come down to knees, tops of feet to the floor. If comfortable bring the knees together. Fold the torso over the tops of the thighs. If the head does not comfortably reach the floor, don’t let your head dangle. You can either make fists with the hands, place them one on top of the other and rest your forehead on them or prop with blocks, books, pillows. The full pose brings the arms alongside the body but if this is not comfortable for any reason, extend them forward. You should feel an almost immediate quietening. In this position you can also visualize breathing into your kidneys and adrenals. If you experience any pain, especially in the knees or ankles, slowly come out. Move mindfully in and out.
Balasana Child’s pose
- Foetal Position: this is basically Child’s Pose of the side body. Here you can wrap the arms around the bent legs and bring the forehead towards the knees.
- Constructive Rest: Lie on the firm surface of the floor on your back. Bend your knees and bring your feet flat to the floor slightly wider than your hips. Pigeon toe the feet (heels out, toes in) and allow the knees to rest together. Cross the arms at the elbows and rest across the chest or face. Halfway through your rest, change the cross in the arms. You should feel the effects after a few minutes but I recommend twenty minutes if you have the time.
- Head Cradle: While seated, cradle the back of the head just above the neck with one hand and the forehead with the other. Take a few moments to feel your body, your breath and your feet on the floor. This is instantly calming. Remain here for as long as you want or until you feel totally soothed.
- Vagus stroke: cup the face, let the base of the palms connect at the chin and the fingers spread and gently holding the face. Hold for a moment. Run the hands down the neck and onto the chest, then press into the centre of the sternum/heartspace with one hand on top of the other. Pause here for a moment. Keep your hands in this position and press down through the centre line of the ribcage till you reach the soft area about a hands distance from the lower sternum (or ziphoid process). You are literally stroking and soothing the vagus nerve.
- Breathe and make your exhale longer than your inhale. Open your mouth if it provides a better release.
Using pressure point stimulation to reset the nervous system.
The following lists pressure points you can stimulate by pressing gently, as little pressure as the weight of a coin. On bigger areas using a flat palm instead of a fingertip is more soothing. We use a measurement called Cun which is relative to your particular body. Hold each point with gentle pressure for 2 to 3 minutes. The acupressure points can be a valuable everyday addition to reset your nervous system.
reset your nervous system
Points to use to reset your nervous system
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- Ren 17 (Sea of Tranquility): on the sternum, midway between the nipples
- Extra Point 2 Yintang (Hall of Impressions): midway between the two inside ends of the eyebrows
- Pericardium 6 (Inner Gate): 2cun from the inner wrist crease, between the two long tendons
- Spleen 6 (Three Yin Intersection): 3cun above the bottom tip of the ankle bone, along the inner aspect of the leg, directly behind the shin bone
- Heart 7 (Spirit Gate): At the crease of the wrist, on the inner aspect, on the little finger side.
- Large Intestine 4 (Great Eliminator): between the pointer finger and thumb, on the top side of the hand, 1.5cun from the edge of the hand
- Kidney 1 (Bubbling Well): On the sole of the foot, behind the mound of the big toe
- Urinary Bladder 23 (Kidney Shu): 1.5cun away from spine, at the height of the midpoint between hip and lower rib cage and Urinary Bladder 52 (Willpower Chamber): 3cun away from spine, at the height of the midpoint between hip and lower ribcage hold the lower back in the area between the rib cage and hips and focus your breath here. Let the breath be natural, relaxed, slow and steady.
- Ren 6 (Sea of Qi): 1.5cun below belly button and Ren 4 (Gate of Origin); 3cun below belly button
If you are too agitated to go straight into any of the practices above first do brisk movements, shake your body out, exhale out the mouth, make a few noises, follow your body.
With sedentary states in need of activation: to relieve stagnation, heaviness, dullness do all of the pressure points above.
With sedentary states in need of nourishment, resourcing, replenishment do the following:
- Rest and sleep
- Nourishing food
- Child’s Pose (see above)
- Constructive Rest (see above)
- Cradle Occiput and Forehead (see above)
- Vagus Stroke (see above)
- Pressure points:
- Ren 6 (Sea of Qi): 1.5cun below belly button and Ren 4 (Gate of Origin); 3cun below belly button
- Large Intestine 4 (Great Eliminator): between the pointer finger and thumb, on the top side of the hand, 1.5cun from the edge of the hand
- Kidney 1 (Bubbling Well): On the sole of the foot, behind the mound of the big toe
- Spleen 6 (Three Yin Intersection): 3cun above the bottom tip of the ankle bone, along the inner aspect of the leg, directly behind the shin bone
- Stomach 36 (Leg Three Mile): approximately 3cun below the bottom of the knee, on the outer aspect of the leg, 1-1.5cun away from the shin
- Urinary Bladder 23 (Kidney Shu): 1.5cun away from spine, at the height of the midpoint between hip and lower rib cage and Urinary Bladder 52 (Willpower Chamber): 3cun away from spine, at the height of the midpoint between hip and lower ribcage hold the lower back in the area between the rib cage and hips and focus your breath here. Let the breath be natural, relaxed, slow and steady.
The methods and states outlined here to reset your nervous system are not exhaustive but represent a framework to identify what state you are in and how to manage it best. I hope they are helpful. If you have other practices you know and love, like yoga, massage, Tai Chi, meditation etc, keeping doing it
Find more about Priya Vassen here and contact her directly to book an acupuncture appointment with her or to use acupuncture or craniosacral therapy to reset your nervous system.
To add more relaxation practices to your life like meditation browse the Holistica shop for inspiration.
Priya practices from Seven Circles in Gardens, Cape Town
