Your autonomic nervous system is the body's stress response. It's responsible for your 'fight or flight' and 'rest and digest'. The autonomic nervous system controls your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and sexual arousal. You have no control over your autonomic nervous system. If something triggers your 'fight or flight' then your body will unconsciously respond.
Feeling anxious on a daily or weekly basis leaves you in your 'fight or flight' for prolonged periods of time. It's not a healthy place to be as it can cause high blood pressure, dysfunctional breathing and fluctuations in weight. You may experience problems with your sleep, finding yourself worrying at 3 am. In the daytime you find yourself feeling restless, planning for the worst-case scenario. You may also experience problems with your concentration and focus. Living in your 'fight or flight' can leave you with little to no self-worth.
As you might be aware, living with these physical and mental symptoms is hard. Over time they could affect your health and wellbeing. The good news is there are tools you can learn to bring yourself out of your 'fight or flight'. These tools put your body into 'rest and digest', improving your overall quality of life.
'Rest and digest' is the other part of your autonomic nervous system. All the good things you want to happen to your body happen in 'rest and digest'. It is responsible for a low heart rate and blood pressure, slow breathing, salivating, digestion and removing toxins from the body. In 'rest and digest', you sleep better, feel calmer, feel more relaxed, and your mind feels quieter. You may feel more emotionally resilient. And if a stressful situation arises you feel like you can respond to it with ease and logic.
To go between 'fight or flight' and 'rest and digest' you must learn to regulate your nervous system. One of the simplest and most effective ways of doing this is using the 'tools' I mentioned earlier. These tools are mindfulness practices. Breathwork, meditation, journalling and gratitude are all practices that will bring you into 'rest and digest'. If you practice mindfulness daily, over time you will begin to see the long term benefits on your mind and body. You'll notice a difference in the way you feel about yourself. Your mood will improve and so will your overall happiness.
It can feel a bit daunting practising all those mindfulness tools by yourself. That's why I've created a course helping people create a mindfulness routine.
Morning Mindfulness Routine is 6 week course where you'll learn 7 mindfulness practices. It's designed for people suffering from anxiety, which means it's not overwhelming. By the end of the course, you'll have started to regulate your nervous system. You would have built new healthy coping mechanisms and lifelong change!
Take anxiety into your own hands! Sign up to the Early Bird pre-sale and receive 30% off!
Course price: £58.80
Early Bird Pre-Sale Price: £41.99
To find out more and to sign up click here: https://katie-hartshorne-s-school.teachable.com/p/morning-mindfulness-routine
In the meantime, stay mindful!
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