New Year, New Nervous System!
A Free 10-Day Autonomic Super-Challenge
Day 1: The Fresh Start Effect 

 

Hey Regulators! 

Happy New Year! For most of us, we keep looking everywhere for answers on our healing journeys, except to the one thing that's been with us all along,our wild bodies. If you want to know who and what your real ride or die is, look down. Look at yourself. Feel yourself. Not just from the neck up, but from the neck down too. My hope for you in 2023, and with this challenge, is that this insight and newfound awareness of your body, and the integration of the physical and mental understanding of it, will change your life.

Days like today are a time to reset and reflect. Researchers call this the “fresh start effect.” This is really about our human inclination to set goals or intentions, and move toward them after a special occasion, or moments that stand out in time. Studies show temporal landmarks, like New Years Day, or experiences that signify the beginning of something, motivate inspirational and aspirational behavior. I believe these days remind us of our mortality, and open up a fresh start to a new life. They help us remember we won't be here forever, and that we need to make the best of this one radical human experience.

We’ve all made New Year's Resolutions, we haven't followed through on. But nothing changes if nothing changes. Actions, alongside consistency, create results. I'm a huge proponent of exercise and movement. When I was a kid, I didn't realize what sports and running were doing for me physiologically. As an adult, I recognize how much they were affecting me, my Nervous System, and my mind-body as a whole. I made a connection very young, that being physical, made me feel good. It changed my state of mind, and helped me cope with the things happening in my life. Having a healthy outlet to discharge my internal energy, saved me. 

Our personal narratives and belief systems are directly proportional to our internal states– to our Nervous Systems! Deb Dana, LCSW, Author and PolyVagal Theory clinician, coined the term “Story Follows State.” What she's saying is that our patterns of thought are dependent on the state of our Nervous System. The mind narrates what the Nervous System already knows. So, if you are setting New Year's Intentions, but aren't following up with bodily actions that help you align those intentions, you probably aren't getting results. We can't change our minds, if we aren't willing to change our bodies.

I'll get into a ton of content over these next ten days. Some of it will make total sense to you. Some of it might go directly over your head. I know a lot of it did for me when I first started studying this stuff. But we will carve out one layer at a time. Ultimately, this work might come together like the pieces of a puzzle. In the end, you may realize it wasn’t so complicated to begin with. If there's one thing I want you to take away from this 10-Day Challenge, that you could integrate into your “Fresh Start Effect,'' on this temporal landmark day, it's this: Change Your Body, Change Your Mind. That's what's going to change your life. 

Practice Day 1: Listen to a Podcast and Take a Long Walk.

Most days of this challenge will be videos with somatic practices. But I wanted to ease our way into this challenge. This podcast (link below) with Rich Roll and Mel Robbins very simply breaks down a lot of the content I will be getting into. The other part of today's practice is to just go take a walk. Notice how you feel afterward. Try to feel the connection between your body, and your own mind. You don't even need to understand the science of your Nervous System for this. You just need to take the time to feel what's happening inside of you. Feeling is truly the entry point to transformation. Afterall, that's why we are all here in the first place. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV1Q4kOnisM


 

Love you all!
LDD