Puppet or Master?

Happy Friday, friend!

Pop quiz to kick things off. Which of the following have you experienced over the past 7 days?

• Random irritability

• Sensitive hearing

• Distractibility

• Light sensitivity

• Restless leg syndrome

• Difficulty falling asleep

• Indigestion/bloating

• Persistent fatigue and low mood

• Anxiety

• Excessive weight gain/loss.

One of them? Some of them? All of them? No judgement here. Unfortunately these are just some of the all too common symptoms baked into life in 2023. We are where we are, but that doesn’t mean we need to sit back and take it on the chin.

While catalyst and context varies person to person, there’s one common feature among all of the above.

A disregulated nervous system.

We think of muscles and the mind as the drivers of performance and health. In reality, they’re puppets controlled by one master, the nervous system.

This email marks the first in a six week series breaking down the most efficient and effective methods for managing your nervous system for optimal health and performance, using nothing more than your own body.

Week #1. Breathwork

Week #2. Nature

Week #3. Cold water exposure

Week #4. Movement

Week #5. Light exposure

The main thing you need to know is that the state of your nervous system determines your experience of life.

A bold statement I happily stand by.

We live in a world for which our bodies and minds weren’t designed. Our nervous system’s tipped towards the parasympathetic (rest and digest) for much of our evolved existence. The scales have shifted over the past few hundred years to sympathetic (fight or flight) dominance, and we’re at risk of getting stuck there.

Sadly, many already are.

While in the short term, stress isn’t a bad thing, when it becomes the default way of living, it plays havoc on pretty much every function in the body from digestion to immunity, metabolism to cognitive function.

I’m not here to espouse doing away with all technology and running barefoot to work every morning. I do, however, think that on the whole, the seesaw’s weighted too heavily toward things that overstimulate, distract and disconnect, subjugating the natural, foundational systems we all own that have evolved over at least the past 100 million years.

In broad strokes, your nervous system’s made up of the central nervous system (CNS) comprising the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS), the nerves branching off the spinal cord, extending to all parts of the body. In short, it’s responsible for the nature of every response you have to, everything.

Don’t feel like working out?

Think that’s about psychology or discipline?

Nope, nervous system.

Get easily agitated by your boss?

Think it’s about them?

Guess again!

Your response comes down to how your nervous system’s revving, and how you’ve trained it to perceive your bosses behavior. Clearly, training your nervous system won’t turn them into Mother Teresa, but it will change your experience and the degree to which it impacts you physically and emotionally.

Some will experience mainly physical symptoms e.g. weight gain, sensitive hearing or indigestion, some as behavioral symptoms e.g. anxiety, irritability, or low mood, and others as both. Whatever your personal experience, it’s likely getting in the way of you living life on your own terms.

The state of your nervous system determines your experience of life.

The tools you’ll discover over the next 5-weeks tap into the primal physiology that underpins human thriving, the precise physiology we often rush past in search of quick fixes and even quicker, if short lived, results.

We’ve been prioritizing the paint job and leather seats but neglecting the engine warning light and squeaky brakes.

You’ve got 7-days between tools, so I want you to commit no more than 5-minutes per day to integrating the tool of the week into your schedule. To be clear, I forbid you from spending one second more than 5 minutes per day on any one of these tools. I want you to score an A+ on under-achieving.

Heck, if you under-achieve well enough, I’ll send you a free breathwork audio download next week.

Deal?

What it takes to feel good in our bodies and minds is a lot more straight forward than we’ve been lead to believe. The next 5 weeks won’t solve or treat the chronic issues many live with on a daily basis. However, it will provide the foundations for managing your body and mind, building a system that’s resilient to physical, emotional and environmental stress. One that allows you to do more of what makes you come alive.

What about this week? Well, we can’t change what we don’t notice.

So, find somewhere you won't be disturbed, set a timer for 3-minutes 3-minutes, and sit.

(I didn’t miss a “0”, THREE MINUTES)

You’ll close your eyes, and count your breaths. Each inhale/exhale cycle is 1. Get to 10 and start back at 1 again. Notice when your mind wanders. Without judgement, bring your attention back to the breath, and continue counting.

We’ll get into mechanics next week, but try and breathe with your belly rather than your chest. Breathe in, belly out: breathe out, belly in.

That’s it, mindfulness in a very small nutshell.

And that’s it for this week.

In love and health!

Alex

Disclaimer: This post is for general information purposes only and is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical or psychological conditions. This information is not intended as a substitute for medical advice and readers should always consult their doctor, physician or registered healthcare practitioner before implementing anything they read in The Edge.