Flooding our Brains with the Good Stuff.
Chronic stress. Chronic inflammation. Injury, illness, immobility.
Neurobiology is the root problem and the solution....
Our brains have a primary purpose- to protect us and keep us alive. Good. The brain works by reading signals from the body and then releasing neurochemicals and hormones to help us stay protected and alive. Again, good.
When our body is hunched over scrolling on our phone, the brain reads “threatened” and floods our system with Cortisol, the stress, “fight, flight, freeze” hormone.
When our breathing is shallow or rapid, our brain reads, “threatened”, and again, floods us with Cortisol.
When we hold our breath, tighten our shoulders, clench our jaw, our brain reads, “threatened” - more Cortisol.
Chronic baths of this stress hormone lead to weight gain - because our primitive brain under stress responds by storing fat to protect us from a possible famine, which was a real threat thousands of years ago- our brain hasn’t quite caught up to the fact that there is an abundance of readily available food in all quantities.
Cortisol release also interferes with our sleep, eats away at our muscles, makes us anxious and depressed, sparks widespread tissue inflammation, and messes with our digestive and immune systems, leading to significant disease states of high blood pressure, diabetes, and memory loss.
Here is the good news- states of chronic stress can be shifted with some pretty basic practices- most of which can be done within 2-5 minutes. Yoga and meditation have been shown to drastically reduce Cortisol levels in the body and also stimulate the release of the powerful neurochemical cocktail that we long for enough to spend billions of dollars on an industry to get us to this “blissful state”.
When we practice yoga, flow, synchronized breathing, and meditation, we are literally flooding our system with specific biochemical messengers... Anandamine, also called the “Bliss Molecule”. It is one of the body’s most important endocannabinoids (yes, our own internal THC, the active compound in Marijuana).
When you meditate or engage in breath-based yoga practice, guess what - you release this Neurochemical Anandamine, which has the same molecular structure as THC, for a self-generated high. Oxytocin, the connecting, “love” neurochemical, is also stimulated during mindfulness movement, mediation, and focused breath training. Oxytocin stimulates the production of Nitric Oxite (NO), which makes the blood vessels in the pre-frontal cortex expand, bringing alertness and inducing high level of performance.
And here you are, just on your yoga mat in your basement, not understanding why you are now so addicted to Zoom Yoga! It’s all Neurobiology!
This is not witchcraft or abstract woo-woo; this is YOUR biology. This is science from MRI studies. This is access to the amazing neurochemicals that your brain produces, which is not sponsored by big pharma, or prescribed by your primary care doctor. This is actually producing massive shifts in the neural functioning of your brain, the actual structure of your brain- far beyond “states” of relaxation or bliss, and actually altering the TRAITS of brain chemistry.
MRI studies have actually demonstrated impact of an 8-week meditation on the emotional regulation center of the brain (Dentate Gyrus)- growth by 22.8%. To put this into perspective, imagine working out in the gym for 8 weeks and having your biceps grow by 22.8%- that is some significant change.
So, we have the power to impact our brains and affect change in our emotional regulation, mental resilience, performance, and productivity, and we can flood our systems with natural THC, for a blissful state.
But how can we consistently access this internal pharmacy and focus our attention on breath to access our neural network and influence sleep, aging, weight management, stress, and overall ease?
Trust in yourself to show up for yourself. Make your neurochemistry your focus. Make your breathing your medicine.
Sidenote- my yoga classes are designed to “trick you” into going deep into this meditative state by moving through an intense, breath-based flow, which is actually really fun and engaging (see what people say here), utilizing all the neurochemical- stimulating resources available in an hour. Here we go!
Be Well,
Jessica
