Why Your Nervous System is Stuck on High-Alert and How We Can Help

When our ancient ancestors came across a menacing tiger in the woods, their “fight or flight” response activated—preparing their body to either fight the tiger off or take flight (run away). This biological response occurs due to the central nervous system, which is composed of two parts: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic systems.

The sympathetic nervous system causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. This state of alert prepares your body for a perceived threat. Once the threat is over, that is when the parasympathetic nervous system is supposed to kick in. This is known as the “rest and digest” state, and this state allows for your body functions to return to normal.

In the modern-day, most of us don’t come across the threat of a tiger, but we do have stressful jobs and never-ending to-do lists, along with financial, family, and relationship stresses. As far as our bodies are concerned, this means that a threat is always close by—causing our sympathetic nervous systems to remain constantly on high-alert.

Symptoms of an Imbalanced Nervous System

This chronic state of stress causes your nervous system (along with your immune and endocrine systems) to experience imbalances, which can be detrimental to your health and overall well-being. These imbalances can be noticed as:

- overwhelm

- anxiety

- fatigue

- digestive disturbances

- insomnia

- immune issues

- chronic pain

- fatigue

- fertility, pregnancy or postpartum-related issues

These all-too-common symptoms, along with our passion for guiding clients toward healing, is why we designed The Nervous System Reset. This service is designed specifically and thoughtfully to nourish your parasympathetic nervous system and restore homeostasis to your mind and body.

What The Science Says

While all components of the Nervous System Reset have been chosen to allow for optimal nervous system recalibration—here’s what the experts have to say about sound bowl therapy, reiki, craniosacral therapy and binaural beats therapy:

Reiki

“The profound relaxation produced by Reiki has been anecdotally reported to alleviate anxiety and stress, the perception of pain, and to promote a feeling of psychospiritual well-being. [Reiki] is a relaxing form of healing therapy that is applied through non-invasive nonmanipulative gentle touch…Reiki’s ability to activate the parasympathetic nervous system helps reduce pain, anxiety and depression, [and] improves self-esteem and quality of life. 

Craniosacral Therapy

“A noninvasive, mindfulness-based treatment approach using gentle manual palpation techniques to release fascial restrictions between the cranium and sacrum….It is influenced by and linked to the musculoskeletal system, and presumably the vascular and endocrine system as well as the parasympathetic nervous system.” Craniosacral Therapy has been found to be “both specifically effective and safe in reducing neck pain intensity and may improve functional disability and quality of life.”

Sound Bowl Therapy

Research has found that participants experienced “significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed moods following a session. Feelings of spiritual well-being improved significantly.” Sound bowls are also found to “decrease blood pressure and heart rate.” 

Binaural Beats 

When sounds with different hertz frequencies are introduced to each ear, it propels “the brainwaves into states of deep relaxation.”

Additional Benefits

Additional benefits of the Nervous System Reset may include:

- strengthened immunity 

- more balanced hormones

- improved digestion and sleep quality

- decrease in pain and inflammation 

- improved focus and productivity 

- improved fertility, pregnancy and postpartum transition

Book your appointment today at TheraKneads to experience, firsthand, the amazing benefits of the Nervous System Reset.

Sources:

Goldsby, T., Goldsby, M., Mills, P.(2017). Effects of singing bowl sound meditation on mood, tension, and well-being: An observational study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary Medicine,22(3), 401-406. Doi: 10.1177/2156587216668109. Retrieved from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Haller, H.M., Lauche, R., Dobos, G(2016). Craniosacral therapy for the treatment of chronic pain. The Clinical Journal of Pain. Wolters Kluwer Health, 32(5), 441-449. Doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000290

McManus, D.E.(2017). Reiki is better than placebo and has broad potential as a complementary health therapy. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary Alternative Medicine, 22(4), 1051-1057. Doi:10.1177/2156587217728644. Retrieved from https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov