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I am often asked, "What do the entrainments (gentle treatments given by Dr. Sara) do?" and "How do the entrainments work?"
Entrainment is a word from systems biology. There is a principle of entrainment in nature. Flocks of birds move together seamlessly. Schools of fish react as one without conscious thought. Our brain and nervous systems are designed to fire groups of nerves together in coordinated patterns. One of these built-in systems throughout our spine is designed to build up tension when needed and to release and unwind it when it's no longer needed.
There are three broad categories of things that build tension in the body. Physical - like a car accident or hours of gardening; Chemical - like smoking or pesticides; Mental - habits of thought that tell your body it needs to build tension.
Entrainments are a way to get your brain to self-reflect and "see" the tension your body is holding, either on purpose in the moment or from habit.
The light touches along your spine are specific to locations where the sensory nerves are more highly receptive to input.
In a way, I'm negotiating with your brain and body. Asking, "Do you still need this tension?" "Did you forget it was here?" "How about we unwind it?".
Our bodies and nerve systems are always looking to return to a calm and relaxed state. If there's tension, it's because some aspect of us thinks we need it.
Your brain, body, and I enter into a conversation about letting go. How about here? How about now? What about over here? It works faster and more smoothly if I physically and energetically model deep, relaxed presence for your system to copy. Our natural state as human beings is a clear, relaxed readiness. Anything else shows up in our nerve system as interference, a distortion in the system. Either a tightness through the muscles, ligaments, vertebrae, and nerves or a postural misalignment. As we work together, your system starts to unwind.
Another universal question I get asked is "What can I do to help my body and nerve system unwind or let go? To return to that natural calm readiness?".
Great question!
Physical things you can do are usually pretty common sense. Things like stretching, exercise, rest, and water. What does it feel like your body wants? You know. If you take a minute toget quiet and listen, you'll hear what your body needs or wantsright now. It's usually very simple.Trust it.
Chemical things are also pretty obvious. Most people know if they have this area of stress on the body. Often, this might not be something easily changed, for example, a prescription medication with side effects. Again, eating healthy and drinking lots of water helps.
Mental habits are also simple to change; however, most people don't know how. We generally do the opposite of what works in this area and end up hanging onto habits a lot longer than we would like. I write quite often about this in my blog onhttp://www.liveyouralivelife.com. Thoughts literally dissolve when we ignore them and take our attention elsewhere. It often can feel like habits of thought are stored in the body. They aren't. It just feels that way. We just get good at repeating old favourites, like a black and white movie that we don't enjoy anymore. Once we see these patterns for what they are, they dissolve on their own, and our body relaxes and unwinds on its own.
If you are interested in exploring this area of mental habits in more depth, there are a number of upcoming opportunities to do just that.
1)Join me for an online, 6-month Deep Listening Masterclass series. Check out the Upcoming Events section below for details on the series, which I have been part of coordinating. It's called Listening to Ignite the Human Spirit, and I am very excited about all the great speakers we have lined up!
2)Make sure you're receiving the blog where I focus on these topics. Be sure to check your spam folder! They go out weekly, usually on a Tuesday. If you aren't receiving them, you can sign up for the blog by emailing Nancy at frontdesk@drsaraoneill.com or visiting https://www.drsaraoneill.com/. The space to subscribe to the blog is on the right-hand side, about halfway down the page. (The subscribe section on my other website is currently under development.)
3)Explore Private Transformative Coaching- To work one-on-one with me, please visit https://www.liveyouralivelife.com/work-with-sara-joy or email Nancy.
Upcoming Events and Updates
Listening to Ignite the Human Spirit- Online 6-month Deep Listening Masterclass series
This online 6-month series combines group mastermind explorations with monthly experts in the field. Led by advanced transformative coaches Sara Joy O'Neill, Katerina Fiserova, and Bryan Smyers, learn how to navigate life from a space of listening to a deeper part of ourselves to increase productivity, let go of habits, and live with more joy and ease.
Registration: https://thelisteningworld.com/online-program/
Thanksgiving Office Hours- We will be closed on Monday, October 13, for Thanksgiving. We wish everyone a restful weekend to reflect on gratitude for all that we have, whether big or small.