“I can’t focus on my health! There’s too much stress!”- said everyone everywhere.
I wish it was as simple as putting healing on hold during a heightened state of overwhelm and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, but our physical, mental, and emotional health is being impacted now more than ever. Now is the time to put focus on retraining our brains in a beneficial way, to reclaim our resilience and innate warrior-mentality.
And believe me, I know it can feel overwhelming and exhausting- I too had a chronic illness!
But what if we use this time to shift our focus? What if this was our wake-up call for healing?
Neuroplasticity gives us the evidence we need to understand the brain changes all the time. In fact, it can change in milliseconds to adapt to environmental changes. It’s constantly reorganizing and forming new connections in order to shift, adapt, and change. Candace Pert was a neuroscientist and pharmacologist who brought us the understanding that emotions are the neurochemistry that exists within our brains, and when we elevate our emotions, we make beneficial changes to our physiology.
The limbic brain is the feeling, reacting, and emotional brain. Among other processes, the autonomic nervous system, housed by the limbic brain, responds to internal and external events that can be perceived as dangerous. And when our senses are communicated to our brains to decide if something is life-threatening, the brain communicates with the body to respond through a series of messengers. This negative feedback loop of stress hormones can impact the immune system and help create an environment for pathogens and bacteria to thrive. Hello, chronic stress and chronic illness!
We can shift from stress. When we do, we impact the mood, health, and energy of ourselves and the people around us.
It is never an optimal time to heal. I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in my early 20s after working as a travel physician assistant. My life had gone from vivacious and bright to staring at the stark white walls of my bedroom within a matter of months. My health rapidly declined with this diagnosis, and I spent a year trying to figure out the best modalities to heal. I tried everything- from resources I had in the western world of medicine to taking up to 80 herbal supplements a day. Some treatments offered hope, but my progress always seemed to plateau. That's when I discovered my brain's own ability to heal- the power that I held within me to retrain my brain to see changes to my body.
Three years ago, I created Vital-Side. I healed from my chronic illness and chronic stress response using the tools I teach today. My background in medicine and my extensive research and certifications in NLP and EFT have helped me develop a program that works for every learning style and individualizes the process of brain retraining so people can find relief from chronic symptoms.
Retraining our limbic system does not have to be a rigid and obligatory process; it can be fun and simple! And it can be something we do in a matter of minutes. When we add it to our daily routine, we can benefit our mindset, health, and perception of the world.
So, what do we do during times of confusion and overwhelm?
We focus on the things that we can control, the things that are possible for us.
We have lived this long with a chronic illness. Now, we have lived through a pandemic. It's time to create resilience within our nervous systems and brains and prove to ourselves that we have the ability to thrive. We can do this through simple tools that elevate our emotions and break the cycle of stress. In Breaking The Habit Of Being Yourself, Dr. Joe Dispenza asks, “Can you accept the notion that once you change your internal state, you don’t need the external world to provide you with a reason to feel joy, gratitude, appreciation, or any other elevated emotion?” We have the ability to shift our internal chemistry, which makes drastic changes to our brains, bodies, and perception of the world.
So... what can you do today?
Take a moment to right down 100 wins you’ve had this past year- small pieces of progress you have made throughout the year. It can be as simple as waking up with a smile on your face to spending extra time with the dog every day. Spend 20 minutes putting these words and wins onto paper, and take a moment to realize just how far you have come.
This Friday, I am looking forward to speaking about why it's SO important to address the stress response during times of increased stress. This is a live event on IGTV @ 12 PM PDT.
In Vital-Side, I offer quick, simple, and structured techniques to retrain your brain in a way that makes sense to you and works with your goals. I offer virtual brain retraining programs, private coaching sessions where we can create a progress plan that adds to any other brain retraining program you have completed, and a weekly group call in Vital-Side Ed, where we review state changing exercises, check in, and discuss important topic related to neuroplasticity like epigenetics and how to effectively boost your own practice. People from all over the world, from all different brain retraining programs join in for this call!
How to find me...
If you have questions for me or are interested in how my approach in Vital-Side differs from other brain retraining programs, follow me on instagram: @myvitalside: https://www.instagram.com/myvitalside/, or schedule a free virtual consult with me on the website: https://vital-side.com/. I love to hear your story and provide my honest recommendations for how we can improve your practice.
In addition, I have recently interview Dr. Daniel Amen, 12X NY Times best selling author, psychiatrist, and brain specialist about the power of the brain and how it's impacted by stress and trauma. Watch FULL interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s66XGDaWXJE&t=803s.
I so look forward to meeting you and continuing to make changes to our health through our most valuable healing tool: our brains.
All the best,
Lindsay
lindsay@vital-side.com