My loves,
Welcome to Day 2 of our 7 day nervous system reset!
I hope that you found Day 1 useful. In part 2 of “Awakening The Senses”we’ll explore the nose, eyes, and skin. There is nothing for you to ‘do,’ as such, with this practice - just an allowing of yourself to experience your world from the sensations of these parts of your body.
The olfactory system is a pretty incredible one. It’s the first, and shortest, cranial nerve, and connects the nose directly to the brain. Our sense of smell is so powerful that it can evoke many memories and transport us back to another place in time. The sense of smell can activate our nervous system by bringing us back into a ventral vagal state of regulation, or it could trigger a stress or shutdown response, depending on the mental construct we have associated with it. We can use strong pungent smells to help bring us out of a state of shutdown or back into our body, if we’re disassociated, (dorsal vagal complex) and we can also use comforting and familiar smells to help maintain feeling regulated.
There are six cranial nerves that link the eyes to the nervous system. Through specific exercises, we can use the eyes to reset the nervous system and bring us into a state of regulation. For example, the simple act of widening our peripheral vision creates a sense of softening in the face, a release of tension, and an activation of the body’s parasympathetic response which, in this case, is regulating. When we repeatedly fix our gaze on our phones or on a screen of some sorts we activate a sympathetic response in the nervous system. This is why we feel crap after mindlessly scrolling or spending hours sat at a computer. Spending time in nature is a perfect way of widening our peripheral vision, which is why it’s one of the recommended ways of regulating our nervous system.
Now lets briefly touch on the skin (pun intended!) The skin is where our sense of “I-ness” ends and the rest of the world begins; where we distinguish between what is me, and what isn’t me. Through a network of fibres, the skin is linked to the autonomic and the central nervous system, relaying information about temperature, pain, and pressure/touch. Touch can be soothing or it can be activating and, just as it is with smells, our response depends on what narrative the brain has linked to the sensation.
In the yogic tradition the skin is twacha and is associated with the air element - vayu tattwa, the nose is ghrana and is associated with prithvi tattwa - the earth element, and the eyes chakshu , which are associated with the fire element - agni tattwa. Their subtle essences are: skin - sparsha (touch) nose - ghanda (smell) and eyes - roopa (form). As explained in the previous post, not only are these elements our gross manifestation of Shiva/Shakti, but it’s through these senses that we experience the world and form our mental constructs about it. As you move through your day, see if you can catch yourself in a thought stream about what you can feel, smell, or see, and ask yourself where that construct has come from - what is its earliest point of reference?
Our focus with this practice is to continue to connect with the body through the senses so that we can begin to ‘view’ the world experientially, rather than cognitively. Becoming the act of feeling/sensing, smelling, or seeing helps to release any constructs we’ve created around these acts, and in turn promotes a sense of ease in the nervous system.
I hope you enjoy.
H x
P.S If you’re a paid subscriber there is a special treat for you at the end of the 7 days! Not a paid subscriber yet? You can subscribe here:
The Art of Relaxation
Play this whilst taking a moment to sit and be, or whilst soaking in the bath. See if you can relax into the act of listening, rather than being the listener yourself.
Enjoy.
Share the love
Please ‘like’ and comment, and get the app so that you can click that little ‘re-stack’ button for me! This will help my content to reach a wider audience. Thank you for your support, it means a lot!
Don’t forget to share this post with others who might benefit from a little more integration in their lives.
Share this post