Reiki calms your nervous system
Reiki calms your nervous system through relaxing your body and calming your mind. Energy healing such as Reiki also helps to release trapped or stuck energy and emotions. On a deeper layer, Reiki also clears negative spiritual influences that could also be unknowingly causing your nervous system to switch on.
What is your nervous system?
Your overall nervous system is made up of two main parts. It contains the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system (network of nerves). Our nervous system works by sending messages from your brain and spinal cord to all other parts of your body. It helps you respond to all perceived threats, as well as regulates both conscious and unconscious body processes. Our nervous system is essentially a survival and protection mechanism.
Peripheral Nervous System
Our peripheral nervous system is also broken down into two parts: the somatic nervous system (voluntary movements), and autonomic nervous system (involuntary movements). The autonomic nervous system is then also divided into two parts – the sympathetic (stress response) and parasympathetic (rest and digest response) nervous system.
Autonomic Nervous System
Our autonomic nervous system is essentially how our body-mind responds to stress. It’s always on the lookout for any real or perceived threats to our survival. Back in the caveman days, threats were more physically based. Nowadays, potential threats could range from physical, emotional, financial, work-related, technological, relationship, energetic, spiritual and more. This means that sometimes our nervous system is overworked, and can start to sound the alarm bell at every little thing. When our nervous system goes into overdrive, this is a slippery slope into burnout, exhaustion, anxiety, depression, physical illness and dis-ease, and more.
Sympathetic Nervous System
The sympathetic nervous system is our stress response. There are 4 main types of responses that our body-mind can automatically go to when our nervous system perceives a threat (real or otherwise):
1. Fight
Our mind and body gears up ready to fight the threat! We get a sudden release of stress hormones (cortisol, adrenalin and more) allowing us to tense and brace, readying us for the fight. Our fight response is acute, causing an increased heart rate, blood pressure, adrenalin, and can last for around 20-60 minutes.
2. Flight
This is an automatic response making us want to escape and run away from the perceived threat. Our heart rate and breath rate increases, and we feel the urge to distance ourself from the threatening situation or person. It can also lead to behaviours such as abandoning or ghosting.
3. Freeze
Freeze is an unconscious defence mechanism when flight and fight are not likely to work in a particular situation. Instead we freeze, and our body becomes immobile. We might also dissociate and become emotionally numb. This is a self-preservation action, and can look like shutting down, numbing, checking out, or going quiet or mute in a situation.
4. Fawn
Otherwise known as people pleasing, fawning is a safety response where the nervous system will activate in order to protect itself. This is where we work hard to seek approval, please and appease others, and avoid conflict, usually by becoming submissive or compliant. As a result we self abandon our own needs in favour of pleasing others, as a way to maintain safety, gain acceptance, or feel like we belong.
Our autonomic nervous system response develops in childhood
These automatic behaviours are usually developed in childhood as a result of traumatic situations, victim/narcissistic parents, growing up with parents suffering from mental health conditions (anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc), and/or abusive situations. Also, having overly controlling parents, codependent parent/child relationships, confusing or overwhelming childhood upbringing, moving all the time with no place to feel comfort or safety, and certain cultural upbringing can also contribute to how a child’s nervous system develops. We don’t choose our response, it happens unconsciously. Throughout childhood we have learned the response that helped us most at the time, and we often carry that into adulthood.
Highly sensitive people, empaths & neurodivergent conditions
In addition, everyone is born with a different energetic, physical and mental constitution. Those who are more sensitive and empathetic are usually born with a heavier pain-body, and a more sensitive nervous system. Those with ADHD or on the autism/aspergers spectrum can also be more highly sensitive.
Stressful events can influence your nervous system
Even if you had a secure and healthy upbringing, everyone goes through stressful periods in their life. These can also influence your nervous system’s ability to cope with stress. Things like grief from the passing of a loved one, losing your job, war, traumatic and/or abusive situations, going through an illness/dis-ease, financial loss, and big life changes such as being pregnant can all influence your nervous system.
Spiritual influences on your nervous system
Something that is not often talked about is the effects of going through a spiritual or kundalini awakening. These often misunderstood events can influence your nervous system in a big way! In addition, if you practice Reiki, energy work, or any other spiritual work, your nervous system is likely to be highly sensitive and highly tuned into the emotions and energy of others. This absolutely can affect your ability to cope with perceived threats and stress, strongly influencing your nervous system’s capacity.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
This is our rest and digest, relaxed state of our nervous system! Where the sympathetic nervous system reacts according to perceived threats, our parasympathetic nervous system calms the mind and body down again. This is the state where we function optimally in our everyday life. We can laugh, relax, think clearly and respond calmly. We feel safe and grounded in our body and life.
Reiki calms your nervous system
If you are someone experiencing nervous system dysregulation, Reiki can help! Reiki calms your mind and body, allowing your parasympathetic nervous system to come on board. In that state, we are more able to recognise the perceived threats and deal with stress from a more grounded place. Reiki also clears spiritual, energetic and emotional influences from your energy field, allowing you to come back into your energetic sovereignty once more.
Reiki + Coaching sessions
In addition, in my Reiki + Coaching sessions, not only do you receive a beautiful calming Reiki healing, but we will unpack your stress response. Even though stress responses are automatic, we can retrain our mind and body to respond differently, and increase our Window of Tolerance. In order to do this, we first must become aware of how we react, and why. Once we bring this into your conscious mind, we can then start to work on releasing stuck energy and emotions, and learning different responses to perceived threats.
Book in for a Reiki healing!
If you’re interested to learn more about your stress response, and how to calm your nervous system down, book in for a Reiki healing here. In addition, I also have an online Reiki for Anxiety guided meditation and Reiki healing that you can access at any time to help relax your mind and body, and reduce anxiety. You can read more about it here. If you have any questions at all, contact me here!
