There is no such thing as a work-life balance – it is all life. The balance has to be within you.

Sadhguru
It’s a Balancing Act:

Much like the thinking/emotional brain the body brain also naturally goes through phases of contraction and expansion but in a slightly different way.

There is a natural contraction and expansion that occurs with each breath. This natural fluctuation is mirrored in day to day life (sometimes you experience more openness and sometimes not) but this contracting and expanding is more longitudinal than the thinking/emotional brain.

This is the primary area where undigested experiences get stored/stuck and as these build up over a lifetime the body brain begins to contract around them. The body brain is normally very expanded at the time of birth and stays that way through the first few years of life. During this period it is weak and desperately needs nourishment which it gets through things such as physical contact (especially with mom) and being gently exposed to new experiences.

Human beings in general are not taught how to “digest” their experiences and as they go through life those experiences that were not naturally “digested” begin to accumulate in the body brain. The more undigested experiences that accumulate the more the body brain contracts. This often leads to either (or sometimes both):

  1. A state of chronic contraction (feeling chronically stuck, ill, or pinned down by inhibitions) OR
  2. An irregular swinging of the extreme ranges of both contraction and expansion (I can’t breath, I feel like i’m dying…followed by… “I feel amazing! I am in total bliss!”
How Can You Re-Create The Balance?
  1. The primary way is through the practice of emotional digestion. Each experience that is digested frees up energy stuck in the body brain and facilitates a greater balance.
  1. There are also others ways to “nourish” the body brain which strengthens it overall:
    1. Loving contact (such as a hug, physical touch, or even close proximity to a living being with whom you feel safe)
    2. Certain herbs such as bai he (lily bulb), acupuncture or acupressure anywhere along the lung channel. (Herbs and acupuncture should be provided only by a qualified professional. Acupressure is a safe method you can practice at home. The lung channel can be found many places online such as here if you prefer pictures or here if you prefer video)
  1. There are also many, many ways encourage the body brain to expand when it is contracted which very often tend to “stimulate” the undigested experiences held within the body brain (which then need to be digested or the energy gets stored again. More on this in the podcast at the end of this section):
    1. Touch therapies such as:
      1. Massage, EFT, somatic trauma therapies, acupuncture, or acupressure.
        1. The unwinding feeling many people experience almost immediately is the release of contraction of the body brain.
    2. Movement of any sort:
      1. I often encourage combining the exercises for chronic pain with emotional digestion.
        1. A lot of energy tends to accumulate in areas that are painful.
      2. This was actually one of the traditional goals of yoga stretching practices.
        1. The physical range of motion was a beneficial bi-product rather than the primary goal.
      3. Even everyday exercise has these benefits
        1. Try a variety of movements and exercise styles for best results.
        2. Even simply walking is very beneficial and many people notice how much “clearer” they are after even a walk around the block.
    3. Stepping out of your comfort zone
      1. Note here that stepping out of your comfort zone doesn’t trigger emotional digestion itself but rather stimulates the release of energy so that it can be digested. If you push past your fear/discomfort without actually becoming intimate with the feeling then you are missing a great opportunity. (Covered in podcast at the end of this section.)
      2. Stepping out of your comfort zone does not need to be dramatic. Anytime you are “triggered” is an opportunity to digest some energy.
        1. Simple examples might include:
          1. Skipping in a store
          2. Talking to the cute girl/boy at the coffee shop
          3. Sharing something with a trusted partner that makes you feel a little vulnerable (even simply saying “I feel hurt when…”, rather than “I hate it when you…”
    4. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (talk therapy) can be a great tool depending on how it is used.
      1. A tremendous amount of energy stored in the body brain is “locked up” by stories that have been attached to it (see thinking/emotional brain).
      2. If working through your stories with a qualified professional allows a natural release of the energy stored in the body brain AND the time is taken to digest it then this therapy can be very effective. (Covered in podcast at the end of this section.)
    5. There are likely many other ways to facilitate the release of undigested experiences, these are just the ones I have found clinically to be the most helpful the the broadest range of people.

Podcast on digesting the energy that has been freed-up by the above suggestions:

Learning to digest your unresolved experiences is incredibly valuable in healing the body brain as well as restoring balance to the entire Mind. It is the most fundamental tool towards healing the Mind and therefore also plays a huge role in healing the Body in many many cases. For that reason this is covered time and again in the “emotional digestion” area, the “pick my struggle” area as well as offered in 1 on 1 sessions virtually via zoom or in person at the Colorado Springs office.

Up Next: A Meditation Exercise, Experience the Body Brain

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