All of us “modern” humans have had the experience of resetting a stuck/frozen computer or phone by pressing a button. The satisfaction we feel when the previously stuck or dead unit whirrs back to life is undeniable. I often wonder what the human reset button is like.
As a Chiropractor I often considered the Zeus-like lightning bolt of the chiropractic adjustment to be something of a reset – literally and figuratively. Then as a Craniosacral therapist the concept of inducing a “still point” (that point in a technique where the “tidal“ expressions pause– allowing the client a deep potent peaceful quiet), enforced the idea. At a personal level, in conversation with teachers, mentors and friends – perspectives offered have facilitated psychological resets. Healing from illness, disease or pain can connect us with the awareness of resetting.
The question begs asking… why “reset”?
Inherent in the idea of a reset is that there is a “good/better” place that we can go back to. In the case of the body; a state which is more ideal; a biological sweet spot where we feel and function well. The idea of this state suggests that we may be static entities with “ideal” postures, alignment, movement patterns and psychological patterns. The truth is more beautiful – We are complex, dynamic beings in ever-changing bodies.
One of the laws which govern these bodily changes is known as the SAID principle: SPECIFIC ADAPTATION TO IMPOSED DEMAND. Every movement/repetition is etched into our mechanical/chemical beings, for example: A runners’ bone density is different to an astronauts – the latter having no need after for his body to lay down a strong bony matrix – the runner under gravity’s weight must model his bones to withstand the loads he subjects his body to. The SAID principle applies to every thought (neuroplastic changes) or action which we subject our body to.
In spite of this dynamism – the concept or practice of “resetting” remains powerful and useful. We are creatures of habit and many of these habits belie our biological and or psychological potential. We sit in workstations, cars, chairs and offices which are designed for productivity not creativity and health. Our psychosocial drivers (motivators) are guided by a pathological consumer culture – disconnected decades ago from those “paths” with heart.
We find ourselves in bodies and lives which are in many ways too small, confined and not fitting our primal and true nature. These bodies have evolved over millennia with infinite numbers of checks and balances regulating every process from breathing to elimination to moving. These processes are often bizarrely complex and may involve thousands of biochemical reactions or profound biomechanical leverages and forces.
So how do we reset back to more ideal or in tune states?
Most simply: We surrender to the body.. Allow it its voice. Allow it to feel and do as it wishes. When the body needs sleep – sleep. Be instinctive. But what if that instinctive voice is drowned, lost in a clamor of culture and civility? What if the small still voice of the body was squashed in “sit-up-straights and sit- stills and stand-in-line and be-quiets?”
Here are some ideas to Reclaim and Reset your body-mind and brief rationale:
- Be present – in the moment – notice your skin, your joints… Allow each sense a moment to experience this instant.
- Breathe* – not properly or rightly, just as it happens – belly, balls?, back or chest – as it happens. Notice life entering you; and notice it leaving. Repeat as long as you want to.
- Grounding* – allow your bare feet or body to be in close proximity to the ultimate electron donor/ receiver; the ultimate free radical scavenger; the Earth.
- Be immersed in nature – Shinrin Yoku* – the act of forest air bathing has been associated with a myriad of deep health benefits, some attributable to airborne particles interacting with our
- Intermittent fasting – this popular dietary practice has its origin in traditional practices around the world and involves manipulation of the times that one eats thereby forcing very specific neuroendocrine changes onto the body.
- Loving a pet or human friend – being deeply present with another sentient being kickstarts our “care” circuitry in the brain with a consequent flush of happy hormones..
- Sleep* – the deepest and most natural method of resetting muscle tone, hormonal output and mental emotional state is to SLEEP.
- Autonomic resets – the Native Americans describe the act of vomiting as “getting well”. The deep muscular contractions involved in retching and heaving often allow us a deep state of ease/stillness afterwards. Crying and laughing have similar effects.
- Movement Resets* – moving well and moving often allows our nervous system and frames the opportunity to “drop” unnecessary tensions which weigh us down.
Some of these topics (*starred*) will be covered individually in much greater detail in later articles/ posts.
There are many “Passive Resets” in the form of treatments, processes or therapies which allow us access to the still-centre, which is at the heart of good health.
Wishing you joyous RESETTING!