We have been the guardians and the healers of the forest. We have too long forgotten the magic powers of nature. The time has come to call on them again. Remember. All the magic of creation exists within a single, tiny seed.
-Magi Lune, Fern Gully
Today we will consider the role nature plays in regulating our nervous system. We will talk about the vagus nerve and how signals travel along it. How to use your senses to bring you back to a regulated state once you have left? Plus some ideas on how to deepen your connection with nature.
Balancing Act: Operating a Hyper, Hypo, and Regulated Emotional State
But first, 3 different accounts of two of my children and me. Each representing a spot on the window of tolerance. Hyper aroused. Regulated. Hypo aroused.
I have three children. So similar in some ways and vastly different in others. As young boys they kept me busy. I recently had the opportunity to read some stories of this other lifetime of raising my children. I share here two stories of two of these children to introduce my topic of the nervous system. See if you can follow my train of thought here.
We find our first young friend at the dinner table. He was never the type of child that could sit still for any amount of time. He isn’t capable of this as a grown young adult either. At the time of this story he was around the age of 6. We were finishing our dinner. When he proudly told me, “This is the first time I am not just eating hyperthetically.”
I knew there was a reason for the new word so I asked, “You usually eat hyperthetically?”
To which he replied, “Yeah, usually I’m all hyper and jumping around while I’m supposed to be eating, y’know, hyperthetically.”
Ah yes, just how all 6-year-olds should be. I loved my hyperthetic kid then and I love him now.
But when we live in a hyper state of arousal as an adult that looks different. Our bodies are constantly on the alert for danger. Every second of every day. When your body senses this hyper state which looks like anxious, hyper-vigilant, defensiveness and quick to anger or overwhelm. It goes into fight or flight. I might feel busy and productive in this state, but I am actually just spinning my wheels. It is not a happy for place for a nervous system to be.
Which brings us to our next story. Me.
When I am experiencing more pain than usual I go into a hypo state of arousal. In the fight or flight model, this is freeze or fawn. I feel drained. It’s harder to get to the gym. I just want to stay home and not see anyone. I have no motivation for anything. Every decision seems harder. All the stuff that was difficult before the flare is suddenly exacerbated. I remember all the things I have lost in my pain and lose track of what I have gained. I have to fight hard to find hope. I tend to withdraw from my social circles. This is also not a happy place for a nervous system to be.
Okay that wasn’t much of a story. But the next one is. And it’s the best.
Of my three boys, calm was not a common descriptor. But if you put them on a continuum of calm demeanor, this one would rank closest to calm. Not close to calm. But closest.
Different year. Different kid. Again, a sweet 6-year-old.
We find this one on the beach with cousins enjoying the sand and water. My mom looked over at one point to see him at a stand-still, ankle deep in the water. Just standing. It looked like he was pointing at something. We went back to chatting with one eye on him. It took some time for it to dawn on us that he was not moving. He was still standing there in the same spot. And still pointing.
With some concern I approached to see what was happening. It was then that I saw the dragonfly on his finger. This was not my biggest fan of bugs. So I was surprised that he was okay with this turn of events.
When I asked if he needed something, he calmly filled me in. The dragonfly got his wings wet. So he couldn’t fly away. But it was okay. He would just wait until they were dry and he could fly again. And he did. That sweet kiddo put aside everything that was important to him to calmly hold space for wings to dry. The simple yet crucial healing that was needed.
Do you live hyperthetically? Do you live in a state of underwhelm and dissociation? Or do you hold space for calm and finding the simple, effective tools that will support you?
The Vagus Nerve: Your Body’s Hidden Messenger
One of the podcasters I listen to, Neill Williams, said the other week, “You can’t out-think your nervous system.” Preach 🙌🏼!
A nervous system that is stuck in fight or flight is in frenzy mode. Taking all rhyme and reason out of our thinking and thereby our actions. Our result is a frenzied life. A nervous system stuck in overdrive is like a truck, stuck in Drive. Being in the gear that will get us where we need to go seems best. But when you need it to park or reverse, Drive is not going to be your answer.
We have all heard of the vagus nerve. It is the largest cranial nerve and it connects our brain and body. I would have thought that most of the signals run from our brain to our body.
But Williams taught me the science is showing that about 80% of signals traveling along that vagus nerve. Are going from body to brain. That means only 20% of the information is traveling brain to body! All the things I need to tell my body to do daily are only 20% of signals traveling that track. So for most of our lives we are receiving messages from our body to our brain.
This means I cannot positive-think my way out of a dysregulated nervous system. Or chronic pain for that matter, but that’s a topic for another post. A dysregulated nervous system cannot be solved by thinking. But it can be solved.
I don’t want to devalue the role of positive thinking. It has provided a means for wonderful things to happen in my life. It is one of the tools in my toolbox. Of highest priority though, are those things that will support a regulated nervous system. Because those are the things that create the greatest healing.
Heliophile- any organism that is attracted to sunlight
(ME)
I know I am in that space of a regulated nervous system when I feel present, grounded, empathic (with good boundaries), safe and authentic. I know that something is right for me and will not take me to dysregulation, when it gives me energy. I don’t feel the need to go seize everyday. I know that some will be seized by someone else. Some are not seize-able days. And some I can watch for the moment to seize without it costing so much effort.
How do I get to that space. Once I have left my window of tolerance. A wise woman asked, “Can I just spin into control for once, please?”
Unfortunately it won’t just happen. We have to make an effort. But the effort is not hard.
The spring is fresh and fearless
and every leaf is new,
the world is brimmed with moonlight,
the lilac brimmed with dew.
Here in the moving shadows
I catch my breath and sing--
my heart is fresh and fearless
and over-brimmed with spring.
-Sara Teasdale
Now we will take a look at some of the benefits of forest therapy. Do you see a correlation, even if you don’t believe it is causation between forest therapy and a regulated nervous system?
Forest therapy:
- lowers stress and anxiety by decreasing blood pressure, reducing cortisol rates and lowering heart rate
- improves focus by restoring our concentration through meditation practices
- strengthens the immune system by increasing production of NK cells thanks to phytoncides released by trees
- regulates emotions by soothing and calming
- improves mood through time spent in natural, green spaces which has been shown to reduce depression
A main theme in our forest therapy walks is connecting to nature through all our senses. I propose that you can use the forest to your advantage no matter what state you are in. The following chart lists our senses. And how we can use them to bring us back to regulation when we have become hypo or hyper aroused.
| Sensory Perception | To go from hypo to regulated | To go from hyper to regulated |
| Tactile | feel the bark of a tree, walk on rocks, dig your toes in the sand | place your feet in a natural body of water, run your fingers through the grass, pick a smooth stone to hold in your hand |
| Vestibular | skip, run, dance, swing in any green space | float, slow and repetitive dance, gentle rocking |
| Proprioception | jumping, tight hugs, weights | balance exercise such as tai chi, stand on one foot |
| Auditory | listen to rhythmic and engaging music, playing instruments | go on a listening walk, use noise reducing headphones in public, listen to nature sounds |
| Visual | add light and colour, look for a variety of textures in nature | lower the lights or sunglasses, minimize clutter or go outside, focus on a single object |
| Olfactory | petrichor, the smell before and after a thunderstorm, pine needles, woodsy smells | rosemary, chamomile, rose, jasmine, basil |
| Gustatory | crunchy foods like nuts, intense flavours like pickles, carbonated drinks | mild flavours, smooth textures, comfort foods |
| Interoception | I find I need to eat as soon as I am hungry or I miss my window, having and insatiable need to sleep I try to use my awake time wisely | having healthy snacks healps as I tend to overeat in this state, using a regular sleep schedule helps keep me from staying up all night |
Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.
-Pablo Neruda
What are some ways we can deepen our connection to nature, see how many you can do in the coming months:
- Picnics- eating in nature brings an element of adventure, suppers in the field during harvest time are some of my best memories of my family eating together
- Gardening- healthy for the way it keeps us active and also for the homegrown payoff
- Unstructured outside time- this isn’t just for your kids, plan some time to just be outside
- Pausing to appreciate- there is beauty everywhere, take time to notice and appreciate it
- Camping- I love camping, I love being tucked up in my tent after spending way too much time in the sun and water, I can’t pin down what it is but camping will connect you with the earth
Of course there is always forest therapy!
If you feel like what you are learning on the blog is beneficial, I invite you to subscribe. But if you would like to go deeper. If you would like to find support in your healing from chronic anything. Reach out to me on my How To Get in Touch page to book a forest therapy walk. Forest therapy walks are for everyone. Any age. Any ability.
I’d love to hear what you are thinking about the blog. Shoot me a message anytime.
Today, me will live in the moment, unless it is unpleasant, in which case, me will eat cookie.
-Cookie Monster
SUNBEAM ACRES 