☀️ Why Should You Drop Into Your Body?

This is one of my most common and favorite things to say to a client during a coaching session:

"Let's drop into the body. How does it feel?"

Recently, somebody responded with a simple question: "Why should I drop into my body? What's the point?"

I knew the answer intuitively because I’ve integrated it as a core tool for navigating through my own life, but I’ve never had to explain it in detail to others before.

So I’ve decided to answer that question in this week’s issue.

Brain Chemistry 101

To start it's helpful to have a little foundational knowledge of how our brains work.

To start here is what a cell in our body looks like:

One of the cool things about these cells is that they have receptors all over, and they're there to be ready to connect to, interact with, or be influenced by ligands.

Ligands are simply the things that bind with the cells to form a complex and produce some effect.

To understand our brain, it’s helpful to understand three key types of ligands: neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and hormones.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers whose main job is to send signals between nerve cells, allowing the brain and nervous system to communicate.

They are small, fast-acting chemicals that transmit signals between our neurons or to a target cell and the two most commonly known ones are dopamine and serotonin.

Neuropeptides are a sub-type of neurotransmitters and make up most of these messengers but behave differently. Their main job is to act as a signaler for releasing chemical messages to the body with specific instructions.

Unlike neurotransmitters, they are bigger and slower, but not only do they tend to have a broader range of signals they deliver, but they can even modulate the activity of neurotransmitters.

When these neuropeptides make their way into our body and bloodstream, they will usually attach themselves to the cells of various tissues (primarily glands)

This is when our bodies turn on the third type of ligand, hormones. Our hormones are what further influence us to feel certain ways.

Here's the breakdown of what we learned so far:

• Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers primarily from the brain and mind

• Neuropeptides are chemical signalers that serve as a bridge between the brain and the body to make us feel the way we think

• Hormones are the chemicals related to feelings primarily in the body

How The Mind & Body Are Connected

Now that we got the basic sciences out of the way, it's time to connect it to the part that I feel most excited about talking about which is how all of this explains how intricately our mind & body are connected.

To illustrate that, let's walk through a real-life example of something I recently experienced that many of us can relate which is an unresolved argument I have with my partner.

When I was sitting in front of my desk getting ready to work, I suddenly remembered some of the details of our fight.

At this moment, my brain whips up some neurotransmitters that turn on a network of neurons, which creates pictures and thoughts in my head.

In this case, I probably thought about the specific image of the household task or errand that instigated the argument.

This prompts a chain reaction where it stimulates the release of specific neuropeptides into my bloodstream.

Once they reach my adrenal gland (the gland most responsible for our physiological response to anger), those peptides bind to the cells in those tissues.

Then they turn on my hormonal system, and very quickly, I begin to feel exactly the way I was just thinking. In this case, I probably became angry.

My body will send a very clear message back to my brain saying, "Yup, I'm feeling really ticked off right now."

My brain, which is constantly communicating with the body and monitoring its internal chemical order, immediately notices the change in the way I'm feeling.

And as a result, I begin to think differently.

In this moment, I begin to feel the way I think AND think the way I feel.

I unconsciously reinforced the same feeling I was feeling by thinking the similar angry and frustrated thoughts, which made me more angry and frustrated.

Without realizing it, my feelings are now controlling my thinking.

My body is now driving my mind.

And in the past, it wouldn't even end here. I would continue to allow the cycle to continue.

Angry thoughts -> produce more chemical signals to the body -> activate adrenal chemicals associated with angry feelings -> angry thoughts.

The cycle of anger can turn frustration into rage.

I would feel flushed, my stomach would feel twisted into a knot, my head would pound, and my muscles would start to clench.

And all these physiological changes will cause me to think equally about those emotions.

I will start thinking of all these things I want to say to my partner.

I will even conjure up a list of past events and evidence that validate my present upset-ness.

And I would even brainstorm the ways I would have her understand the extent of my anger and have her resolve it.

And all of this started with a single thought.

Change is Hard

This is why sometimes it can feel SO hard to change.

The loops of chemical reactions that I described above have probably happened thousands of times in my life without me realizing it.

They have trained my body to memorize that emotional state to a point where whenever a similar stimulus is introduced, my body can almost be on autopilot and run a subconscious automatic program to respond to it.

This is also why early in my journey, I always felt like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up a mountain.

And even though I would practice a lot of mindset shifts and positive thinking like "I want to be less angry, happier, and feel free"

It always felt like my body couldn't catch up.

My intellectual mind may say that it wants joy, but the body has been programmed to feel otherwise for years.

And if we remember early explanations about neurotransmitters vs. neuropeptides, neuropeptides have the ability to modulate the activity of a neurotransmitter

This is why it often results in our bodies, instead of our minds, running the show.

And it always makes me think of this quote from the book Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: "When the mind and body are in opposition, change will never happen"

So Why Drop Into The Body?

The main goal of doing something as simple as putting our attention on our bodies is to strengthen our mind-body connection.

Very quickly you will start to feel how emotions are never just mental experiences, but something we feel so viscerally and physically.

And by paying attention to our bodily sensations, we become more acutely aware of our emotional state.

One of the most important steps in my journey is being able to have more clarity over the complexities of how I’m feeling and communicate it.

For the longest time, I would have a shortcut on my phone to a saved image of the Feelings Wheel so I could pause, associate a word to my internal world, and then name the emotion out loud.

Only through naming can I go to the next steps of learning to practice de-escalation and calming techniques, to release any physical tension and stress created by it, and most importantly, to ground and anchor myself back in the present moment.

One of the main goals of practicing this is to cultivate a more integrated and holistic understanding and awareness of our state of being.

And improving our state of being is related to improving the overall condition or state of our physical, emotional, and mental health.

Next time you feel overwhelmed by emotions, how can you take a moment to drop into your body and identify what you’re physically experiencing?

P.S. If you are interested in learning more about how being with the body + practicing mindset shifts can help you take advantage of the rest of 2024 to step into your potential, I have good news for you! I am currently offering a few free 1:1 coaching sessions for July. You can apply here!

P.P.S. Did you enjoy me including my rough sketches & drawings in this issue? Just experimenting with something new, and would love to hear your thoughts on it!