Triune Brain-Body Wellness

New Patterns for Thriving
The Neuroscience of Nia® and Somatic Experiencing®
If you a fan of somatic brain-body trainings, like Nia and Somatic Experiencing,
you are a  pioneer in the world of neuroscience and healing.

Neuroscience is just now waking up to the profound somatic wisdom of programs like Nia and Somatic Experiencing.  Brain-body healing processes of movement forms like Nia have been established for over 30 years.   If you’re like me, long ago you consciously joined in on the call to wake up, to be dedicated to your own brain-body healing through Nia.  And you’ve done so for one reason:  You know it works.  It keeps you healthy.  It keeps you sane.  It keeps you young.   It keeps you thriving.  Nobody had to tell you.  You felt it in your first class. Through the experience of felt sensation there’s no question and no conflict in your Triune Brain – your body, brain and heart.  You “know” not because of the research, but because you sense it.  Real evidence talks.

And the real evidence shows up as “coherence” in your central nervous system, in your brainwaves. Your brain emits faint electrical impulses whose wavelengths can be measured and recorded by EEG (electroencephalographic) monitoring devices.  During ordinary waking consciousness, EEG patterns are generally disorderly and rapidly changing.   By contrast, as the brain-body settles into practices that support rhythmic movements, brainwaves too become rhythmic and orderly.   Ancient practices of drumming and dancing have known this for years.  Higher coherence is associated with more integrated and effective thinking and behavior; greater spontaneity in your work and in relationship to others; increased resilience both daily and with larger stressors; and higher creativity, learning ability, emotional stability, ethical and moral reasoning, self-confidence, and reduced anxiety.

When you hear “coherence” think “wellness”. 

Let’s back track to the Triune Brain-Body.  Coherence is a real challenge if you’ve got three mega-portals of transformation, each battling for your complete attention.

• The Reptilian brain (body) is the action brain.  As the center of primitive instinct, it’s concerned with three questions: 

Is it something I can eat? 

Is it something that can eat me?

 Can I mate with it? The reptilian brain is 100% selfish.
• The Mammalian brain (heart) is the social brain. As the center of emotion, it’s concerned with two questions:  Is it safe?  Can I bond with it?  The mammalian brain is 100% cooperative.
• The Neocortical brain (mind) is the reasoning brain.  As the most recently developed part of the brain, it has one question:  Is it meaningful?

You are your most intelligent and most able to transform yourself and the world around you when your Triune Brain-Body works in alignment, coherently.

Transformation takes practice. Nia’s brilliant somatic practices speak straight coherence to your central nervous system, which includes your Triune Brain and your spinal cord.  Work with this somatic straight talk:

8BC and Music
Synchronizing right/left brain hemispheres through music and rhythmic group movement heals group stress and restores broken connections through interaction as oxytocin is released by the pituitary gland.

On and Off Balance
Playing with balance enhances reflexes through balance, motion, visual processing.  According to Dr. Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing®,  as the vestibular system renegotiates balance, brain processing speed, sensory integration and reflexes are restored. In Trauma Through A Child’s Eyes he states that “Competence in the areas of balance is of particular assistance to students diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia and other learning disabilities.”

Play and Pleasure
Group activities and interactive play stimulate the mammalian brain, feeding the need to belong.

Ragdoll, Fast Feet, Lower Body Shaking
Uninhibited movement enlivens the body and emotions, relaxing the brain stem.  Coaxes your joints, your tissues, your fluids and your diaphragm to pulse more deeply.

Shimmy
Shimmy-shakes heal stress by relaxing the brain stem.  As Dr. Levine states in Healing Trauma, “Observations of wild animals in their natural environment lead to the premise that animals have a built-in ability to rebound from a steady diet of danger.  They literally ‘shake off’ the residual energy through trembling, rapid eye movements, shaking, panting, and completing motor movements.”  As the body and brain stem return to equilibrium, breathing is no longer a struggle, rather, it arises spontaneously as if to be “infused into the animal from deep with its organism”.

Stomping
Stomping the feet lowers the center of gravity by compelling gravity to travel through the spine down to the legs and feet creating dynamic stability, presence and attention.

Vocalization, Ahhing, Hmmming
As the vibrational force and sensation of sound moves through your body, it compresses and expands the body’s tissues, muscles, organs, bones, creating sensations that re-organize nervous system signals going to your brain. May also increase the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that  balances mood.

Weight Shift
Going on and off balance induces the spine to interact with gravity, increasing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, and keeping the brain and spine flexible.

Change Leaders, Changing Lives
Without conflict between body, heart and mind, you can listen to and follow your inner knowing to catapult the driving forces, visions and processes that can fuel large-scale transformation.  Acting as one coherent Brain-Body-Heart, together we can connect with the masses of people who want to thrive. You have a date with destiny.  You are a pioneering Change Leader Changing Lives with a vision to empower lots and lots of people to take bigger leaps and make a difference in the world.

Gloria Gonzalez is CCO/Founder of Eight Elements West, a center for somatic training and integrative clinic dedicated to elevating the human experience through Movement, Nutrition, and Medicine.  For nutrition/somatic therapies:  21-Day Modern Medicine Detox,  Somatic Experiencing, Visceral Manipulation & Craniosacral Therapy, and shamanic Soul Retrieval.

1.  Peter Levine, Trauma Through A Child’s Eyes  (North Atlantic Books, 2007), 407.
2.  Peter Levine, Healing Trauma Study Guide (Sounds True Inc, 1999).