Hierarchy of Healing
When you think of healing do you consider your body’s hierarchy of needs?
Primitive needs must be satisfied first- physiological. Your body will remain in a state of fight or flight until its basic, physiological, needs are met and the body feels safe.
Simple things in our environment like clean air, water and food can make a world of difference in aiding healing.
Clean sources of food are important. Foods that contain synthetic additives force your body to work harder to eliminate. We spend time in our one on one sessions discussing total daily energy expenditure and protein needs the body has for healing and building muscle. I could give you the best exercises in the world to correct your movement dysfunction, but if you are not fueling your body properly there will be no long term retention.
Other physiological needs include: shelter, clothing and sleep. Strengthening your circadian rhythm has always had a direct impact on restful sleep with my patients. I see a lot of people trying a multitude of supplements and sleep aids. Once we focus on circadian rhythm their sleep begins to improve. Working on resting tongue posture also has a direct effect on improving oxygen consumption, the nervous system, circadian rhythm and drainage. Nasal breathing increases oxygen and helps the glymphatic (brain) system remove waste and inflammation while you sleep.
You need to understand that melatonin, a powerful antioxidant and hormone, and cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, work inversely. As melatonin production rises then cortisol drops. The nervous system will no longer feel threatened, in a state of fight or flight, as cortisol drops. Melatonin is also nicknamed the “sleep hormone” so your deep, restful sleep will improve as well. This is where healing can triumph. I should also mention that melatonin receptors can be found in the: brain, cardiovascular system, eyes (retina), liver, kidney, breasts, reproductive organs, fat cells, adrenal glands, pancreas, spleen, and placenta so it’s duties are much more vast than just regulating the sleep- wake cycle.
Your body will remain in a state of fight or flight until its basic, physiological needs are continually met. Once those basics needs are met, the body will move out of a fighting stage and into a healing stage (safety).
What are some signs your body is in a state of fight, flight or freeze?
Muscle spasms
Joint tightness
Lack of flexibility
Heart rhythm issues (arrhythmia, tachycardia)
High blood pressure
GI issues (constipation, slowing/ gastroparesis, diarrhea)
Increased urination
Dry mouth
Dizziness
Anxiety
Increased respiration
Trouble swallowing
Difficulty projecting your voice
Sweating too much
Eyelid droop (ptosis)
Dialation of pupils
Sexual dysfunction
Do you notice that a lot of these sound similar to musculoskeletal and mast cell destabilization issues we see in the clinic?
I recognize I need to focus on my physiological needs, but where do I start?
Clean air
Clean water
Clean food
Consuming enough protein to meet the basic needs of your liver
Improve your sleep/ circadian rhythm
I keep trying to improve my sleep and circadian rhythm but nothing is helping, what can I do?
Get 10 minutes of morning sunlight on your eyeballs (no glasses, no contact lenses, no windows)
Keep a regular sleep routine (same bedtime, wake cycle)
Blue light blocking glasses when the sun sets
Tart cherries are a great source of melatonin
Chamomile and magnesium are natural muscle relaxers
Always make sure to balance magnesium with the core 4 minerals or seek guidance from a practitioner who can help you assess.
schedule a consult so we can individually assess, guide and build a home program for you
If the body feels unsafe, it will resort to a state of fight, flight or freeze. The sympathetic nervous system will be turned on.
Muscles will tighten because that takes less energy while your body devotes energy to other more important systems (brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys). Your body will release cortisol, stress hormone, so that your systems can be valiant warriors. Cortisol and melatonin work inversely off one another. If cortisol is going up, melatonin is going down. Your gut will freeze so that energy can be diverted elsewhere. Your heart rate speeds to deliver oxygen. And so on and so forth…
You certainly cannot attain your performance goals if you are not satisfying your lower needs first. Just think how much better your body will recover once you satisfy your physiological, safety & belonging needs first.
It’s not a common thought to consider the body’s hierarchy of needs, but it is one that as practitioners we should be aware of. If we are not considering all of the systems and the body as a whole, we are not serving our clients very well. Once the body feels safe, it will begin to heal.