“We began as wonderers and we are wonderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.”
-Carl Sagan
Each survival stress tool offers a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits, when trained and applied correctly. When combined, layered or stacked together, the results are truly staggering.
Recall last week I offered insight into how to layer the Fuck tool and the Breathe tool to augment the sexual stress response. I offered a simple exercise that can serve as a warm-up; a way to increase blood flow, sensitize receptors and synchronize with your partner.
This week I will discuss how important it is to get back to nature and connect with ALL of our various senses.
“How many senses are you aware of? Most of us are cognizant of only five: taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight. But our lives and experiences are made up of input from other senses as well, senses that influence how we react, perform, and coordinate our ongoing efforts to respond to the world. These other senses are essential to our survival and connection to each other and our environment. Proprioception [orientation in space], interoception [awareness of hunger, thirst, heartbeat, and other internal processes / spaces], and our vestibular [balance as well as awareness while inverted] senses all provide critical awareness of our own bodies. Utilizing and honing all eight senses is essential to maximizing our own emotional, cognitive, and physical development as human beings.”
- Except taken from Fight, Freeze, Fast, Fuck, Breathe
Some of the trouble that interferes with our sense-awareness and development is our modern lives filled with a thousand inputs a minute: House lights, phones, notifications, emails, street lights, blinking signs, TVs, constant dissonance of cars, horns, sirens, yelling, garbage trucks, climate controlled air…the list goes on and on…
How simple and inviting it is to our nervous systems to lay in the peace of nature, to stargaze, to smell the blooming flowers and the trees’ natural scents! Get outside to get back inside with better access to all of your senses. You need clarity with each and all of these senses to master the stress response. To set sail for the stars means accessing our wondering nature and directing it to explore the universe both outside and inside ourselves.
For this week, the takeaway is to follow these three steps:
Step 1 Learn the timing of how to use survival stress tools for peak performance. Today we discussed our various senses, both the five common senses and those rarely discussed.
Next week we will discuss the four quadrant learning theory which can help frame our path to mastery.
Want more now?
Or
Step 2 Start today by getting out to nature. Go forest bathe (walk in the presence of trees), take a hike or join me on an upcoming training.
Check out opportunities at mattsoule.com/workshop
Step 3 Maintain the balance. High-threshold tools are powerful, which means that when wielded correctly— that is using them consistently but in short durations— they will serve us. Overuse them and you will pay the price which often leads to burnout, injury or worse. We are all at different starting places so respect the power of the tool as you calibrate your personal training regimen. If you are unsure about a particular tool, routine or anything around your training, submit your question and I will do my best to answer it.
This week's question
“How can I get started with fasting again?”
Answer
The simplest way to start is to begin with a time-restricted eating schedule. The goal is to be able to comfortably eat within an 8-hour period. To accomplish this will take some time, likely a couple of weeks (or more). Work to slowly to reduce the time-window until you have reached eating only within 8 hours. Then, set a goal to do a 24-hour fast.
Ask a Question
Do you have a specific question that you would like answered to help you with your training? Send me an email at contact@mattsoule.com or connect with me on Instagram @soulemd and I will include your question and answer in a future newsletter or blog post.