Neurobiology of InterPlay with kate amoss

The Neurobiology of InterPlay: A Perfect Fit Kate Amoss, Online InterPlay Expert Sessions Contact Kate Amoss, LCPC, Licensed Clinical Counselor, Master InterPlay Teacher, katamoss@gmail.com www.candlewoodcounseling.com 301­593­3010,

Listen to Kate on your next drive or during downtime. This unlisted audio youtube is normally 25.00 on the InterPlay website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qOpK9gbBO8&t=4s

Notes Writing down feelings of stress

Write down what opposite feels like

anxious Tension in my solar plexus Heart pounding Stress ­ tightness, hyperactivity Inability to concentrate Butterflies in stomach Tense muscles, nervousness, shaky Insomnia/exhaustion Pressure in my lungs, breathless Jaw tightens Sleeplessness Contracted Tongue off the roof of my mouth Isolate myself GRUMPY! Vigilant Doomsday feel

Spacious Ease and lightness in my body and spirit Flowing Softness, openness Soft feeling face, Easy digestion Hopeful Comfortable, creative Flowing breath Clear thinking Able to feel the Big Picture Flexible ­ in body, mind, and spirit Laughing Smile Better posture Enjoyment

In InterPlay we call the opposite of stress the physicality of grace.

This corresponds beautifully with the biology of our nervous system.

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SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE Danger and Arousal Perceived past/future threats Activated by subconscious triggers BREATHE IN: a gasp for air Hard Focus Connection created through group, us-them affiliations

PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE Safety and Healing Perceived safety in present Activated by conscious intention BREATHE OUT: a sigh of relief, a belly laugh Easy Focus

Self-doubt and Distrust

Connection created through mutual sensitivity and responsiveness

NEED TO CONTROL/IMPRESS/PLEASE

Self-confidence and Trust

Desire for Certainty: The outcome matters!

NO NEED TO CONTROL/ IMPRESS/ PLEASE

Strength derives from armoring and rigidity

Delight in Mystery: Enjoy the process!

Muscles contracted

Strength derives from softening and flexibility

Heart rate increases/ blood pressure increases Breathing is shallow Blood withdraws from digestive area and extremities

Muscles relaxed

Electrical activity of the brain shifts to the ancient center which is concerned with survival fight/flight Diminishment of speech and language skills Inner voices become harsh, critical, and demanding Integrity is high-jacked by fight/flight behaviors Compulsions/ Addictions / Chronic Anger/ Insomnia / Isolation/ Fatigue/ Violence It is difficult to make life-giving choices throughout the day.

Life is hard!!!

Sympathetic dominance does add excitement and meaning to life -- and we can overdo it.

Heart rate decreases/ blood pressure decreases Breathing is belly deep Blood returns to digestive area and extremities and nourishes organs Electrical activity of the brain shifts to the outer more recently evolved neocortex which is concerned with reason/ language/ speech/ planning/ impulse control/ fine motor skills Enhancement of our language skills and easy flow of speech Our narratives become fresh and nuanced.

Our inner critic softens.

Our integrity is supported by our enhanced ability to plan and reason.

Creativity/ Inner Authority/ Peace/ Generosity of Spirit There is ease in making life-giving choices throughout the day.

Let’s play!!!

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Parasympathetic dominance adds fullness and ease to our lives and we can have more of it.

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The biological down side of the sympathetic nervous system is stress The biological upside of the parasympathetic nervous system is grace The autonomic nervous system is often below consciousness.

InterPlay’s stress and grace list help us explore what is less conscious.

Sympathetic is fight flight is great for keeping us safe. In Sympathetic­­Danger and Arousal the Sympathetic helps orient us and give us meaning. Yet we become meaning mongers. As Dianne M. Connelly says “all sickness is homesickness.”

Our parasympathetic rest and digest system is used when we feel safe. The Parasympathetic Nervous System is a parachute of letting go.

Stephen Porgess tracks three evolving stages. SeeThe Polyvagal Theory: Phylogenetic Substrates of a Social Nervous System written by Stephen Porges, PhD., from the International Journal of Psychophysiology 42 (2001) p. 123­ 146.

1. The Mammalian Sympathetic, which helps us, escape danger, where our amygdala in threat gets us to focus and react. Heart rate speeds up, surges our dopamine to effectively react. This is also part of addictive behavior.

2. The Reptilian Parasympathetic which allows us to be immobilized and go through trauma or death with less pain 3. The Parasympathetic system which fosters a rich symphony of play, joy, etc. offers the only place we can experience this and where we are meant to live most of the time. Allows for rest and slowness. Our heart rate variability allows for flexibility, matching with others heartbeats, and allows us to feel bonded and sensitive. Speech happens best in parasympathetic in song and chant, our facial expression become complex. Fine motor happens. Other people's mirror neurons pick up on this. And our executive function gets turned on!

80 percent of our nerve fibers are afferent nerves taking info from the body up to the head for the parasympathetic nervous system.

Only 20 percent are efferent nerves that move information from head to body.

One or the other system is dominant!

How do we support more time in our parasympathetic nervous system?

InterPlay practices are great for dealing with this otherwise unconscious system.

In fact, the parasympathetic nervous system requires intention and practice with others to teach it and turn it on.

Great “turn ons” are touch, facial expression, and general expressiveness.

The Vagus Nerve is the mind body bridge that turns on or off these systems.

When the Vagus nerve turns on it turns on good stuff. When deactivated­­­there’s more anxiety.

We Toggle between our sympathetic and parasympathetic systems 1000 time a day!

We can build up Vagal tone in order to spend more time in our parasympathetic process. This is an evolutionary move for us at this time.

The more we use InterPlay as a life practice the more we create the habits and patterns of feeling good. We can improve our vagal tone, bringing ourselves almost immediately to a more relaxed state supported by using noticing as an easy focus practice—(don't get stuck in icky stuff) and and moving forward more Incrementality.

We do need both sympathetic and parasympathetic to grow, what Heinz Kohut calls optimal frustration: we grow best by spending 80 percent of our time in parasympathetic. Optimal frustration requires actually redoing our systems into more complexity.

Because we are way into stress, it seems unlikely that we have to worry about getting too intensely into the parasympathetic any time soon.

InterPlay Resources Inspiration Deck by Anita Bondi Write this Second by Kira Lynn Allen

Resources Eric Gentry PhD. Certification Training for Compassion Fatigue Professionals (PESI DVD 2013) Tools for Hope DVD available at Amazon The Polyvagal Theory: Phylogenetic Substrates of a Social Nervous System Stephen Porges, PhD., from the International Journal of Psychophysiology 42 (2001) p. 123­146.

Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory presented by Stephen W.

Porges, PhD (PESI DVD 2011) The Open Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body by Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins Coming to our Senses: Body and Spirit in the Hidden History of the West by Morris Berman The Biology of Transcendence: A Blueprint of the Human Spirit by Joseph Chilton Pierce Engaging the Powers by Walter Wink — an exploration of how we become just like our enemies ­­ which is what happens when we primarily engage our sympathetic nervous system (my language) to solve our problems The Birth of Pleasure: A New Map of Love by Carol Gilligan — this is a pay The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Psychotherapy after Kohut: A Handbook of Self Psychology by Ronald Lee and J. Colby Martin The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders by John Sarno Healing through the Dark Emotions by Miriam Greenspan Self­Healing: A Step by Step Guide to Inner Healing Using Internal Family Systems by Jay Earley — a cutting edge approach to healing process understanding how the sympathetic nervous system (my language) hijacks our best selves.

For InterPlay, Self and Community Care and Creativity see www.InterPlay.org or contact info@interplay.org, 510­465­2797. Body Wisdom, Inc. 2273 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94501