The Body Glossary

Proprioception, otherwise known as kinesthesia, is your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location. It's present in every muscle movement you have. Without proprioception you would be unable to take another step without thinking through it. Proprioception allows us to for example, keep walking without consciously thinking about every single step.

Neuroception is the term used to describe the process that the brain undergoes to immediately recognize danger and keep us safe.

It is posited that emotional events begin with non-conscious changes in our bodily states, called “somatic markers”: when you see a big cockroach, for instance, and your body tenses and your heart begins to race, this experience is noted as a somatic marker. This physiological reaction occurs before we are even aware of the emotion, and it is only when the brain detects the alteration to the body’s internal state, through interoception, that we actually experience the feeling and allow it to impact our behavior.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt to changes in an individual's environment by creating new neural connections over time. It explains how the human brain is able to master new skills, store new memories, adapt, and even recover after a traumatic brain injury or traumatic exposure.

Polyvagal Theory is a tool for working with trauma as well as understanding social connection and communication. The polyvagal theory posits how all of us experience some degree of trauma in our early lives. Whether this trauma was a singular event that brought great fear or a prolonged sense of feeling unsafe. Each of these experiences elicits responses that remain ingrained in our nervous systems and frequently emerge to add fear to situations experienced later in life. Polyvagal theory offers a precise science about the vagus nerve, which is one part of our autonomic nervous system (our control room).

The vagus nerve, is one part of our autonomic nervous system that connects the brain to the organs of the belly, and the heart. It relates to our human ability for connection and communication with others. Learning about the vagus nerve allows us to understand our human nervous system and how it predictably relates to stimuli in our environments and determines varying levels of danger and safety.

This system controls conditions inside one's body. Most activities in this system are done without any conscious control over them. It is interestingly divided into 2 main sections. The sympathetic nervous system (our hot system) and the parasympathetic nervous system (our cool system). These 2 systems are inclined to have opposing actions, where one system stimulates a response, and the other inhibits it.

The sympathetic nervous system guides our body’s swift involuntary response to dangerous or stressful situations. A flash flood of hormones heightens the body's heart rate and alertness, sending extra blood to our muscles, allowing us to be prepared for any perceived threat/danger.

The parasympathetic nervous system often called the rest-and-digest system, is tasked with saving the body’s energy by increasing the activity of the intestines and glands during periods of rest and slowing the heart rate. It inhibits the body from being overworked and restores it to a calm and regulated state.

This is a physiological reaction that arises when we are in the presence of something that may be psychologically or physically terrifying. This response is triggered by the release of several hormones that prepare your body to fight the threat, freeze or hide from the threat, fawn or convince the threat not to cause you harm or flee the threat.

The Psoas muscle plays a pivotal role in the functioning of the hips, as it connects your torso to your legs and helps you stay in an upright position. This area plays a key function in your fight or flight response and retains stress pockets, especially when dealing with overactivation of the nervous system. One way to release and break down these stress pockets is by engaging in yoga and other tension-release exercises.

The prefrontal cortex is a brain area that is involved in emotional and cognitive processing and emotion regulation. It regulates anxiety-like behaviors and stress-induced fear responses by enforcing inhibitory effects. It is our brains, chief executive officer, in charge of planning complex behaviors, attention, personality expression, memory, and decision-making abilities.

The amygdala, a marble-sized brain area, helps coordinate responses to things in your environment, especially those that trigger an emotional response. This structure plays an important role in fear and anger. Amygdala hijack happens when your brain reacts to psychological stress as if it's physical danger and triggers your fight-or-flight response.

The hippocampus is a key area of the brain involved in basic function. It is part of the temporal lobe and intimately related to the amygdala. The hippocampus is involved with memory retrieval and storage. When functioning optimally, the hippocampus is thought to create an appropriate context for memories, helping to support a coherent narrative of what is and isn’t dangerous, keeping the amygdala regulated so that it is active only when appropriate.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is critical for both stress and inhibitory control processes and has been implicated in childhood trauma. Sitting right under the top of your head, it serves to help us stay aware and take in stimuli around us to make informed-decisions. When impacted by trauma, this part of the brain diminishes in size over time and is unable to take in environment cues optimally, and instead relies on past learning data to make decisions.

Dopamine is a chemical messenger made by our bodies, and is controlled by our nervous system. It plays a primary role in determining how we feel pleasure. It guides our ability to plan, draw motivation, think, find things interesting, and focus.

Serotonin is another important chemical messenger. It helps us in regulating mood and social behaviors. It often guides our appetite, digestion, sexual desire, and functioning, as well as sleep and memory. Low serotonin levels are often linked with depression symptoms.

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal gland in response to stress and is one of the three hormones involved in the fight-flight-freeze-fawn response. Cortisol helps to regulate our blood sugar, blood pressure, and maintain our immune system. However, the issue arises when we are continuously exposed to stressful stimuli resulting in the overproduction of cortisol in our bodies, which may lead to health issues.

Epinephrine (also called adrenaline) is one of the three hormones involved in the fight-flight-freeze-fawn response. It is an evolutionary adaptation that allows us to cope with unexpected and dangerous situations. It increases our heart rate, and gives us a surge of energy and focus allowing us to brace for and/or confront a threat.

Last but not least in hormones involved in the fight-flight-freeze-fawn response is Norepinephrine. Norepinephrine works alongside Epinephrine. Its primary purpose is to invoke arousal. Similar to the purpose of Epinephrine, it serves as a backup system of sorts.

Endorphins are chemicals that our body releases when it is in pain or is under stress. These chemicals help in reducing emotional distress, relieving pain, and offering a sense of well-being. These chemicals interact with receptors in the brain that help in lessening our perception of pain.

Oxytocin is a powerful hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. It plays a crucial role in reproduction, childbirth, and childcare. It is also involved in broader social behavior and cognition. Often called the “love hormone” due to its pair-bonding, it reinforces attachment between mother-infant as well as adult romantic relationships.

Conscious relaxation involves becoming conscious of your mind and body and then relaxing them by “letting go”. In this state, you are experiencing the release of tension without distraction in the mind.

This is a state of deep rest that allows you to change your body's response to stressful situations, both external and internal. It is an inborn mechanism and is vital for reducing the negative effects of psychological, emotional, and physical wear and tear on our bodies and minds.

Chakras refer to various energy centers that correlate to specific internal organs and nerve bundles in the body. The 7 major chakras run from the top of your head to the base of your spine. A high-stress environment, trauma, loss, may create blockages in energy flow that may manifest into anxiety and worry. One way to stabilize or unblock these imbalanced chakras is by partaking in somatic interventions to promote holistic healing and well-being.

The root chakra represents our foundation. It is located in the base of our spine, in the tailbone area. When the root chakra is open we feel secure in embracing challenges on our own two feet. When blocked, we feel unstable as though our grounding is shaky.

The Sacral Chakra helps inform how we relate to the emotion of others and our own. It also governs creativity and sexual energy. Those with a blocked sacral chakra could experience a lack of control in their lives. Located in our lower abdomen, 2 inches below the navel.

The Solar Plexus Chakra speaks on your self-confidence, self-work, and self-efficacy. If your solar plexus chakra is blocked, you might feel overwhelming amounts of shame and self-doubt. Those with an open solar plexus chakra are free to express their true selves. Located in your upper abdomen.

The heart Chakra is the bridge between the lower chakras (linked to maternity) and upper chakras (linked to spirituality). This chakra influences our ability to receive and give love. Someone with a blocked Anahata will struggle to fully open up to the people in their life. If someone's Anahata is open, they can experience deep compassion and empathy. Located in the center of the chest.

The Throat Chakra gives voice to the heart chakra and controls our ability to communicate our personal power. Someone with a blocked throat chakra will feel like they have trouble finding the words to say how they truly feel.