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How to rewild your nervous system

John Wood, Founder of Rageheart

by John Wood

In the world of nervous system healing, “regulation” is the technical term for a healthy nervous system.

That’s why I keep talking about “regulating your nervous system” as the goal.

However, Daily Rage Subscriber Rhiannon makes an excellent point in her reply to my email on “How I beat up the kid next door” 😯

Rhiannon writes:

It’s kind of ironic because “regulating your nervous system” sounds like the opposite of getting uninhibited wild freedom back. The word “regulating” sounds like it’s about restriction … calming down … fitting in … smoothing out the edges and the ups and downs. The statement “regulation = freedom” sounds quite Orwellian!

I’d never actually thought of it this way 🤦‍♂️…

…but Rhiannon is right.

The dictionary defines “regulation” (the noun) as:

a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority

…which means that “to regulate” (the verb) means to

control, supervise or rule something

All that is to say that “nervous system regulation” implies that we’re imposing control upon the nervous system. Ruling it. Regulating it.

Not the sexiest thing in the world, is it? 😭

Gross. All the fun is OFF the path.

Who wants to be more regulated?

More restricted?

More controlled?

I don’t 😎

So I asked Rhiannon what she would call it, if not “regulation”?

She threw out a few different ideas… and the last one caught my eye:

Ohhhhh wait I’ve got it!!! How about “Rewilding your nervous system”?

Hmm.

Interesting.

Let me Google that…

According to Wikipedia:

Rewilding, or re-wilding, activities are conservation efforts aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas.

I like that.

Restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas ⛰️

That sounds a HELL of a lot more like nervous system healing than a word like “regulation”.

It’s not about “ruling” the nervous system and controlling it.

It’s about restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas (inside the body and nervous system), such as the out-of-control fight-or-flight response that drives most people’s lives… or the parasympathetic side of the nervous system that helps us digest food, sleep restfully and have all the energy we need to go after what we want in life while also protecting ourselves.

With that in mind…

Welcome to the world of nervous system rewilding 🤘

If you’d like to rewild your nervous system and unleash the beast inside you, you know what to do:

https://www.rageheart.co/go/

Cheers,

John Wood

P.S. h/t to Rhiannon for the suggestion 🙏

P.P.S. If you’ve got any feedback (like Rhiannon) and you’re up for sharing (and maybe brainstorming) with me, hit reply and tell me what you’re thinking (about Rageheart, the nervous system or rainbow-flavoured people-shaped donuts).

P.P.P.S. What do you think of “nervous system rewilding” as a term for this approach to healing and personal growth?

Hit reply and LMK.

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