The Connection Between Jiu Jitsu, Somatic Healing, and Nervous System Regulation
In this episode, Lisa Dawn dives into the intriguing relationship between jiu jitsu, somatic healing, and how our nervous systems handle high-pressure situations.
Lisa recounts her husband Tim's experience during his first jiu jitsu tournament, highlighting the unexpected ways his body reacted despite feeling prepared. She thoroughly explains the stages of nervous system activation and regulation, and how somatic work can help us manage stress in competitions and daily life.
The episode also explores the broader implications of nervous system responses in trauma recovery and the importance of preparing our bodies for high-stress events. Lisa emphasizes the role of community and shared passions in maintaining individual well-being and deepening relationships, making this episode a comprehensive guide to understanding the body’s responses to high-pressure scenarios.
00:00 Introduction and Personal Update
00:57 Exploring Jiu Jitsu and Somatic Healing
03:54 Tim's Jiu Jitsu Tournament Experience
08:59 Breaking Down the Nervous System Response
16:24 Connecting Trauma and Nervous System Reactions
20:53 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
21:29 Outro and Podcast Updates
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lisa (00:11):
Hey guys, Lisa Dawn here.
Welcome back and thank you somuch for joining me today.
Before we get into today'sepisode, I just wanted to
mention that I've been told thatI need to start recording videos
of my solo episodes and I had tohave a chuckle because I'm
sitting here in candlelight inmy housecoat with my heating
(00:35):
cloak on, which basically lookslike I'm wearing a cape with
shoulder pads that's heated.
It's one of my favorite things.
So now you know.
Does this make you want videosof this recording?
More or less, you'll have toreach out and let me know.
(00:57):
So today we're going to diveinto the somewhat surprising
connection between jujitsu,somatic healing, and the way our
nervous systems handle highpressure moments.
So my hubby Tim recentlycompeted in his first jiu jitsu
tournament, and while he'susually cool as a cucumber,
(01:21):
something unexpected happened.
His body reacted in ways that hedidn't anticipate.
So we'll break down what wasgoing on beneath the surface.
how our nervous systems prep forbig events, whether we realize
it or not, and how somatic workcan help show us how to show up
(01:43):
with more ease, whether that'sin competition, relationships,
or life.
So, let's geek out on somenervous system regulation, shall
we?
The other day, and okay, let'sbe real, it's pretty much almost
every day, Tim and I weretalking about jujitsu because,
(02:03):
well, he's obsessed.
And meanwhile, I've recentlystarted hitting the gym again.
And let me tell you, it's beenawesome since I'm such a newbie,
I'm already noticing so manygains, which is like a nice
little boost.
Historically, I've been way moreinto things like Pilates, yoga,
(02:24):
and rebounding, but I live on aproperty with some incredible
and serious gym enthusiasts.
So, these are folks who haveyears of experience, wisdom for
weight training.
So their passion is contagiousand I couldn't help but hop on
the weightlifting train.
(02:44):
Honestly though, I have so muchappreciation for our shared
collective.
Community and skill sharing aresome of my favorite things in
life.
And growing up, I had that senseof community through sports.
I played volleyball, softball,basketball.
But as I got older, that kind offell away.
And I've realized that there'ssomething really special about
(03:07):
being part of a team, whetherit's in sports, a book club, a
knitting group, or volunteering,whatever it is, having spaces
where we connect with otherswhile still nurturing our own
passions is so important.
It helps us, you know, maintainour individual identities and
relationships so that we cankeep doing the things that light
(03:28):
us up while supporting ourpartnerships in what they love
to do as well.
And from this relationshipperspective, this is such a
powerful way to deepen intimacy.
Supporting and celebrating eachother's interests, even when
they don't overlap, creates adeeper sense of connection.
There's something reallyendearing about witnessing
(03:50):
someone fully immersed in whatbrings them joy.
Okay, now back to jiu jitsu.
While I have zero desire to getmy face smushed into a mat or be
pinned down for extendedperiods, I love that Tim loves
it.
And by accident, we discoveredyet another use for somatic
(04:11):
work, which I also love.
Now, I've used this type of bodybased preparation before,
helping clients get ready forsurgeries, breakups, divorces,
you name it.
If the body is going to beimpacted, we can prepare for it
somatically.
But for some reason, I hadn'tthought to apply this to Tim, to
(04:34):
Tim before his tournament.
And I love when a modality hassuch wide ranging benefits.
So Tim has really found his flowstate in this sport, and after
months of training he competedin his first tournament last
month.
And as I mentioned, he's notsomeone who gets easily rattled.
(04:57):
He's had extensive leadershiptraining.
So when I asked if he wasfeeling anxious, his response
was meh, I'll probably sleeplike shit the night before,
maybe feel a bit nervous, butthat's about it.
I've always admired how calm andsteady he is.
He can just show up withoutspiraling into stress.
(05:18):
Meanwhile, I tend to overprepare.
And even then, my body stillloves to sometimes betray me.
Cue the high pitched squeakyvoice and the sudden inability
to take a deep breath.
But I digress.
Fast forward to the tournamentday.
Tim wins his first match.
(05:39):
And the aftermath is what wewant to talk about.
But before we do, let's exploreTim recounting the day.
So he says, Even though he feltcalm and relaxed prior to the
tournament, he really felt asthough it was just kind of going
to be like getting in an extrafew rounds with training
(06:00):
partners that he hadn't metbefore.
He was used to doing hour longto two hour classes, so he felt
prepared.
On the tournament day, he wasscheduled for four five minute
matches.
So going into the tournament, heremembers feeling a little
surreal in that he wasn't overlynervous or excited, but he could
(06:24):
feel a push and pull inside.
So part of him wanted to getramped up and part of him wanted
to leave.
So part of him wanted to getright into the zone and part of
him wanted to stay calm and cooland conserve his energy.
So he recalls noticing that whenhe stepped onto the mat with his
(06:44):
opponent, he didn't feel quitein the moment.
So his vision started to feelalmost dreamlike, where he had
to really convince himself to behere now, to stay in his body.
He actually had to stamp hisfeet a few times just to stay
present.
So he ended up winning thatmatch within about four minutes.
(07:08):
Then, afterwards, he noticed abig adrenaline dump.
So his heart rate wasn't goingdown the way he was used to it
going down.
It was harder to get goodamounts of oxygen in, so he
wasn't recovering as fast, andhis grip strength was Also
(07:28):
already feeling tired and friedhis hand and forearms felt like
rocks and his grips really feltweak, which to Tim was bizarre
because he was used to doingmultiple rounds over and over
and over again in his one to twohour classes, and here he was
feeling exhausted after one fourminute round, he noticed that
(07:53):
even though he had extra timebefore his next match, he was
instantly in This mental battleof being worried that he
wouldn't be able to recover forhis next match and then also
realizing like, holy, I'm hereand I'm just going to go for it.
But it felt to him internally,like he was experiencing a
(08:15):
flight and fight response, bothhappening at the same time.
He also felt as though he was nolonger able to stay calm
mentally, as he was trying tohold on tight, and not really
able to let the match flow withhis next opponent the way he
could in training.
(08:37):
So, he recounts that the higherthe stakes, the harder it is to
keep in the moment and in yourbody.
And he also says that this makesthe level of practice even more
important in learning how toprepare for, to be in a
competition rather than justgoing in with confidence because
you do it well in the trainingroom.
(08:59):
So, let's break this down, shallwe?
Tim's experience is a perfectexample of how the nervous
system navigates high pressuresituations, even when someone
feels physically prepared.
So from a somatic experiencingperspective, we can break this
(09:20):
down into the different stagesof nervous system activation and
regulation and how the bodyreacts to stressful and
overwhelming events.
So Number one.
So going into the tournament, heremembers it feeling a little
surreal in that he wasn't overlynervous or excited, but he could
(09:40):
feel a push pull inside.
Part of him wanted to get rampedup and the other part of him
wanted to leave.
This describes, uh, competingautonomic response in his
nervous system.
So, The sympathetic activation,fight or flight, wants to ramp
up, engage, and get in the zone.
(10:00):
Meanwhile, the parasympatheticregulation, shut down and
freeze, wants to stay cool,conserve energy, or even exit
the situation.
Excuse me.
This initial tug of war isreally normal before a high
stakes event.
So the body is scanning forsafety and readiness, trying to
(10:22):
find the right level of arousal.
So next, he's stepping onto themat.
So when he stepped onto the mat,With his opponent, he didn't
feel quite in the moment.
His vision started to feelalmost dreamlike, where he had
to really convince himself to behere now, to stay in his body.
(10:42):
He had to stamp his feet a fewtimes to stay present.
So what's happening here is hisbody is signaling mild
dissociative response, where hisnervous system temporarily
disconnected from the presentmoment.
Why?
Well, his system was shiftingbetween sympathetic fight and
(11:03):
dorsal vagal freeze disconnect.
The high stress plus the surrealnature of the competition
triggered a protective response,making the moment feel more
dreamlike.
And then stamping his feet.
which is a somatic, could beused as a somatic regulation
tool.
This is a brilliant instinctivestrategy.
(11:27):
So it's like activating yourbody awareness, proprioception,
to counteract the dissociativeeffect and bring him back into
the moment.
So cool.
So number three, the firstmatch, this like high adrenaline
and sudden energy dump.
(11:47):
He ends up winning the matchwithin about four minutes, but
then afterwards he notices a bigadrenaline dump.
His heart rate wasn't going downthe way he was used to.
It was harder to get goodamounts of oxygen in and he
wasn't recovering as fast.
So what's happening now?
So there's a sympatheticdominance, an adrenaline surge,
(12:08):
fast movements, sharp focus,explosive power, and then a
sudden parasympathetic drop, soan adrenaline dump, the body
expecting a full stop after alife or death event, struggles
to regulate, so His incompleterecovery, meaning his heart rate
was staying high, difficultybreathing, suggests that his
(12:32):
nervous system was still stuckin a high energy state and the
competition setting preventedhis system from fully
downshifting.
Number four.
So grip fatigue and a bit ofnervous system overload.
So his grip strength was alsoalready feeling tired.
(12:54):
His hands and forearms felt likerocks and his grips felt really
weak, which again felt bizarrebecause he was used to doing
multiple rounds in his one totwo hour classes.
So this isn't just muscularfatigue.
It's nervous system depletion.
So we're talking aboutneuromuscular fatigue.
(13:16):
His motor neurons wereoverfiring in response to stress
and he had reduced circulation.
So prolonged gripped tension,trapped.
metabolic waste in his forearmsand his fight or flight survival
reflex.
So the hands are critical forgrappling and self defense.
(13:38):
His nervous system prioritizedgrip strength during the match,
but once the adrenaline woreoff, his hands felt useless.
So in training, he could pacehimself, but here his nervous
system perceived the stakes aslife or death, which changed his
energy output.
Incredible, really.
(14:00):
And then number five, so themental battle, fight and flight
at the same time.
So even though he had extra timebefore his next match, he was
instantly in his mental battleof being worried that he
wouldn't be able to recover forhis next match, and also
realizing like, I'm here, so Imight as well.
Go for it.
So this is classic nervoussystem dysregulation.
(14:22):
So it's like this mix of fight,determined, aggressive, ready to
win, and flight, anxious,wanting to escape, and fearing
exhaustion.
So his system was stuck betweenthese two responses, creating
mental overwhelm.
So instead of being fullypresent in the moment, part of
his energy was spent managingthese conflicting impulses.
(14:45):
That's a lot of energy beingspent.
And then the matches thatfollowed the second match, so
struggling to stay in flow, hefelt as though he was no longer
able to stay calm mentally, andhe was trying to hold on tight,
not being able to let the matchflow, like in his training.
So this suggests a narrowedwindow of tolerance or a
(15:09):
narrowed window of resilience.
So in training, he had a widecapacity for pressure and
movement.
In competition His system wasmore reactive and rigid, making
it harder to flow naturally.
His cognitive and motor systemswere now under stress, forcing
him into over control ratherthan relaxed responsiveness.
(15:35):
Number seven.
So he recounts that.
You know, the higher the stakes,the harder it is to stay in the
moment and in your body.
This makes the level of practiceeven more important in learning
how to prepare for a competitionrather than just going in with
confidence just because you dowell in the training room.
(15:57):
And this is why nervous systempreparation is key.
So, it's, it's spot on from asomatic experiencing
perspective.
Just because someone performswell in training doesn't mean
their nervous system is preparedfor a competition, for the
stress of a competition.
And as Tim discovered, trainingwith familiar people, even if
(16:18):
they're unfamiliar, week afterweek is quite different than
facing strangers in acompetitive fight.
And so I just wanted to alsoquickly tie in how this relates
to trauma and its impacts on thebody.
So just like a fighter needs totrain their nervous system to
handle high stress fights,trauma survivors need to train
(16:40):
their nervous system to handledaily stress without getting
stuck in survival responses.
So this experience, Tim'sexperience, was such a great
reminder that our nervous systemplays a huge role in how we
handle high pressure moments,whether in competition or in
daily life.
How, so how does all this tieinto how our bodies react after
(17:04):
experiencing somethingtraumatic?
So I'm just going to break thisdown a bit.
So one, there's this push pullbetween activation and
conservation.
So in the tournament, Tim felt apush and pull.
Part of him wanted to ramp upand part of him wanted to stay
cool or even leave.
In a trauma response, this issimilar to how trauma survivors
(17:28):
fluctuate between hypervigilant.
Hypervigilance, fight or flight,and shutdown, freeze, and
dissociation.
The nervous system struggles tofind balance between these two
states.
Number two, dissociation understress.
In the tournament, Tim's visionbecame dreamlike and he had to
stamp his feet to stay present.
(17:51):
In a trauma response, inoverwhelming situations, people
often disconnect from theirbody.
All together.
So derealization, numbness,feeling unreal, and then ground
and using grounding techniqueslike Tim's foot stamping can
help bring them back.
Number three, adrenaline dumpsand system overloads.
(18:15):
So in the tournament after thematch, Tim crashed hard,
struggling to regulate hisbreathing and feeling unexpected
exhaustion.
In a trauma response, afterprolonged stress, trauma
survivors experience burnout.
Chronic fatigue and difficultyrecovering from small stressors
because their nervous systemsare stuck in a loop of survival.
(18:40):
Number four, so struggling tostay in flow.
In the tournament, Tim couldn'taccess his fluidity, feeling
like he had to force his waythrough the next matches.
And in a trauma response, aftertrauma, people lose their
natural ease and adaptability.
They may start overthinking,bracing for impact or feel
(19:02):
disconnected from theirinstincts, making life feel like
a constant battle.
And then number five, theimportance of nervous system
preparation.
So in the tournament, Timrealized that doing well in
training didn't mean he wasnervous system ready for the
competition.
And in a trauma response,similarly, healing trauma isn't
(19:25):
just about mental understanding.
It requires a nervous systemconditioning through regulation,
titration.
and safe exposure to stressorsover time.
So our nervous systems reactionsare automatic and deeply rooted
in survival instincts.
They're not something weconsciously control with
(19:46):
intellect or logic.
They are designed to work welland to keep us safe.
And when we experienceoverwhelming events, oftentimes
they lead, they need a littlehelp on our end to find that
equilibrium, that balance.
So when we encounter stress,danger or high stakes
situations, our body respondsbased on primal wiring that has
(20:08):
evolved over thousands of years.
This is why even if we knowwe're safe or understand that
we're prepared, our body mightstill react with anxiety,
dissociation, or a fight orflight response.
These reactions come from thebrainstem and the limbic system
areas responsible for survival,not from our rational thinking
(20:31):
brain.
So, no matter how smart or selfaware we are, our nervous system
operates on a more fundamentaland instinctual level.
That's why somatic work is sopowerful.
It helps us work with the body'snatural responses instead of
just trying to think our way outof them.
(20:53):
Ah, that was a lot ofinformation, and I don't think I
paused much in, in this episode.
Heh.
But I just love how somatic workcan help us prepare, recover,
and stay present when it mattersthe most.
So I just want to say thank youfor joining me on this ride.
(21:16):
Thank you for tuning in and asalways, take care of those
bodies and those hearts.
So much love.
Bye for now.
As always, thank you so much forlistening.
Life is busy.
So it means even more thatyou're carving out time in your
(21:38):
day to be here.
Listen, we've got so many greatepisodes coming up, so please
make sure you subscribe tofollow along on Apple podcasts
or Spotify.
And for those of you who like towatch your podcasts, we are now
uploading them to YouTube.
And if you appreciate theseepisodes, please do us a favor
and leave a rating or a reviewand share it with anyone you
(22:01):
think could benefit.
See you again next Wednesday.
outro music
Hey guys, Lisa Dawn here.
Welcome back and thank you somuch for joining me today.
Before we get into today'sepisode, I just wanted to
mention that I've been told thatI need to start recording videos
of my solo episodes and I had tohave a chuckle because I'm
sitting here in candlelight inmy housecoat with my heating
(00:35):
cloak on, which basically lookslike I'm wearing a cape with
shoulder pads that's heated.
It's one of my favorite things.
So now you know.
Does this make you want videosof this recording?
More or less, you'll have toreach out and let me know.
(00:57):
So today we're going to diveinto the somewhat surprising
connection between jujitsu,somatic healing, and the way our
nervous systems handle highpressure moments.
So my hubby Tim recentlycompeted in his first jiu jitsu
tournament, and while he'susually cool as a cucumber,
(01:21):
something unexpected happened.
His body reacted in ways that hedidn't anticipate.
So we'll break down what wasgoing on beneath the surface.
how our nervous systems prep forbig events, whether we realize
it or not, and how somatic workcan help show us how to show up
(01:43):
with more ease, whether that'sin competition, relationships,
or life.
So, let's geek out on somenervous system regulation, shall
we?
The other day, and okay, let'sbe real, it's pretty much almost
every day, Tim and I weretalking about jujitsu because,
(02:03):
well, he's obsessed.
And meanwhile, I've recentlystarted hitting the gym again.
And let me tell you, it's beenawesome since I'm such a newbie,
I'm already noticing so manygains, which is like a nice
little boost.
Historically, I've been way moreinto things like Pilates, yoga,
(02:24):
and rebounding, but I live on aproperty with some incredible
and serious gym enthusiasts.
So, these are folks who haveyears of experience, wisdom for
weight training.
So their passion is contagiousand I couldn't help but hop on
the weightlifting train.
(02:44):
Honestly though, I have so muchappreciation for our shared
collective.
Community and skill sharing aresome of my favorite things in
life.
And growing up, I had that senseof community through sports.
I played volleyball, softball,basketball.
But as I got older, that kind offell away.
And I've realized that there'ssomething really special about
(03:07):
being part of a team, whetherit's in sports, a book club, a
knitting group, or volunteering,whatever it is, having spaces
where we connect with otherswhile still nurturing our own
passions is so important.
It helps us, you know, maintainour individual identities and
relationships so that we cankeep doing the things that light
(03:28):
us up while supporting ourpartnerships in what they love
to do as well.
And from this relationshipperspective, this is such a
powerful way to deepen intimacy.
Supporting and celebrating eachother's interests, even when
they don't overlap, creates adeeper sense of connection.
There's something reallyendearing about witnessing
(03:50):
someone fully immersed in whatbrings them joy.
Okay, now back to jiu jitsu.
While I have zero desire to getmy face smushed into a mat or be
pinned down for extendedperiods, I love that Tim loves
it.
And by accident, we discoveredyet another use for somatic
(04:11):
work, which I also love.
Now, I've used this type of bodybased preparation before,
helping clients get ready forsurgeries, breakups, divorces,
you name it.
If the body is going to beimpacted, we can prepare for it
somatically.
But for some reason, I hadn'tthought to apply this to Tim, to
(04:34):
Tim before his tournament.
And I love when a modality hassuch wide ranging benefits.
So Tim has really found his flowstate in this sport, and after
months of training he competedin his first tournament last
month.
And as I mentioned, he's notsomeone who gets easily rattled.
(04:57):
He's had extensive leadershiptraining.
So when I asked if he wasfeeling anxious, his response
was meh, I'll probably sleeplike shit the night before,
maybe feel a bit nervous, butthat's about it.
I've always admired how calm andsteady he is.
He can just show up withoutspiraling into stress.
(05:18):
Meanwhile, I tend to overprepare.
And even then, my body stillloves to sometimes betray me.
Cue the high pitched squeakyvoice and the sudden inability
to take a deep breath.
But I digress.
Fast forward to the tournamentday.
Tim wins his first match.
(05:39):
And the aftermath is what wewant to talk about.
But before we do, let's exploreTim recounting the day.
So he says, Even though he feltcalm and relaxed prior to the
tournament, he really felt asthough it was just kind of going
to be like getting in an extrafew rounds with training
(06:00):
partners that he hadn't metbefore.
He was used to doing hour longto two hour classes, so he felt
prepared.
On the tournament day, he wasscheduled for four five minute
matches.
So going into the tournament, heremembers feeling a little
surreal in that he wasn't overlynervous or excited, but he could
(06:24):
feel a push and pull inside.
So part of him wanted to getramped up and part of him wanted
to leave.
So part of him wanted to getright into the zone and part of
him wanted to stay calm and cooland conserve his energy.
So he recalls noticing that whenhe stepped onto the mat with his
(06:44):
opponent, he didn't feel quitein the moment.
So his vision started to feelalmost dreamlike, where he had
to really convince himself to behere now, to stay in his body.
He actually had to stamp hisfeet a few times just to stay
present.
So he ended up winning thatmatch within about four minutes.
(07:08):
Then, afterwards, he noticed abig adrenaline dump.
So his heart rate wasn't goingdown the way he was used to it
going down.
It was harder to get goodamounts of oxygen in, so he
wasn't recovering as fast, andhis grip strength was Also
(07:28):
already feeling tired and friedhis hand and forearms felt like
rocks and his grips really feltweak, which to Tim was bizarre
because he was used to doingmultiple rounds over and over
and over again in his one to twohour classes, and here he was
feeling exhausted after one fourminute round, he noticed that
(07:53):
even though he had extra timebefore his next match, he was
instantly in This mental battleof being worried that he
wouldn't be able to recover forhis next match and then also
realizing like, holy, I'm hereand I'm just going to go for it.
But it felt to him internally,like he was experiencing a
(08:15):
flight and fight response, bothhappening at the same time.
He also felt as though he was nolonger able to stay calm
mentally, as he was trying tohold on tight, and not really
able to let the match flow withhis next opponent the way he
could in training.
(08:37):
So, he recounts that the higherthe stakes, the harder it is to
keep in the moment and in yourbody.
And he also says that this makesthe level of practice even more
important in learning how toprepare for, to be in a
competition rather than justgoing in with confidence because
you do it well in the trainingroom.
(08:59):
So, let's break this down, shallwe?
Tim's experience is a perfectexample of how the nervous
system navigates high pressuresituations, even when someone
feels physically prepared.
So from a somatic experiencingperspective, we can break this
(09:20):
down into the different stagesof nervous system activation and
regulation and how the bodyreacts to stressful and
overwhelming events.
So Number one.
So going into the tournament, heremembers it feeling a little
surreal in that he wasn't overlynervous or excited, but he could
(09:40):
feel a push pull inside.
Part of him wanted to get rampedup and the other part of him
wanted to leave.
This describes, uh, competingautonomic response in his
nervous system.
So, The sympathetic activation,fight or flight, wants to ramp
up, engage, and get in the zone.
(10:00):
Meanwhile, the parasympatheticregulation, shut down and
freeze, wants to stay cool,conserve energy, or even exit
the situation.
Excuse me.
This initial tug of war isreally normal before a high
stakes event.
So the body is scanning forsafety and readiness, trying to
(10:22):
find the right level of arousal.
So next, he's stepping onto themat.
So when he stepped onto the mat,With his opponent, he didn't
feel quite in the moment.
His vision started to feelalmost dreamlike, where he had
to really convince himself to behere now, to stay in his body.
(10:42):
He had to stamp his feet a fewtimes to stay present.
So what's happening here is hisbody is signaling mild
dissociative response, where hisnervous system temporarily
disconnected from the presentmoment.
Why?
Well, his system was shiftingbetween sympathetic fight and
(11:03):
dorsal vagal freeze disconnect.
The high stress plus the surrealnature of the competition
triggered a protective response,making the moment feel more
dreamlike.
And then stamping his feet.
which is a somatic, could beused as a somatic regulation
tool.
This is a brilliant instinctivestrategy.
(11:27):
So it's like activating yourbody awareness, proprioception,
to counteract the dissociativeeffect and bring him back into
the moment.
So cool.
So number three, the firstmatch, this like high adrenaline
and sudden energy dump.
(11:47):
He ends up winning the matchwithin about four minutes, but
then afterwards he notices a bigadrenaline dump.
His heart rate wasn't going downthe way he was used to.
It was harder to get goodamounts of oxygen in and he
wasn't recovering as fast.
So what's happening now?
So there's a sympatheticdominance, an adrenaline surge,
(12:08):
fast movements, sharp focus,explosive power, and then a
sudden parasympathetic drop, soan adrenaline dump, the body
expecting a full stop after alife or death event, struggles
to regulate, so His incompleterecovery, meaning his heart rate
was staying high, difficultybreathing, suggests that his
(12:32):
nervous system was still stuckin a high energy state and the
competition setting preventedhis system from fully
downshifting.
Number four.
So grip fatigue and a bit ofnervous system overload.
So his grip strength was alsoalready feeling tired.
(12:54):
His hands and forearms felt likerocks and his grips felt really
weak, which again felt bizarrebecause he was used to doing
multiple rounds in his one totwo hour classes.
So this isn't just muscularfatigue.
It's nervous system depletion.
So we're talking aboutneuromuscular fatigue.
(13:16):
His motor neurons wereoverfiring in response to stress
and he had reduced circulation.
So prolonged gripped tension,trapped.
metabolic waste in his forearmsand his fight or flight survival
reflex.
So the hands are critical forgrappling and self defense.
(13:38):
His nervous system prioritizedgrip strength during the match,
but once the adrenaline woreoff, his hands felt useless.
So in training, he could pacehimself, but here his nervous
system perceived the stakes aslife or death, which changed his
energy output.
Incredible, really.
(14:00):
And then number five, so themental battle, fight and flight
at the same time.
So even though he had extra timebefore his next match, he was
instantly in his mental battleof being worried that he
wouldn't be able to recover forhis next match, and also
realizing like, I'm here, so Imight as well.
Go for it.
So this is classic nervoussystem dysregulation.
(14:22):
So it's like this mix of fight,determined, aggressive, ready to
win, and flight, anxious,wanting to escape, and fearing
exhaustion.
So his system was stuck betweenthese two responses, creating
mental overwhelm.
So instead of being fullypresent in the moment, part of
his energy was spent managingthese conflicting impulses.
(14:45):
That's a lot of energy beingspent.
And then the matches thatfollowed the second match, so
struggling to stay in flow, hefelt as though he was no longer
able to stay calm mentally, andhe was trying to hold on tight,
not being able to let the matchflow, like in his training.
So this suggests a narrowedwindow of tolerance or a
(15:09):
narrowed window of resilience.
So in training, he had a widecapacity for pressure and
movement.
In competition His system wasmore reactive and rigid, making
it harder to flow naturally.
His cognitive and motor systemswere now under stress, forcing
him into over control ratherthan relaxed responsiveness.
(15:35):
Number seven.
So he recounts that.
You know, the higher the stakes,the harder it is to stay in the
moment and in your body.
This makes the level of practiceeven more important in learning
how to prepare for a competitionrather than just going in with
confidence just because you dowell in the training room.
(15:57):
And this is why nervous systempreparation is key.
So, it's, it's spot on from asomatic experiencing
perspective.
Just because someone performswell in training doesn't mean
their nervous system is preparedfor a competition, for the
stress of a competition.
And as Tim discovered, trainingwith familiar people, even if
(16:18):
they're unfamiliar, week afterweek is quite different than
facing strangers in acompetitive fight.
And so I just wanted to alsoquickly tie in how this relates
to trauma and its impacts on thebody.
So just like a fighter needs totrain their nervous system to
handle high stress fights,trauma survivors need to train
(16:40):
their nervous system to handledaily stress without getting
stuck in survival responses.
So this experience, Tim'sexperience, was such a great
reminder that our nervous systemplays a huge role in how we
handle high pressure moments,whether in competition or in
daily life.
How, so how does all this tieinto how our bodies react after
(17:04):
experiencing somethingtraumatic?
So I'm just going to break thisdown a bit.
So one, there's this push pullbetween activation and
conservation.
So in the tournament, Tim felt apush and pull.
Part of him wanted to ramp upand part of him wanted to stay
cool or even leave.
In a trauma response, this issimilar to how trauma survivors
(17:28):
fluctuate between hypervigilant.
Hypervigilance, fight or flight,and shutdown, freeze, and
dissociation.
The nervous system struggles tofind balance between these two
states.
Number two, dissociation understress.
In the tournament, Tim's visionbecame dreamlike and he had to
stamp his feet to stay present.
(17:51):
In a trauma response, inoverwhelming situations, people
often disconnect from theirbody.
All together.
So derealization, numbness,feeling unreal, and then ground
and using grounding techniqueslike Tim's foot stamping can
help bring them back.
Number three, adrenaline dumpsand system overloads.
(18:15):
So in the tournament after thematch, Tim crashed hard,
struggling to regulate hisbreathing and feeling unexpected
exhaustion.
In a trauma response, afterprolonged stress, trauma
survivors experience burnout.
Chronic fatigue and difficultyrecovering from small stressors
because their nervous systemsare stuck in a loop of survival.
(18:40):
Number four, so struggling tostay in flow.
In the tournament, Tim couldn'taccess his fluidity, feeling
like he had to force his waythrough the next matches.
And in a trauma response, aftertrauma, people lose their
natural ease and adaptability.
They may start overthinking,bracing for impact or feel
(19:02):
disconnected from theirinstincts, making life feel like
a constant battle.
And then number five, theimportance of nervous system
preparation.
So in the tournament, Timrealized that doing well in
training didn't mean he wasnervous system ready for the
competition.
And in a trauma response,similarly, healing trauma isn't
(19:25):
just about mental understanding.
It requires a nervous systemconditioning through regulation,
titration.
and safe exposure to stressorsover time.
So our nervous systems reactionsare automatic and deeply rooted
in survival instincts.
They're not something weconsciously control with
(19:46):
intellect or logic.
They are designed to work welland to keep us safe.
And when we experienceoverwhelming events, oftentimes
they lead, they need a littlehelp on our end to find that
equilibrium, that balance.
So when we encounter stress,danger or high stakes
situations, our body respondsbased on primal wiring that has
(20:08):
evolved over thousands of years.
This is why even if we knowwe're safe or understand that
we're prepared, our body mightstill react with anxiety,
dissociation, or a fight orflight response.
These reactions come from thebrainstem and the limbic system
areas responsible for survival,not from our rational thinking
(20:31):
brain.
So, no matter how smart or selfaware we are, our nervous system
operates on a more fundamentaland instinctual level.
That's why somatic work is sopowerful.
It helps us work with the body'snatural responses instead of
just trying to think our way outof them.
(20:53):
Ah, that was a lot ofinformation, and I don't think I
paused much in, in this episode.
Heh.
But I just love how somatic workcan help us prepare, recover,
and stay present when it mattersthe most.
So I just want to say thank youfor joining me on this ride.
(21:16):
Thank you for tuning in and asalways, take care of those
bodies and those hearts.
So much love.
Bye for now.
As always, thank you so much forlistening.
Life is busy.
So it means even more thatyou're carving out time in your
(21:38):
day to be here.
Listen, we've got so many greatepisodes coming up, so please
make sure you subscribe tofollow along on Apple podcasts
or Spotify.
And for those of you who like towatch your podcasts, we are now
uploading them to YouTube.
And if you appreciate theseepisodes, please do us a favor
and leave a rating or a reviewand share it with anyone you
(22:01):
think could benefit.
See you again next Wednesday.
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