Are You Listening to Your Second Brain in Your Gut?
INSIDE: Did you know you have a second brain located in your stomach? It picks up on many things that the brain doesn’t and we all need to listen to our gut more often. Let’s learn more about it!
“Gastroenterologists often say, “If I could cut off his head, I could cure his ulcer.”
That’s how powerful the mind is!
The Importance of Core Muscles
There are literally muscles that you can’t feel when you are first introduced to them because there’s no neural pathway between your mind and that muscle.
Your core runs through your entire body, but the center of the chain, the core of your core, is in your belly from your pelvic floor up the midline to your solar plexus.
In general, when we are upright and moving, we want the core to be engaged and connected: it supports the lower back and allows fluid full body movement that can keep strain out of the hips and shoulders.
But just like any other muscle group, it can’t be fully engaged all the time, and needs opportunities to rest.
Are You Listening to Your Gut?
These core muscles activate unconsciously anytime we sit up or stand, and they also tense when we have a fight-or-flight response.
Because of these unconscious functions, they are difficult for many of us to feel, which makes it harder for us to turn them on or off, and for many of us, they are in a semi-constant state of tension.
Tension masks sensation, and when there are knots in the belly, it’s very challenging to access the strength and fluid power that can come from this place.
We can also miss out on the huge range of emotions that we can feel in this powerful and sensitive place, including fear, shame, guilt, butterflies, hope, and the warm-fuzzies.
Your Second Brain is Signaling You
Your gut has more neurons than your spinal cord or your peripheral nervous system, and it sends its own messages to your brain, which has led some scientists to call your digestive system a “second brain” (for more information, see Adam Hadhazy’s Scientific American article).
Your gut feelings are an important part of your experience of the world. Not every gut reaction is appropriate to every situation, but they will respond to things your brain may not have picked up on (that’s a whole other blog to come).
Get in Tune With Your Belly Brain
Your gut, otherwise known as your second brain, is a key source of emotional intelligence that often gets ignored and numbed out.
So, by becoming more in tuned with your internal belly-brain, you can get to know yourself, your feelings, and the more intuitive part of yourself. This is where it counts!
It’s the part that signals when things aren’t right but we ignore so often. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “the benefit of the doubt.” I have the distinct feeling that this is the gut telling us just that – doubt.
Getting in touch with the “deeper knowing” self inside your second brain can provide clues/answers that you didn’t have access to - “a hunch.”
So next time your belly signals you, pay attention!
