Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic

Sympathetic Dominance

Published: 23 February 2023
Written by Jocelyn Olivier
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Categories: Brain Function, Hacking Your Nervous System, NMR Efficacy, On The Path, Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic

How do you know that someone is Sympathetic Nervous System Dominant?

There are lots of signs that you are Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) dominant: Muscle tics in the eye lids, rapid blinking of the eyes while responding to movement instructions, labored or quick breathing, chronic tension in muscles, especially those in the back/extensor side of the body, and cognitive delays in response to instructions just to name a few. A person with SNS dominance will apologize and tell you they did not understand what you wanted them to do.

 

How do you measure ‘Sympathetic Tone’?

I look for common clues that indicate problems with the fundamental coordination system such as the inability to rotate the T/L junction with reciprocal ease in both directions, cognitive confusion, orientation confusion such as not knowing the difference between right and left, looking confused or misunderstanding simple directional instructions, with 2 out of 3 reciprocal rotator functions ‘off’ or inhibited.

 

Signs that your client’s ParaSympathetic Nervous System (PNS) is coming back online:

Gurgles and squirts in the viscera; yawning; spontaneously swallowing, dropping into a sleep state instantaneously, twitching in peripheral muscles, softening of formerly tight muscles.

Why work so hard to get muscles to relax when you can just get the ANS (autonomic nervous system) to slow down? Sympathetic Dominance may be contributing to your client’s muscle tension and inhibiting corrections in stored movement patterns. Clients with Sympathetic Dominance need Brain Function Facilitation in order to shift into the ParaSympathetic.

 

From the NeuroMuscular Reprogramming Instagram.

How Do We Know if Someone Needs Brain Function Facilitation?

Published: 14 February 2023
Written by Jocelyn Olivier
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Categories: Brain Function, NMR Classes, NMR Efficacy, Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic

In my intake forms I look for signs of Multi-System Breakdown.

When there is a history of trauma and visceral or cognitive effects ongoing Sympathetic Dominance may be a contributing factor. For some people the hindrance is cognitive and for others it’s structural/functional and for others it has evolved into metabolic disturbances disrupting digestion, absorption, elimination, and healing.

40 plus years ago I studied Educational Kinesiology and have incorporated what I learned into my work with clients’ structural problems…

The inclusion of approaches to shift clients toward the Parasympathetic side of the nervous system is part of Mod 1 Intro to NeuroMuscular Reprogramming.

 

How Do We Shift a Client Toward the Parasympathetic?

Actually, it’s the clients who must do the work. I introduce a few breathing practices, and the incorporation of a couple of simple techniques from Educational Kinesiology which have become very popular with Chiropractors in the last decade as they choose to expand their clientele to work with kids who have cognitive processing problems.

NeuroMuscular Reprogramming NMR® incorporates some of the basics of Brain Function Facilitation and teaches it at a level that can make a big difference to clients progress toward their goals of reduced structural pain and improved ROM.

 

Lesson 1: First Important Consideration in Corrective Bodywork