Mindset, Movement & Neuroscience nuggets: Old brain versus New brain

We kind of have two brains - the old (reptilian/lizard) brain and the new (mammalian) brain. The old brain goes waaaaay back (over 200 million years) and contains structures that are shared with other animals and which are important for survival (think food, sex, emotions and fight/flight). It’s responsible for all the subconscious stuff that works reflexively and automatically - like breathing. We don’t have to think about it, it just does it. The new brain (which is between 1-2 million years old) and it’s what makes humans, well, humans. It deals with language, higher functioning things like logic. It allows us to plan, imagine, analyse, reflect and self regulate. These parts are particularly linked to the pre-frontal cortex.

Imagine your brain is like a bustling city where the old and new parts sometimes clash. Picture bundles of neurons as busy messengers zipping around, delivering information back and forth between the ancient and modern districts of this city.

While it’s fantastic that our minds can travel through time, reminiscing about the past or dreaming up the future, things can get a bit messy. Especially when old brain emotions like anxiety take the driver's seat. This is when we find ourselves spiralling into worry and catastrophising, trapped in cycles of rumination no matter how hard we try to get out of it.

But hey, it’s not your fault, essentially the old brain does a very important job and it is:

To keep you SAFE. Sorry, but it doesn’t give two monkeys if you want to THRIVE, it’s job is that you SURVIVE.

The good news is, by catching ourselves in these patterns of thinking, we can start to bring awareness. With awareness (and compassion), we can start to navigate and understand our mental city better. That in turn means you don’t have to judge ourselves or try and beat up the part of us (old brain) that’s trying to keep us safe.

What may help is to view everything that sucks like - pain, anxiety, fatigue, dizziness, lack of mobility as a signal that your old brain is saying “I don’t feel safe”. Pain, fatigue etc…are all OUTPUTS from the brain. 

So, what can you do instead is changing SOMETHING about your situation. In terms of a yoga/movement practice, it may mean using props like brick or a wall to help with balance.

It may mean giving your brain MORE INFO - in terms of brain-body mapping, moving joint rich areas in a complex way (circles, articulating each individual joint in your spine/fingers for example, moving in figure of 8s). These are INPUTS so you are making your INPUTS clearer. You can also improve your inputs by doing visual drills and stimulating your cranial nerves. Seriously, this worked SOOOO very well for my client who is working on her splits. Pic shown below of results in one session.

It may mean taking TIME OUT, not being so hard on yourself and not buying in to the belief that you are hopeless or a failure. This is a change of MINDSET and requires SELF-REFLECTION and REFRAMING your perspective on the situation. You’ll be using your new brain for this bit. Something to remember is this:

All OUTPUTS are in response to INPUTS and the INTERPRETATION within the brain. Get both parts of your brain on board and you’re thriving.