Article by Francois Prinsloo
Accredited MLNP Life Coach & Trauma Counsellor Our brains are busy processing information and impulses all the time. Emotions, sensations and information are being processed whether you are awake or asleep. Different areas of the brain processes different things. There are left-right as well as top-down and bottom-up processing. Information being processed can be positive (gives a feeling of safety and/or comfort) or it can be negative (gives a feeling of discomfort and/or not feeling safe). Negative feelings of discomfort can lead to all sorts of physiological, performance related, emotional or behavioural problems.
Impulses that we experienced throughout our life is stored as information in the central nervous system and in the brain. It influences our behaviour, fears, satisfaction, happiness, expectations and moods on a second-by-second basis. This happens without us even being aware of it as it mostly happens sub-consciously.
Our bodies are there when we sense our emotions. Your stomach contracts when you are afraid. Your jaw is tight when you angry. When someone throws a ball in the direction of your head, you will first duck out of the oncoming ball before you think why this is happening. The first reality is the reality of the body. The body is the primary instrument through which we perceive and organize the world.
The vast increase in knowledge and research has opened up new possibilities for us to get rid of the negative energy and impulses stored in our bodies (and brain) and to allow us to live a fuller, happier and more satisfied life. There are fundamentally three avenues used by professionals to achieve this: (1) Top-down (cognitive) approach by talking, (re-)connecting with others, analyzing and allowing ourselves to understand better. (2) By taking medicine and (3) bottom-up approach. This approach allows the body and part of the triune brain called the reptilian brain to process negative energy/impulses. It allows the brain’s own natural neuroplasticity to become fully alive in the present and allows us to move on with their lives. The reptilian brain speaks not in words, but rather in the language of sensation and feeling.
Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, we have tended to identify so much with the rational, thinking part of the brain (the neo-cortex) that the wider role of instinctive, bodily responses in shaping and influencing behavior and consciousness had been largely ignored. However, the neo-cortex is nor powerful enough to override the instinctual impulses that is caught up in the central nervous system.
One of the biggest challenges that I have as Multi-Level Neuro Coach and Trauma Counsellor is to get clients to understand and to become aware of what their bodies are telling them. This sort of body-mind work goes far beyond the body-language manuals, which define the meaning of this or that gesture and posture.
Multi-Level Neuro Processing (MLNP) is a brain-body (neuro-physiological) facilitation process which helps the brain to process and integrate both negative and positive information. It is both a top-down and bottom-up approach and it is as effective for complex trauma as it is for performance enhancement. What is involved here is becoming aware of the body-mind connections in its full presence.
For real change and transformation to take place, the body needs to learn that the danger or the experience of negative impulses had passed and that it is safe to live in the reality of the present. Visiting the past in sessions should be done while people are, biologically speaking, firmly rooted in the present and feeling as calm and safe as possible. Being anchored in a present safe environment while revisiting unpleasant experiences of the past opens the possibility of knowing and feeling that the unpleasant events belong to the past.
Transformation and behavioural change means moving from one state of mind and behaviour to a more positive, effective and functional state of mind (and way of behaving). If transformation and change was easy, every person would be able to bring him- or herself to a place of being more successful and happier in what they are doing in life. The reason why transformation is so difficult is because our self-perception, expectation, coping mechanisms, core values and beliefs lies very deep within the brain and nervous system. However, with the help of a qualified professional, this transformation process is quite possible.
Not only people who experience deep trauma or people who cannot find direction in life needs to seek help from a Life Coach or Trauma Counsellor. Perhaps you want to:
- Change some habits, do some healing or become more assertive
- Learn to love yourself, be intimate or let go of the past
- Let go of negative thinking or self-criticism
- Just start living in your “sweet-spot” again.
- Experience better relationships with peers and/or friends
For more information you are welcome to book a free coaching session on my website:
www.coachprinsloo.com
or
Disclaimer
This article is not intended to take the place of medical advice from your personal physician.
Published with permission from Francois Prinsloo
