What is the Enteric Nervous System?

Helping you remain embodied (or get back to it!) is a key component of the work I do with Grief Into Gold. Because when you’re not in touch with yourself, you’re more susceptible to defer to someone else’s judgement as to what they think is best. Taking that to the societal level, it’s easy to see why folks internalize anti-aging and fatphobic rhetoric–society says it’s wrong to age or gain weight, so that must be the truth. When we aren’t embodied, we fall into traps set by capitalism, narcissism, and so on. That is EXACTLY what I work with people to dismantle on an individual level with my practice, so that they can live better lives and show up fully as themselves, for themselves and their communities. 

What it really means to “Trust Your Gut”

In speaking a little about embodiment and getting connected to yourself, did you know we have an entire nervous system located in our gut? Referred to as our “second brain,” we have something called an Enteric Nervous System, where more often than not, information is processed there first before it’s even a thought in our head. It’s where we get phrases like “I had to trust my gut,” and “I have a gut feeling.” Our guts are constantly processing information, and they happen to be a really good bullshit-meter–we can just tell when something feels “off.” This is possible through something called “Interoception,” which is the ability to sense what is going on with our bodies internally–our heartbeat, pain receptors, and our enteric nervous system. 

It’s always important to stay connected to ourselves (embodied), and I’ve written a blog post on somatic practices you can try to reconnect with your body–click here to read! But it’s especially important when information and messaging is being sent to us at rapid fire speed. We’re getting inundated from all angles, 24-7, and the stakes are constantly high. Hopefully this information can serve as a gentle reminder that you know more than you give yourself credit, and that you can and should trust yourself and your gut!