Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Rewire Your Brain: Neuroplasticity, Breathwork & the Power of New Pathways

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Rewire Your Brain: Neuroplasticity, Breathwork & the Power of New Pathways · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story Podcast.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: As always, I am quite delighted to be here with you today recording a solo episode.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a little bit since I've recorded a solo episode that wasn't a cycle sync episode.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it's always nice to have this time with you to connect in this other way.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And in our Friday episodes, we explore the themes of the season that we're in a bit more deeply.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And right now, as this episode is airing, we are currently in the season of Gemini season, which just started.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And lately I've been really enjoying starting the really starting the new focus with the solo episode so that I can help really ground us into the themes and the teachings of that particular season.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I'm gonna be doing here today.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: And to help us ground into this theme of duality for Gemini season, I felt inspired to do a solo episode on our ways of thinking.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned in one of the earlier Cycle Sync episodes that came out, um, not this past Monday, but the Monday before that, Gemini is all about duality, the both and.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Life cannot be categorized really neatly into either or.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think as women, we live and embody this experience very deeply.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it can also be what causes a lot of the friction we experience in the world, because the world would also like us to fit into a nice little box.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: The world would love for us to be a certain type of way all of the time, and that is just not how the female biology works.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: The female body is always changing, always shifting, and as we shift and change on a biological level, we are invited to show up to our lives in different and unique ways.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: As I've come to embrace more of the nuance and the complexity of being a woman, of being a human, I've experienced a lot less friction in my life.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something I see a lot with clients who are just getting started with this deeper work.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: There's often a lot of work that has to be done to begin shifting some of these patterns, some of these old ways of being.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: And because we can create a lot of friction within ourselves when there's an incoherence, meaning what we're thinking and what we're experiencing aren't matching up.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And this can sometimes be far more complex than what the brain may initially be willing to hold.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening and you're maybe realizing, or perhaps you already kind of have this sense that you are someone who gets stuck in all or nothing thinking, then this episode is for you.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if that's not you, my invitation was would be to stay and to continue listening because there very well could be something here for you that could be new.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: What I really want to begin this conversation with is this.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Your brain can change.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I think we can get really down on the fact that wow, I think this certain type of way, and I have this certain belief, and maybe it's not one I want to carry forward.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: There can be a lot of grief in that, and there can sometimes be a lot of frustration because maybe you're not where you want to be, and perhaps you don't see a path forward as how to unlearn some of these ways of being.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: But again, our brains can change.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: We can create new pathways, we can create new ways of thinking and being in the world.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that supports this process is something called neuroplasticity.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Neuroplasticity is essentially this.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Over time, our brains change, and as we give the brain new inputs, new paths begin to form.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to be using this word pathway a lot because I think it's a wonderful metaphor for how the brain works.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: We have paths in our brain, and if you'd like, you can literally imagine it like a trail.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you were out adventuring for myself when I'm hiking, I most likely choose the path that's most worn, the path that's most easily identifiable.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have to climb through any shrubs or bushes.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: I can just simply walk down it.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's clear, it's easy, it's accessible.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And that is essentially what our brain does.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: These pathways get formed, usually in our early childhood years, when our brains are developing.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And these pathways being our habits, our ways of being, our identity, our thought patterns, our core beliefs.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: And our lovely, wise, miraculous brain will do anything that it needs to do to keep us safe, to keep us comfortable, and to keep us operating life in an operating life even if the the efficiency is uncomfortable, meaning that our brains will choose what is mu what is most known even when it is painful or harmful or uncomfortable.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just a beautiful protective response from our wise system.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it can become challenging when you don't want to go down that path anymore.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: When you're ready to create or explore a different path.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if you think of what it means to create a new path out in nature, there's usually a lot of work that needs to be done.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's some clearing, new paths need to be made.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And over time, those paths need to be tended to.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: They need to be nurtured and taken care of, otherwise, they become overgrown again.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So when we approach our brains in this way, we can bring so much more compassion into the process.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because we're not bad or wrong or broken.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing wrong with you for walking down the old trail.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: You've just walked down that trail many, many, many times.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the path that is most known to you.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: And as we've been exploring here, you're beginning to make a new one.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that can take time and effort and patience.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: So the neuroplasticity plays a role in learning new skills, in forming new habits and routines, and developing new emotional responses.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: It also plays a role in how we adapt to stress and trauma and how to how we recover from injury or illness.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is also where addictions take root and where stress patterns and nervous system patterns get encoded.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: And interestingly enough, it's also the doorway out of all of that, too.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you might be wondering, how do I actually create these new pathways?
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where the right tools come in.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And one of those tools, one of the primary modalities that I use, both for myself and with my clients, is breath work.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's some research starting to come out about how breath work supports neuroplasticity, which is something that I already sense within myself and something that I witness in my clients as well.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's still a bit of a gap, like there isn't something that explicitly says or proves that breath work causes neuroplasticity in the way that we have for other modalities.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: But what we do have is research showing that breath work, specifically conscious connected breathing.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about box breathing here, I'm talking about something a little bit deeper, a breath pattern that takes us into an altered state of consciousness, that these states produce an increase in neural complexity in the brain.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And in simple terms, it means that the brain becomes less predictable and more flexible.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: We become less locked into these habitual patterns and there's greater potential for creating new pathways.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Essentially, breathwork has the same neural signature associated with psychedelics, where the brain is more open to change.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And what I love about this is that breathwork supports the neuroplasticity not through big dramatic experiences, but rather through repetition, small regular practices that over time, small regular practices that over time begin to introduce new nervous system states.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: They also begin to gently interrupt habitual patterns, and it helps the body become more familiar with regulation over time.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And this is especially relevant if you're working with long-standing habits, trauma responses, or addictive patterns.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Change comes from meeting the system where it is again and again and again with consistency and a softness rather than a force.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why I really encourage the women that I work with, the folks that I work with, to commit to a regular practice of breath work rather than just a one-off experience, because a one-off experience isn't actually what's going to create the change.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be that those consistent, yeah, consistent practice over time.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's gonna create the change.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you also might have heard the phrase metaplasticity, and this is something a little different.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Meta plasticity refers to a critical window period that opens up after using psychedelics such as psilocybin, LSD, and DMA or ayahuasca.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And when that critical window opens, it becomes much easier to create these new neural pathways and make new connections.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what's really important about this window it has a lot to do with our social interactions.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: The most beautiful therapeutic healing part of a psychedelic experience often isn't the experience itself, it's the window that's open afterward.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: During this window, the brain is more malleable, more open to change.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And because we are social beings, because so many of our habits and nervous system patterns are formed in relationship, there is also a tremendous amount of healing that can happen in the integration period.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I would say most of the healing happens in the integration period.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: And depending on which psychedelic you're using, this window, critical window, is open anywhere from one day to two weeks after a psychedelic experience.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Again, depending on the specific psychedelic that you are using.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is why you want to be really, really mindful about who you're interacting with and how during this critical time.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: An opportunity to lay down a new pathway, one where conflict moves towards repair and connection rather than rupture and disconnection.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: So in the days after a psychedelic session, I invite you to be intentional, being intentional about who you're with, what you're talking about, how you're communicating, and how you're showing up.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because this can be where we can begin to shift and change some of our deepest attachment patterns and the identity that we form about ourselves long before we have the words for any of it.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Altered states of consciousness, whether accessed through breath work or through psychedelics, allow us to reach the deeper parts of our brain where our core beliefs and identity are stored.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing we're not actually able to access these parts of our brain in our normal day-to-day.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm getting an image from Inside Out right now.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you've ever seen the Inside Out movie, there's this, there's this part of the brain that they aren't able to really get to.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, just a fun little reference there.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't seen Inside Out, I highly recommend checking it out.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Wonderful movie.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: But as I was saying, this is why these specific practices can be so incredibly powerful because we're able to access these parts of our brain we're not normally able to.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why I think so many people are walking away from talk therapy or CBT, which stands for cognitive based therapy.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, cognitive based therapy.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because uh what they're discovering, and maybe what you're starting to gather here, is that behavior change goes far beyond just our thinking.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: There is a biological shift that needs to happen.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that shift cannot be accessed through talking alone.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's why we're starting to see somatic work and psychedelics become more sought after because people are realizing they're experiencing that talk therapy can only take them so far.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: So as we move through Gemini season, this is what I'm inviting you to keep close to your brain.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Normally I say to your heart, but in spirit of Gemini season, I'm gonna say keeping it close to your brain.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Notice the pathways in your brain, the pathways in your nervous system, those pathways that have those really, really deep grooves.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I invite you to start becoming curious about the new pathways you may want to begin creating.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you need some support with that, I'm gonna offer you a few practical tools.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is breath work, obviously.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And when I say breath work, again, I don't mean box breathing or four, seven, eight breathing, or breathing in and out of your nose.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is a different thing entirely.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about the altered states of consciousness, conscious, connected breathing.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is the breath work I offer both in person and online.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm starting to move away from drop-in sessions and more toward four to six month care packages.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if this is something you want to explore on a deeper level, the best way to get started with me is going to the link in the show notes and booking your somatic assessment and care planning session.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: From there, we'll create a plan together, and that can include conscious connected breathing if that's what feels supportive to you.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not local to Sacramento, again I do offer sessions online.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: I also recently went online and did a search for breathwork classes, mostly looking for myself.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: And there are some out there, but there honestly doesn't seem to be a lot.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I may be your best bet.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: But otherwise, I'd encourage you to do do your own research and exploration.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: One thing that I'll add about breathwork is that it's also an accessible alternative to psychedelics because with a breathwork session, you can return to your day-to-day far more easily than with a psychedelic experience where you tend to be out of it for longer periods of time.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: So in that way, breath work is very, very, very accessible.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: And another way to explore metaplasticity, if you're already in a relationship with plant medicines or psychedelics, this might be a season where you explore that more deeply.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Specifically, microdosing.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Microdosing psilocybin has been incredibly healing and powerful for me in conjunction with somatic work and the breath work.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I really do believe it's been a major part of why I've been able to create so many new pathways and new ways of being.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't currently offer much around microdosing, but there are a lot of resources out there, and I hope to do an episode on it sometime in the near future.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: So keep an eye out for that.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, do your own research.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's an incredible documentary on Netflix called To Change Your Mind that goes really deep into the science, into people's lived experience of creating new pathways.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: So that might be a great series to check out as we move through Gemini season.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And one more thing, awe and wonder can create neuroplasticity in the same way that psychedelics can.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: So having new experiences, going to new places, whether it be in nature, in the world, that really give you that sense of wow, that sense of awe and wonder.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: This can also be really helpful and supportive for this process as well.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: I had this memory as I was getting ready for this episode come through.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: There was this museum, museum of wonder.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: My dad and I went to, I think maybe two years ago now in San Diego.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: And they had these really interesting art installations, and we were just kind of moving through the whole experience, just like, wow, wow, look at this.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that there are a lot of places like that throughout the world.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe for you it's a place in nature that really brings you there, or maybe there's a really cool and unique experience in your town that you can check out as well.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: But whatever you choose to explore, know that that sense of awe and wonder can support new pathway creation in your brain as well, which pairs perfectly with Gemini season.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I invite you over these next several weeks to get out there, to explore new ideas, to try new things, to open up to new ways of thinking and new ways of being.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to be exploring this deeply over the next several weeks as we move through Gemini season.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: So stay connected with us, stay connected with the episodes, and I trust that you'll stay in connection with this energy of Gemini.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Until then, I look forward to connecting with you in the next episode.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.