with Mental Health Therapist, Neil Rasmussen, MS
Immerse yourself in calm, embodied presence, tea, communal circle, and an immersive guided meditation, centering yourself with love, ease, and connection.
Blog
Your fight or flight muscles (part 3) – accessory breathing muscles
What other muscles get activated during the fight or flight response?
In the two previous blog posts, I described how the psoas and masseter muscles can be part of the tension pattern experienced by over-activation of our fight or flight nervous system (sympathetic). Other muscles that are often involved in this pattern are our accessory breathing muscles. These are muscles in our neck and chest that are used when we are not breathing diaphragmatically with rib cage expansion. It is a normal response to engage these muscles when we need to assist our breathing (like when exercising vigorously) but is not optimal for relaxed breathing. This is often referred to chest breathing as the rib cage elevates instead of expanding.
The chronic overuse of these neck and chest muscles leads to fatigue, tension headaches, neck pain, jaw tension and upper back pain. By breathing in this way, you are also stimulating your flight or fight nervous system in an ongoing feedback loop. It is important to have a breathing assessment if you have any of these symptoms.
Breath re-patterning is an important part of a holistic approach.
At Halcyon House, both Jennifer and I will assess your breathing pattern as part of our treatment assessment. We will recommend breathing practices that will assist you in regaining optimal and efficient breathing.
Seeking energy and peace in nature
Hello Beautiful Souls, I hope that you are having an amazing day. I have been thinking recently about how I spend my own currency—specifically, how I spend my time and where I focus my attention. With the world feeling so heavy, I have found that I need to spend more time in nature, listening to the creeks, enjoying the waves of Lake Superior, and feeling the sun.
Being in nature energizes me, brings me peace, and raises my vibration by allowing the simple things in life to carry me forward.
In addition, I have been working with my bowls, using their sounds and frequencies to release and unstick what is stuck in my energetic field. There is so much energy in our cosmos universe right now with the current astrology, and I have found the timing is incredibly supportive to work with your own energy. As an Intuitive Sound Bowl Practitioner, this practice has made me realize the importance of being more intentional about the energy we absorb and how we clear our space to maintain emotional and spiritual clarity.
I am also offering personal sound bowl sessions for individuals and small groups at Halcyon House. If you are interested in a session and do not see a time on the calendar that works for you, please call Halcyon House directly to find a time that fits your schedule.
At the end of the day, remember to be kind to yourself, find joy in the simple things, and remain aware of the energy you carry. Take the time to listen from a deeper space to hear what your mind, body, and spirit are calling out for.
I’m looking forward to connecting with you!
Inside the Nervous System Workshops
Understanding Yourself to Better Understand Your Child
Have you ever wondered why one child craves movement while another avoids it? Why some children melt down over seemingly small things, or why certain strategies work on day and not the next?
This interactive set of workshops for parents explores how the nervous system shapes behavior, emotions, learning, and connection. Rather than focusing on “fixing” behaviors, we’ll discuss how the body experiences safety, stress, and regulation – and why every nervous system is unique.
Workshop 1: Meet Your Nervous System
Workshop 2: Supporting Regulation in Everyday Life
Did You Know Your Body Has an Inner Sense? Interoception
One of our eight senses is interoception — the awareness of signals from inside your body, like hunger, thirst, breath, heartbeats, and fullness. This sense helps you care for yourself, regulate emotions, and respond to your body’s needs.
Here in the Northland, June arrives with longer days and warmer sun. Flowers bloom, the grass is green, rivers run freely, and the air carries new scents and sounds. Our bodies notice the change: the warmth of the sun’s rays on our skin, the pull of daylight, the rhythm of our heartbeat during movement. When we intentionally check in with these inner signals — pausing to feel our breath, noticing when we feel tired or energized — we give our nervous system guidance and balance after months of winter stillness.
This June, discover your interoception by turning inward. Your nervous system is adapting to growth and expansion — and mindful attention to your body’s signals can help you move with ease and vitality through the month
Goji berry lemonade – a summertime TCM treat
Looking for a delicious summer refreshment that can also support balancing the systems of your body? Goji berry lemonade:
- Nourishes blood and yin, moistens the lungs, promotes circulation, & clears heat
- Treats a dry cough, dry mouth or throat, blurry or diminishing vision, dizziness, & phlegm
- Recommended for lung dryness, lung yin deficiency, liver or kidney yin deficiency, and qi stagnation
- Drink one cup once a day for a week
Goji berries
- Neutral and sweet
- Affects the Liver, Lungs, & Kidneys
- Tonifies liver and kidney yin, moistens the lungs, improves vision, and brightens the eyes
Lemons
- Cold and sour
- Affects Lungs, Spleen, Kidney, Liver, & Gallbladder
- Lemon is known for its ability to promote qi circulation, regulate blood circulations, clear heat, eliminate toxins, and resolve phlegm
Feng Mi (Honey)
- Neutral and sweet
- Affects Spleen, Stomach, Large Intestine, and Lung
- Tonifies the middle burner and lung, moistens lungs to relieve cough, moistens intestines to smooth stool, relieves spasms, and reduces pain
Ingredients
Makes 1 pitcher (8 servings)
- 1/2 cup Goji berries
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately 6-8 lemons)
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 TBSP honey or sugar
Directions
- Soak Goji berries in 1 cup cold water for 20 minutes, until soft
- Blend Goji berries in a mixer with soaking water & 1 additional cup of water
- Strain out Goji berries to yield about 1.5 cups of Goji berry juice
- Juice fresh lemons to make 1 cup of juice
- Combine the Goji berry juice and the remaining 2 cups of water in a pitcher
- Add sweetener and mix well
Adjust the flavors as desired. Add water if it is too strong
Warnings of over-consumption
- Too much sour can negatively affect the liver and spleen
- Too much sweet can negatively affect the spleen and kidneys
- A warmer version would be better suited for winter seasons to warm internally
Your fight or flight response (part 2)
What other muscles get activated during the fight or flight response?
In April’s newsletter, I discussed how the psoas muscle tightens during a fight or flight response as protection and a way to escape. This month, I’d like to discuss how the masseter and temporalis muscles can also become active during a stress response. Have you ever caught yourself clenching your teeth together during a stressful event. The masseter and temporalis act together to bring the teeth together. This function is for chewing food. However, this action can become a habit in response to stress.
The over-activation of these muscles can cause: Tension headaches, especially at the temples Jaw/TMJ pain Teeth wearing Painful chewing Jaw locking or cracking.
At Halcyon house, we have several treatments that can help with this including:
- Nervous system regulation/awareness: noticing when we are clenching
- Relaxation techniques: learning to relax the body to reduce overall tension
- Breathing practice: optimal breathing promotes a calmer/less reactive nervous system
- Acupuncture: fascial acupuncture points
- Massage: myofascial release of tension patterns in muscles and fascia
- Craniosacral therapy: nervous system regulation
- Neuromuscular re-education: establishing optimal use of these muscles, both contracting and relaxing.
Making my way to Sound Bowls and Finding Sound Meditation
My path to finding sound meditation
How did my journey to finding sound meditation begin? Along the way, through my journey in life, I’ve always been what most people would consider a “woo girl,” where I’ve always had an interest in topics and ways of living that are outside of the mainstream.
I have been interested in conciousness, life after death, spiritual healing, and topics that were not mainstream, period. I have learned, and reflected back, that I learn in life through feeling and listening and observing.
The health crisis that started my journey
I found myself in my own health crisis in 2011 with Ramsay Hunt syndrome. It left me with a lot of severe nerve damage including damage to my brain. It left me with a lot of pain which no pharmaceutical drugs would alleviate.
So I started to look for alternative forms of healing. I found my way to several different forms of sound meditation and sound frequencies. Through trial and error, and by going to others to receive sound baths and sound frequencies, I began to notice how the pain in my head slowly started to diminish. I was able to be put into a state of deep meditative relaxation that was so profound and so healing to me that words cannot articulate it. I still have a hard time putting my experience into words.
Different experiences for everyone
Everybody has such different experiences with sound frequency and vibration. For me, it is like my soul is being pulled to it. It is as if, even though it may not make sense to me on the outside, it is just something that I know makes sense.
The journey has been a long one to come out in the open and play the sound bowls and utilize the frequencies of sound with other people. Eventually I realized that I wanted to practice for others. In playing for groups, I continued my own inner healing. Throughout the next several years, I would have family and friends participate, and I would always receive positive feedback. My hope is that others receive a form of support and healing that supports mind, body, and soul. It is something that wants to come out of me.
I connect very deeply with the energy in the room and with who is around me. I intuitively connect with the bowls and play what needs to be played.
Shifting research this summer
My shiatsu training is on hold this summer. I am hoping to take a week in December for the class. Sometimes life moves you in a different direction and that’s ok. On the brightside, this means I will have more time to enjoy summer and play in my garden.
Digging into Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS)
Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am always researching and trying to understand how the body works (or doesn’t). Lately I have been diving deep into understanding Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD). So many of my clients are presenting with some form of this that I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right type of body work and have a deeper understanding about what is going on physiologically. EDS is complex and has 13 different subtypes making symptoms varied and diagnosis complicated. Anyways, I am still waist deep in data and unpacking all of this information and as always looking for a window of understanding and treatment that is holistic and addresses the root cause(s) of this common malady. I’ll consider this a Part 1 of … on this topic!
A great resource out there is The Ehlers-Donlos Society, https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/
Getting the most out of these long days with extra time outside
As the days get longer, it’s easier and easier to squeeze in extra time outside – more dog walks, biking to the store to pick up the missing ingredient for dinner, visiting friends for back yard hang-outs, skipping rocks, more dog walks, etc. I have been noticing a shift in people’s mood with the uptake in greenery and vitamin D.
- +10 cheeriness
- +5 stopping to admire gardens
- +15 smelling blossoming trees
- +10 walking all over the place
Another thing I have noticed, not only in others but with myself as well, is a tendency to use the overload of activity during summer to distract from the goings-on of the rest of the world. And while we DO need to take mental health breaks, rest, and recharge, we are now seeing our neighbors who we didn’t see all winter, more people stopping to chat in the front yard, and people visiting from around the country. Use this extra time outside to connect with your community.
Seeing more people? Take advantage and build community
Now is a great time to grow our network of real community connections. For some people, it comes naturally; for others, it takes some practice. And there are various levels of effort depending on your comfort level. Here are a few ideas, from small to large:
- Equipment sharing – yard tools, power tools
- Offer to be help neighbors in a pinch (i.e. their car has a flat tire and they need a ride to work)
- Find a local mutual aid organization to donate time or needed items
- Get involved with a cause you care about (from local, national, and international)
