I recently heard an interview with Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., cell biologist and pioneer in mind body medicine, who spoke about the art of resiliency. She defined resiliency as not only the ability to deal with life’s twists and turns, but the ability to come out of them with a deeper understanding of who you are. In other words, resiliency is the gentle adaptation of becoming a better version of yourself.
The resilience center of the brain is located in the prefrontal cortex. This is the area of the brain that is termed, “the seat of executive functions,” or the area responsible for how we interact with the outside world. It is where we set goals and figure out how to make them happen. The prefrontal cortex also receives messages from other parts of the brain having to do with emotions – namely fear and anxiety. It has cells that secrete a neuropeptide which inhibits fear and calms us down. Dr. Borysenko referred to this as the “calmer downer circut.” There is an astounding 30 times more activity in the prefrontal cortex of resilient people.
So how do we get some of that?
There are techniques we can use to stimulate activity in the prefrontal cortex. These include meditation, affirmations, breathing exercises and physical activity. Exercise stimulates prefrontal cortex activity which calms us down, increases our resiliency and our ability to deal with life’s twists and turns.
So it really is the joy of active living.
- Goal #1: Go for a walk.
- Goal #2: Repeat goal #1.
- Goal #3: Grab a friend.
- Goal #4: Repeat goals #1-3 with friend.
- Goal #5: Feel the joy.
Make the world a better place.