As Above, So Below

The same laws that keep galaxies in orbit keep your cells in harmony.


Gravity holds planets; attention holds presence. Magnetism aligns stars; emotion aligns hearts.


Through rhythm, breath, and awareness, we restore resonance between body and cosmos—

microcosm and macrocosm reflecting one another

Two Great Divisions

Central Nervous System (CNS)

  • Brain and spinal cord.

  • Integrates incoming information and generates outgoing commands.
    Think of it as the processing core.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

  • All the nerves that branch out from the CNS to the rest of the body.

  • It carries messages both ways: sensory data in, motor commands out.

    This is the communication network.

The Autonomic Trifecta

The autonomic system has two main “gears,” plus a subtle brake.

  1. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS)

    • Mobilizes energy: increases heart rate, dilates pupils, directs blood to muscles.

    • Motto: do something now.

  2. Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS/Vagus)

    • Restores energy: slows heart rate, stimulates digestion, promotes repair.

    • Motto: you’re safe; restore balance.

  3. Enteric nervous system (ENS)

    • The “second brain” in the gut, containing millions of neurons.

    • Regulates digestion and communicates constantly with the vagus nerve.

These branches act like accelerators, brakes, and suspension in a car: constant adjustment for stability.

The Polyvagal Refinement

Stephen Porges showed that the parasympathetic system isn’t just one wire—it’s hierarchical.

  • Ventral vagal complex (newest): social engagement, facial expression, calm connection.

  • Sympathetic system (middle layer): fight or flight.

  • Dorsal vagal complex (oldest): immobilization, shutdown, freeze.
    A healthy system moves flexibly among them. Trauma or chronic stress locks it into one gear.

Peripheral Branches

Somatic system → voluntary control.

  • Sends motor signals to skeletal muscles.

  • Carries sensory data (touch, pressure, proprioception) back to the brain.

Autonomic system → involuntary regulation.

  • Governs organs, glands, heartbeat, and digestion.

  • Works mostly below conscious awareness.

    This is where polyvagal theory lives.

Inside the Brain – The Command Centers

Brainstem: survival regulation—breathing, heart rate, arousal.
Cerebellum: timing and coordination—your “choreographer.”
Limbic system: emotion and memory (amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus).
Cortex: higher prediction, reasoning, imagination.

Within the cortex:

  • Prefrontal cortex (PFC): planning, inhibition, social behavior.

  • Insula: interoception—how you feel your internal body state.

  • Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC): conflict monitoring, empathy.

These regions are in perpetual conversation through prediction loops—each sending guesses and corrections to the others.

How It All Works Together

  1. Sensation: receptors send data from body and environment.

  2. Prediction: cortex forecasts what that data should be.

  3. Comparison: brainstem and limbic circuits register the difference.

  4. Adjustment: autonomic system changes tone, muscle tension, hormone release.

  5. Learning: networks update priors—body and brain agree on a new normal.

Every heartbeat, breath, and muscle twitch participates in this loop.