Many people these days have discovered the benefits of doing a brain retraining program such as Annie Hopper’s Dynamic Neural Retraining System™ (DNRS™) or the Gupta Brain Retraining™ Program. I’ve discovered a winning equation for maximizing your ability to retrain your limbic system and optimize the plasticity of your brain:

(Neuro Proteins and Fats + Somatic Release Therapy) – Primary Environmental Triggers = Neuroplasticity Super Hero Powers

You can increase your chances of experiencing brain retraining success by giving special attention to these areas of your life:

1) Eat adequate levels of healthy fats and proteins – the brain needs these nutritional building blocks to function optimally!

A Planet Thrive member reported 80% recovery from severe electromagnetic sensitivity to smart meters, WiFi and cell phones from diet alone – after eating grassfed bone broth with a scoop of pork lard in every bowl, 4-6x day for one month. The critical factor was the pork lard since they had already been eating bone broth regularly with no improvements. Any healthy animal lard would be effective, it does not have to be pork – what combination works best for you may look completely different than that. The important message is that optimal brain health is dependent on having adequate levels of healthy fats and protein.

If your diet is missing this vital component, it may reduce your level of neuroplasticity and impede your ability to retrain your brain. Whether you are eating an animal or plant based diet, it is critical that you eat adequate amounts of healthy fats and protein in order to optimize your brain retraining practice.

It’s time to drop down into your body, tune in, and let your intuition and gut-heart-brain connection tell you what proteins and fats increase your feelings of well-being. To start listening more closely to your body’s wisdom, close your eyes and imagine eating a specific food. Visualize yourself chewing and tasting the item, and pay attention to how your digestive system feels as the food travels down your intestines. Do you feel satiated, enlivened, comforted? Or nauseous, hypoglycemic and ungrounded? Listen to those messages. Let your body tell you what amounts of protein and fat you need, as well (in other words, if your body does not want to eat more than a certain amount of fat, don’t). Of course, you should also avoid any foods that you are reactive to.

HEALTHY PROTEINS

For animal protein eaters, healthy protein choices include: grassfed/wild/pastured + organic beef, bison, venison, elk,  lamb, chicken, turkey, duck, eggs (chicken, duck, wild salmon roe), shrimp, prawns, wild salmon, sardines, anchovies, collagen protein peptides + powder, raw cow + goat cheese, 24 hour yogurt, whey, butter, ghee. When sourcing fish, make sure you buy wild (not farmed) from reputable companies that harvest sustainably in unpolluted waters and test their fish regularly for PCBs, heavy metals like mercury, and radiation. It’s important to find animal proteins that are grassfed and grass finished – not animals that are pastured for most of the year but fattened up on grains before slaughter. Ask your butcher if you are unsure.

For vegans and vegetarians, healthy protein choices include organic seeds (hemp, chia, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin), organic soaked + dehydrated nuts (almond, walnuts, Brazil, pine, pecan), spirulina.

HEALTHY FATS

The primary component of healthy brain cells, omega-3 fatty acids are known as the “good fats,” and are essential for proper brain development and brain function. In nature, the best sources of omega-3 are fish oil (found in fish like salmon, sardines, and anchovies), flax oil, and the leafy vegetable purslane. Avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, MCT oil and vegetable oils (like walnut, avocado, almond, olive) also contain healthy fats. When sourcing fish oils, make sure you buy wild (not farmed) from reputable companies that harvest sustainably in unpolluted waters and test their fish regularly for PCBs, heavy metals like mercury, and radiation.

You may have heard of the Bulletproof® Coffee movement started by Dave Asprey. He has popularized the practice of blending grassfed butter and medium chain triglycerides (MCT) oil from coconut and palm oils into one’s morning coffee. He claims drinking a cup of this coffee alone without any other food in the morning will upgrade your brain function, enhancing focus and mental clarity for hours. It’s a truly delicious drink and you can use decaffeinated coffee, cacao tea, or other bases with the butter and MCT oil to get a similar effect.

2) Get regular sessions with a somatic release therapist, and practice self-care at home.

WHY? Somatic release therapy can help pull the body out of fight or flight mode! Myofascial release therapy has been shown to stimulate the production of Interleukin 8 which is one of our body’s natural anti-inflammatory cytokines. But maybe more importantly, it helps us to release the baggage we’ve been carrying around far too long. Most of us with chronic illness have experienced some level of trauma in our past, whether in our lives before illness or from the illness itself. That trauma can get stored deep in our tissues, causing energetic blocks and contributing to dis-ease.

It is also common for us to disassociate from our bodies when we experience trauma – our “feeling” body checks out during the stressful situation, so we are not fully present to experience it. This is a completely normal and expected coping mechanism that the body does to survive. But this can prevent full healing from occurring years after the trauma is over. What somatic release therapy does is bring our connective tissue back to the moment of trauma, so we can re-experience it (on a somatic level) in a safe space, and be fully present in our bodies so we can complete the experience and release the trapped trauma from our fascia.

In the wild, when animals encounter stressful situations – for example, if a gazelle is stalked by a lion – they will lay down, tremble and shake afterwards to release the excess adrenaline from the chase. Immediately afterwards, they will be fine, as if nothing had happened. One function of these somato-release therapies is to allow our bodies to access that wild state, and vibrate, tremble, jerk, and shake out stored energy that has never been released after trauma. Afterwards, we may feel free and unencumbered. This does not happen on a conscious level, but is the body reorganizing itself in its inherent wisdom.

There are many variations of somatic release therapies. My current personal favorite is the John F. Barnes method of Myofascial Release. I happen to live in Sedona where John Barnes has a world-renowned center and I was able to receive sessions with him and the other therapists there. John has trained thousands of therapists around the world, check his directory and also do a Google search to find therapists near you. As with any modality, you may need to try several different practitioners to find the best fit for your situation. Some physical therapists who offer MFR may be able to bill Medicare or your insurance for you.

Other types of somatic release therapies include: Somatic Experiencing Therapy, SomatoEmotional Release, Tension + Trauma Release Exercise (TRE) and there are many versions of myofascial therapy as well.

3) Remove any major environmental triggers that may be causing brain inflammation.

Toxic mold, a serious infection, a high electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure and other environmental factors can be causing inflammation in our brains which can greatly impact our ability to retrain our brain. It’s always best to remove our major environmental triggers from our living and/or work space (wherever we spend the greatest amount of time) before starting a brain retraining program, to allow our brain to be as “plastic” as possible. It’s certainly not necessary, but I can attest through my own experience how much easier it was to retrain my brain once I reduced my EMF exposure, after years of trying brain retraining with very slow and limited results (read my story here).

(Neuro Proteins and Fats + Somatic Release Therapy) – Primary Environmental Triggers=Brain Retraining Turbo Boost

This simple equation should give you enhanced brain retraining results and potentially shorten your intensive practice time over the long haul. However, don’t despair or delay brain retraining if you are unable to support any part(s) of the equation. You will still be able to transform your health and life with dedication and persistence!