Rewire Your Nervous System with Movement, Not Mindset
Rewire Your Nervous System with Movement, Not Mindset
Source: Youtube - Making Moves Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dB0aToS98Q
You’ve been told to think positive, to visualize, to journal, to manifest. But your biology doesn’t respond to thoughts. It responds to motion.
Everyone wants to change something about their life. Whether it’s their body, their habits, their career, their relationships. But almost nobody is ready to face and realize the truth, which is that nothing in life changes until you actually move. You can read every book. You can meditate for hours on end. You can repeat your affirmations until you are blue in the face. But if your body stays still, your life is going to stay the same. And that’s how I see movement.
Movement is not about fitness. It’s not about looking a certain way. It’s not about strength or reps or numbers or stretching. It’s not even about playing a sport.
Movement is the first and most important domino in your life. Because when you move, you wake up the nervous system. And what does that mean? The nervous system is the command center for everything else within your body. Your emotions, your focus, your intellect, your energy, your confidence, your self-belief. And here’s what I mean by that. Your nervous system is like the operating system on your phone. If the operating system is outdated, glitchy, running in the background constantly, it doesn’t matter how many apps you download, nothing runs properly. Your life is the same way. You can try to install new habits, new beliefs, new routines. But if your nervous system, your biological operating system is stuck in survival mode, disregulated, frozen, then none of this is going to stick. Movement is what updates the operating system. It reboots the system. It gives you access to the hardware that you have always had but never knew how to actually use.
So the question isn’t how do I fix my life? The real question is how do I start moving today in a way that facilitates and reprograms everything else within me? Now I know what some of you might be thinking because I get it all the time. How can movement fix my finances? How can movement fix my relationships? How can it fix the hardship, the mindset, and the constant negotiations in my head?
Well, it doesn’t. Not directly. Because movement, like anything else, isn’t in life, is not a shortcut. It’s not a magic pill. It’s not an overnight transformation. Movement is a complete system reboot, a full remodeling of who you are as a human being. What you accept, what you tolerate, what you believe about yourself and the world around you.
And here is the thing that most people miss. Movement changes the state of your nervous system and that is the most crucial system that you have because we know it regulates everything. Every decision you make, every emotional reaction, every habit that you build, even every breath you take, every ounce of energy that you spend and every way that you show up in the world. Whenever you fight, flee, freeze, or stay calm under pressure, that is your nervous system deciding.
So, let me give you a concrete example of what this looks like. You wake up feeling anxious. Your chest is tight. Your thoughts are racing. You tell yourself to calm down, to think positive, to just relax. Does it actually work? Rarely, because anxiety isn’t happening in your mind, it is happening in your body. Your nervous system is stuck in threat mode. It is sending signals that say danger, danger, danger. And no amount of positive thinking overrides that biological alarm. But I’ll tell you what does work. You get on the floor. You start moving. You start crawling. Left hand, right hand, right knee, left knee. Your breath starts to regulate itself. Your heart rate starts to drop. Within 2 minutes, your body gets the message, we’re not under threat. We are moving. We are capable. We are actually safe. And that’s not psychology. That’s biology. When you move, you reprogram this. You teach your body adaptability. You build resilience. You cultivate robustness. And you become unshakable, unbreakable. You build the capacity to handle stress, to face it, and not flee from it. You also build awareness, self-connection, and the kind of energy that cannot be found in caffeine, in affirmations, or in quick fixes. You unlock power that your body has been suppressing for years, and you let it breathe again.
So, here’s another way that you can think about it. Your nervous system is like a thermostat. Most people’s thermostats are set to threat mode. Every little stressor in life, the traffic, the email, the difficult conversation triggers this alarm. And once the alarm goes off, everything shuts down. Creativity gone, problem solving gone, patience gone. You are just in survival mode and you’re trying to get through the day just to survive. But movement recalibrates that thermostat. It teaches your nervous system that stress is manageable, that discomfort is only temporary, that you can handle hard things. And every time you hold a challenging position, you push through fatigue, you try something that scares you, you are training your nervous system to stay regulated under pressure, to not panic, to not shut down, to adapt. And that is what changes you permanently. Not just in the gym, not just in the way that you look, not just in how strong or healthy you feel, but in the way that you exist. Because you are designed to move in every way, on every plane, against resistance under pressure all the time. You were built to challenge, to adapt, to evolve. And when you do, that’s when you start responding instead of reacting, acting instead of waiting, moving forward instead of freezing, trusting instead of fearing. That is why movement is the catalyst.
Let’s dive into this a little deeper because this isn’t woowoo. This is hard science. Every time that you move physically, whether that’s crawling, hanging, squatting, twisting, jumping, sprinting, wrestling, dancing, everything that I ever talk about, you activate the preffrontal cortex and the cerebellum. Now, these regions of your brain govern your coordination, your focus, and your decision- making. That means movement doesn’t just train your body. It completely rewires your brain. It builds new neural pathways. That’s why skill training and skill development is so crucial to have within your practice.
Let me break this down with a real example. You are learning to handstand. At first, you can’t even kick up. You’re clumsy. You’re uncoordinated. You’re afraid of falling, but you keep practicing and slowly your brain starts to map the movement together. It learns how to engage your shoulders. It learns how to stabilize your core. It learns how to find balance and equilibrium. So, you’re not just building strength, you are building intelligence in your body. And here’s what’s incredible. That same neuroplasticity, that same ability to learn, adapt, and build new pathways transfers to everything else in your life. Learning a new skill at work, your brain already knows how to do hard things. Facing a difficult conversation? Well, your body already knows how to stay calm under pressure. Starting a new project? You already have proof that you can be bad at something and get better at it. Movement strengthens the communication between body and mind. It allows you to control your body through your mind, to not give up, to handle stress, to push through stress. It sharpens your ability to plan, to think, and to adapt, which means that you become a sharper, more aware, more capable, and resilient human being.
Now let’s talk about the chemistry. When you move, your body releases BDNF which is known as brain derived neutropic factor. Think of this as a fertilizer for your brain. It improves learning, memory, creativity, awareness, and resilience to stress. You boost dopamine, which is your drive to take action. You boost serotonin, which is your balance and your stability. You awaken endorphins, which are your inner pharmacy of energy, calm, and zest for life. But here’s what most people don’t realize. These aren’t just feel-good chemicals. They are biological foundations of confidence, motivation, and resilience. Think about it like this. Dopamine is your do it chemical. Low dopamine, well, you can’t start anything. You procrastinate. You lack drive. But when you move, especially when you do something challenging, dopamine floods your system. Suddenly, taking action doesn’t feel hard anymore. It feels natural. Serotonin is your I’m okay chemical. If you have low serotonin, you feel anxious, unstable, and like something is always wrong. But movement, consistent daily movement, regulates serotonin. So then you feel more grounded, more stable, more at peace. Endorphins are your I can handle this chemicals. They are literally your body’s painkillers. They are what allow you to push through discomfort to keep going when things get hard. And the more that you move, the more access that you have to them. So when people say that movement changes everything, it’s not just a metaphor. It’s actually biochemistry. It’s neuroplasticity in real time. The body moves, the brain adapts, the identity evolves.
Because at the end of the day, life is movement. And you, as a human being, must evolve alongside it through movement. And here’s the beautiful part. You don’t have to believe in any of this for it to work. Biology doesn’t care about your doubts, your moods, or your excuses. The only thing it does is respond to action.
Now, let’s look at the people who thrive. The people who truly thrive in life. Not the ones who appear successful on the surface, but the ones who radiate energy. The ones who ooze confidence, presence, direction, focus, awareness, resilience. You know the people I’m talking about. These people are constantly in motion. They train, they walk, they surf, they ride their bike, they dance, they play, they explore. These people are always working on ways to improve their quality of life physically and mentally. They express themselves through movement one way or another. They’re not chasing perfection. They’re not chasing goals for vanity. They are chasing connection both to themselves and to the world around them. And here’s what I have noticed. These people don’t wait for motivation. They don’t wait to feel like it. They move first and everything else follows after that. Because movement gives them momentum. Movement creates the clarity that they need. Clarity in turn creates action. Action creates progress and that is the chain of reaction.
So let me give you some practical examples of this chain reaction. You’re stuck on a problem at work. You’ve been staring at your screen for an hour and nothing is coming to you. You’re frustrated, tired, mentally blocked. What do most people do in this situation? They keep staring. They keep forcing it. They keep banging their head against the wall. What do the movers do? Well, they get up. They walk. They move their body and within minutes the answers come. Not because they tried harder to think, but because they got out of their head and into their body. Movement clears the mental fog. It gives your brain space to process, to connect the dots, to see solutions that you couldn’t see when you were stuck.
Here’s another one. You’re feeling anxious about a difficult conversation that you need to have with someone. And you’re rehearsing this over and over in your head, playing out every worst case scenario. What do most people do? They keep thinking about it. They keep spiraling. What do movers do? They go out and they train. They move. They get their body into a regulated state. And then when they have that conversation, they’re calm. They’re cool. They’re collected. They’re present. They’re clear. Not because they are naturally calm people, but because they have regulated their nervous system first.
And honestly, you start to see life differently. You stop overanalyzing. You stop hesitating. You stop fearing. You stop questioning everything. You don’t bargain with yourself anymore about whether you feel like it or not. Movement kills indecision. Movement kills fear. Movement kills the paralysis that keeps most people stuck in theory. And when you move, you remember what it feels like to be alive, to be present, to be aware, to be grateful, to be connected, not lost in the doom scroll, not overthinking, not drifting, but actually living. Living and thriving. That’s what makes movers dangerous because they are conscious. They are awake. They are fully here.
And you know the thing that nobody actually talks about, you don’t need to become an athlete. You don’t need to train for hours on end. You don’t need to be good at anything. You just need to move your body. Move it every single day. Even if it’s just 5 minutes on the floor, but you need to learn how to move in a way that your body is craving for. Because the movement itself is the signal. The signal to your nervous system that says we’re not stuck. We’re not broken. We’re not afraid. We are capable. We are alive. And once that signal gets through, everything else starts to shift.
So no, movement won’t magically fix your career, your relationships, your past, or your pain. But it will give you that one thing that it can. A body and a mind that is capable of change, capable of handling stress, capable of pushing through life, capable of failing 10 times and standing up an 11th time. And not just standing, but coming back stronger.
Every transformation begins with motion. The body moves, the nervous system adapts, the mind follows, and life transforms. But none of that happens by thinking about it. You have to move physically. You have to train your body to be strong, resilient, aware, and alive. You cannot think your way into a new identity. You have to move your way into one. You really have to embody it. Live the philosophy that you claim to believe in. Show up as the person that you say you want to be. When you look in the mirror, you should feel peace because the person staring back has kept their word. They showed up. They did the work. No matter how they felt.
So, here’s exactly what I want you to do. Step one, pick your non-negotiable. One movement every single day, no matter what it is. Maybe it’s 5 minutes on the floor when you wake up. Maybe it’s 5 minutes of squatting. Maybe it’s 5 minutes of hanging from a pull-up bar every time that you walk past it. It could even be a 10-minute walk after lunch. Just pick one thing. Make it so easy that you can’t say no. Step two, track it. Not for motivation, not to judge yourself, but to build proof. Proof that you are somebody who keeps their word. Proof that you show up no matter what goes on in life. Proof that you are capable. Put an X on a calendar every day that you do it. And watch the chain build. That visual proof will rewire your identity faster than any affirmation ever could. Step three, add complexity only after consistency. Don’t try to do everything at once. Don’t jump into a complicated training program or a quick 30-day shred. Don’t overhaul your entire life. Just do your one thing every day. Every day for 30 days. Once that’s automatic, once it’s part of who you are, then you can add more. Then you can go deeper. Then you can start to explore. But not before. Because consistency builds a foundation. And without a foundation, nothing is going to stick.
If you’re stuck, move. If you are tired, move. If you’re lost in life, move. If you’re afraid, move. Don’t buy another book. Don’t wait for motivation. Don’t wait for the perfect time. Don’t look for permission. Just move. Because nothing changes until you do. Movement isn’t just something you do. Movement is who you are. It is the language of evolution. It is the bridge between potential and reality. And when you master that language, there is nothing in this world that you cannot change. So start small. Stand up right now. Roll your shoulders. Take a deep breath. Pop down into a squat. Think about how your body feels. Then go outside. Take a walk. Feel the air hit your skin. That’s the first domino. Everything else comes after. So here’s your challenge. Don’t finish this episode and stay seated. When you start to move, you start to move your life. Because the moment that you do, you begin to evolve. And that, ladies and gents, is where everything always begins.