​Are You Consciously Practicing Neuroentrainment?

Happy New Year to you! I’d like to invite you to 2022. Let’s make it a conscious year that nourishes mind, body, soul and emotions as we explore and use all Ten of the Enchanted Keys on our keyring. Mindfulness, Altered Perceptions, Journaling, Sensory Experiences, Reduced Clutter, Humor, Movement, Art, Nature, and Meditation. (to review the keys or learn more go to the tab Ten Keys.)

To kick off the year I want to touch on the idea of entrainment. In the context of human behavior and physiology, “entrainment refers to the adaptive function by which we voluntarily or involuntarily synchronize our brains and bodies to the environment.” When the brain and behavior are in sync, it’s often referred to as neuroentrainment.

You’ve likely experienced it when you’ve moved to a place with a contrasting weather than from where you moved. You acclimated yourself to the climate. What you defined as very hot or cold before, became "normal." You also might have been aware of entraining to the lively music in the stores (especially at the holiday season, when they want to rush you along, have you spend money, and get you out!) Hearing lively music has you moving to the beat. You’ll notice it, too, when you are taking a walk with someone and you begin to be in sync with each other’s steps. Female roommates begin to menstruate on the same cycles.

Another way that I’ve been observing, however, is that if people are raging in traffic, while grocery shopping, or elsewhere in lines, other people, either consciously or unconsciously, begin aligning themselves with those behaviors! Let’s mindfully choose to be more Zen and chill than impatient and aggressive. There’s a lot of the latter out there right now and it's easy to get caught up in it. You set the tone and the rhythm and let other people synchronize and entrain to you.

Stay balanced and enchanted!