03/15/2026
I love this quote from Matt Bush: âRegulate before you activate.â
This concept is at the root of applied neurology, and it was a missing link in my own healing journey with back pain.
Letâs break it down.
If your brain is stuck in survival mode (fight, flight, or freeze) your system isnât in a state thatâs receptive to change. Instead, the brain often interprets new input as a potential threat and pumps the brakes.
This is something I see often with clients. Either everything we test creates threat or they may feel great during a session⌠but the results donât stick afterward.
Why?
Because the nervous system wasnât ready to integrate the change yet.
So we start with regulation.
1. Create safety in the body
We use techniques that support rest, safety, and nervous system balance before asking the body to do more.
2. Check your fuel
Fuel includes hydration, oxygen, and nutrition.
And also fluid flow to and from tissues.
If the brain senses that fuel is low, it shifts into conservation mode and will not prioritize higher-level training.
This is often one of the first places I look with clients.
3. Train the senses
Next we work with sensory input - things like vision drills, balance work, or other nervous system exercises to improve how the brain maps the body and environment.
4. Integrate into movement
Then we layer it into movement. I love coordination drills and full-body patterns so the nervous system can load and integrate the new input in a functional way.
Sometimes thatâs as simple as going for a walk after doing good brain work.
Or using these drills as your warm-up before a workout, a busy mom day, or an important meeting.
When you understand the bodyâs priorities, and where you need to enter the movement continuum, things stick better and progress happens faster.
If youâre curious how training the brain might be the missing link in your pain, posture, or performance journeyâŚ
⨠Comment EASE and Iâll send you the link to save your spot for my free class next Sunday (3/22) where I break this down further.