The SHN #97: Unwinding and Awakening

Friday, March 28th, 2025. Greetings from Phu Quoc, Vietnam! A quick personal story as I finally can use my left hand for typing as of today.

Two weeks ago, I woke up to an intense sensation—not just mild tingling, but my entire left leg feeling like it was waking up from a deep sleep. I had no idea this was the beginning of one of the most transformative experiences of my life.

In the days that followed, my body went through a mysterious process of release and reorganization. What started in my left leg quickly spread throughout my entire left side. I couldn’t lift my knee or toes, grip with my left hand, and my attempts to walk led to three rolled ankles. My left arm felt awkward and uncoordinated, like a baby giraffe learning to move, while my right side became hypersensitive—simple touch felt like intense heat, and light pressure caused sharp pain.

This shift didn’t come out of nowhere. It followed a deep emotional release—a wave of dry heaving and a cathartic 15-minute crying session that felt like I was shedding years of stored emotions. The tension had been locked in my right lower abdomen for as long as I could remember, and suddenly, it was gone.

I’ve come to realize that my body has been holding onto compensatory patterns for decades, protective mechanisms formed in response to past experiences and emotional suppression. My right side had been tense and hypervigilant, while my left side had essentially checked out, becoming neurologically inhibited and disconnected.

For years, I struggled with asymmetrical issues. Despite countless physical therapies and exercises, I could never quite balance things out. The strange part? I always focused on my right side, unaware that my left side had been disengaged, just being dragged along. It had felt normal to me—I didn’t know what I wasn’t feeling. Now, I understand that parts of me had literally gone offline as a survival strategy.

The biofield tuning, Buteyko style breathwork, and shadow/inner work I have been exploring seemed to trigger a major release. Once that emotional energy was freed, my nervous system began a complete recalibration. This is now a process of rebuilding my body in a way that feels more whole and connected.

The past two weeks have been both challenging and fascinating. I’m relearning how to walk as my nervous system rewires itself from the ground up. Progress is slow but steady, about 5% improvement each day.

The sensations are unlike anything I’ve experienced. My fingers feel hyper-aware, as though they’re experiencing touch for the first time. My left shoulder has similar awakening sensations. Most recently, I’ve felt increased awareness in my big toe and inner heel, key points for stability that I hadn’t been fully using before.

Every night, for hours, I feel intense energy moving through my body, as if my nervous system is actively rebuilding itself while I sleep. It’s not painful, but it’s undeniable. Waves of sensation, buzzing, and internal movement that seem to be reestablishing lost connections. It feels like my body is working overtime in the background, reorganizing itself on a level beyond my conscious control.

Walking is still difficult, and I get exhausted after short distances. But these small improvements signal that my nervous system is methodically rebuilding connections that were previously dormant or compensating in unhealthy ways.

This process resembles what somatic and energy healing practitioners call a nervous system reset or neurological reorganization. It’s as if my body finally feels safe enough to drop the compensatory patterns it has held for decades. The temporary weakness isn’t new—it’s revealing what was always there, masked by years of compensation.

The two-sided nature of my symptoms is significant. While my left side is regaining function after years of inhibition, my right side is adjusting to releasing its chronic hypervigilance. This asymmetrical healing is actually a move toward greater balance and integration.

The changes go beyond movement. I’ve noticed shifts in basic functions like digestion and urination, reminders that these systems share neural pathways with our limbs and core. Even my dreams have become more vivid and memorable as this process unfolds.

Based on the natural progression of neurological reorganization, I anticipate this journey will unfold over months rather than days.

I don’t need to run marathons—I just want to walk on the beach or to the grocery store without struggle. But I recognize this isn’t just a race back to the gym. It’s about reinhabiting my body in a completely new way.

Despite the challenges, I feel immense gratitude for this experience. My body, mind, and spirit have finally allowed me to release old emotions and patterns, trusting that it’s safe to move forward without them. I have no idea how long I’ve carried these patterns—they feel ancient—but I’m excited to see how this continues to unfold.

I expect changes not just in physical function but in all aspects of my being. As my left side (right brain) awakens, I anticipate stronger intuition, enhanced creativity, improved emotional processing, and a more holistic perception of the world. The increased dream recall I’m experiencing is likely just the beginning of how this integration will manifest.

As I slowly regain strength, I can already feel a new aliveness in my left side that wasn’t there before. New movement patterns are emerging, revealing themselves slowly. This process of unwinding and awakening has only just begun, and I’m approaching it with curiosity, patience, and respect for my body’s innate wisdom.

My body is showing me the way, and I’m listening.

𝕏 Thread of the Week

🔎 Research Corner

✈️ Should You Consider Medical Travel?: In this interview, host Chris Hutchins interviews Joseph Woodman, author of a book on medical travel, to explore its growing popularity as a cost-effective healthcare option. Woodman debunks myths, asserting that healthcare quality overseas often matches or exceeds that in the U.S., with savings of 40-65% on procedures like dental work, orthopedics, and IVF. He attributes lower costs abroad to reduced living expenses, cheaper medical equipment, and efficient hospital operations. Key destinations include Mexico, Costa Rica, and Thailand, with top clinics offering English-speaking staff and advanced facilities.

Woodman advises against treatments requiring extensive follow-ups, like cancer care, and warns about experimental procedures like stem cell therapy. He emphasizes researching Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited facilities and board-certified doctors, using reviews and medical travel agencies for guidance. Planning 4-6 months ahead optimizes costs, though wait times abroad are shorter than in the U.S. Common pitfalls include cost-shopping, skimping on lodging, and ignoring instincts about a facility.

☀️ Intense Light Protects the Heart: Research from the University of Colorado reveals that intense light exposure activates the PER2 gene, providing significant cardiovascular protection. Scientists found that mice exposed to intense light for one week showed dramatically reduced cardiac damage following heart attacks, while human subjects receiving 10,000 LUX for 30 minutes daily exhibited increased PER2 levels and decreased triglycerides. This mechanism explains why heart attacks increase during darker winter months even in sunny states. The preventative therapy—30 minutes of morning sunlight daily could strengthen blood vessels and offer natural heart protection without medication.

🦵🏼 How Long Does a Hip Replacement Last?: This systematic review and meta-analysis of case series and national registry reports with more than 15 years of follow-up, examines the longevity of total hip replacements (THR). The study indicates that approximately 58% of patients can expect their hip replacement to last 25 years. However, the remaining 42% may experience failure due to factors such as loosening, dislocation, infection, or fractures.

🔗 One Hitters

☀️ High school light seminar with Dr. Alexis Cowan (Video)

🐄 Eat more shanks, less steaks— cheaper and more collagen (Post)

🎙️ How ultra-processed food took over our diets with Michael Pollan (Podcast)

💬 "Freedom is the only thing that can bring a man something real and significant." -Kapil Gupta (Tweet)

🔗 If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, send them this link!

📰 To read all past newsletters, go here.