Why Your Feet Are Your Brain Touching the Ground : Neural Grounding: How to Stop Living in "Emergency Mode"

Master Shahid Khan explains that the feet and brain are one; the stretching begins at the feet and goes all the way up to the brain to relax the nerves.

The Anatomy of Grounding

Your feet are not just for walking; they are the primary sensor pads of your brain. In the Yogveda methodology, the first week of practice is dedicated entirely to re-establishing this critical connection. Structurally, your body is a map of your brain. The right side of your brain should rest mechanically on your right foot, and the left side on your left. More importantly, your "back brain"—the cerebellum and brainstem, which control primal safety and posture—must rest securely on your heels. When this alignment is lost, the brain senses instability and triggers a low-level alarm state.

Redefining "Nervous"

We often speak of feeling "nervous" as purely an emotion. But biologically, "nervous" means your nerves are physically tensed. This tension locks your body into the sympathetic nervous system—your "fight or flight" emergency mode. For many, this is the default state. The goal of structural medicine is not to calm the mind by willpower, but to mechanically shift the body back into the parasympathetic system—the "rest and digest" default. You cannot think your way out of a tensed nervous system. You must stretch your way out.

The Protocol: Nerves, Not Muscles

In the first week of class, we do not stretch muscles. We stretch nerves. In forward bends like Uttanasana, the objective is to lengthen the entire posterior chain of the nervous system. The stretch must start in the soles of the feet, travel up through the nerves of the legs, and release the lower back.

The Mechanics of Decompression

To achieve this, you must perform two critical structural actions:

1. Actively take your shoulders away from your back. This creates space for the spine to lengthen.

2. Finally, take your head away from your back. This is the ultimate act of decompression, physically signaling safety to the brainstem.

The Internal Spa

True well-being is not found in a spa. It is found in the biological reality of untangled nerves. When you stretch your nerves, you are performing the ultimate act of self-care: you are manually quieting the brain's alarm system.

Author, Master Shahid Khan

link: Book your mat (or "View timetable")