Sleep well. Drink water. Eat right. Socialize. Limit substance use. See the sun. Make things. Rinse. Repeat.

They all sound almost too simple, and yet each one of these things is vital to keep us running like a well-oiled machine. And although I don't typically love to compare human bodies to machines because that comes with a slew of issues, in this instance, the metaphor works pretty darn well: if you don't maintain your car or appliances, what happens? They rust. They malfunction.

The same thing is happening to our nervous system, and in turn, our pelvic floor. Our nervous system is like a sensor that helps us respond to our environments by sending signals to the different systems within our body. If it senses a threat or a friend, it responds accordingly. 

Unfortunately, our nervous system functionality can get a little funky. While we might need some rewiring, the easiest and first thing we should do is make sure we're supporting it by getting enough sleep, drinking water, eating well, spending time in community, limiting substance use, and creating things that bring us joy. It's like getting an oil change-- if you have more extensive work done to your car, but you don't get a regular oil change, all that other stuff is only going to take you so far. If you've been approaching vaginismus with only physical exercise and dilating, and you've hit a wall, this could be why.

So in honor of our nervous system, let's get a proverbial oil change this January:

Take a few moments to review how you're doing in each one of these areas on a scale from 1-10. If you notice some room for improvement, focus on making changes in just one area during this month and see what happens. Track any observations in a journal.

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