GENETICS, THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO TEA AND SENSITIVITY, AND HOW THEY CAN EXPLAIN WHY ICE BATHS, VIPASSANA AND BREATHWORK MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU
Recently I have been playing with my genetics information and AI. This playing was prompted by a conversation I had with the tea friend who said she had histamine sensitivity. Which made me think that ever since I remembered myself, from early childhood I had sensitivity to almost anything and had a huge aversion to almost all foods on that high histamine list. For some people this histamine sensitivity is acquired, for some it is genetic - you are born with it and there is almost nothing you can do, just reducing the daily load. So I checked the gene for histamine sensitivity, and the result was not surprising - I had it. I did a lot of tests in my life and they always came back with a long list of products I shouldn't eat, much longer than the ones that are safe. But I never understood why, they also told me that if I stopped them for a while, I would be able to tolerate them again, which was not the case. And mainstream medicine of course did not help with that understanding. In fact they told me that, since none of the traditional allergy tests came back positive it is probably in my head. How typical!
Anyway, this is not what I came here to tell you about. That first prompt opened a pandora box, I checked so many genes for so many things, and a whole new understanding of my genes and how I operate emerged, and why things are the way they are. Most of them are not necessarily because of my lifestyle or traumas, although of course these matter too. But in my case most of how I am is genetic. I was born like that.
(on a side note, everything that Human Design says about my design correlates with the genetic information - how interesting is that?)
One crazy thing that I discovered was about Magnesium - while most people are calmed by it, I have been activated by it. Instead of restful sleep I got my whole body pulsing and a strange heartbeat that would oscillate between loud and quiet for the whole night. Yes, it is genetic. Was anyone able to explain to me why I have such a reaction to it? No. But my genome report and AI did.
I also have a highly sensitive, refined, attuned nervous system and mast cells that are easily activated. It means high sensory acuity, fast threat detection and strong interoception. I feel things in my body deeply. From childhood the world of smells and sounds was overwhelming and coupled with the high histamine sensitivity I was always in the loop of histamine mast cell activation.
And the thing is I still am. It's neurophysiology, not psychology in my case. Things overwhelm me easily, My system is wired towards predictability, safety and sensation in the body. My healing and spiritual path happens in a slow, safe way. Not in a cathartic dramatic way.
And that made me think how healing is often presented to be the same for everyone.
Many people confuse:
dysregulation → with → healing
For sensitive nervous systems:
intensity ≠ release
vibration ≠ regulation
catharsis ≠ safety or healing
Sensitive systems heal through:
predictability
gentleness
safety
orientation
Not through overwhelm.
But many people think that the more intense the experience is, the more they shake, scream, cry and release, the better and more powerful their healing is. For some - maybe, for many - no.
In fact those strong practices can create more harm than good for some people.
In my case practices like intense breathwork, cold plunges and ice baths, kundalini yoga, and even watching my breath, vipassana style sitting still for hours and gong baths can be activating. Any visualisation, affirmation, drawing is also activating because they feel forced and controlled for me.
My system doesn't want to imagine, force and control.
It wants to FEEL.
You are probably wondering about Vipassana.
Vipassana teaches one to WATCH their sensations. Neutrally, indifferently, without assessing them. But this is not healing. Healing happens when we FEEL them deeply and actually have a cognitive understanding whether they are pleasant or unpleasant. This trains our body to distinguish what is good and what is not for us and perhaps to leave (a person, a job, a place, food, drink).
Stillness for hours is NOT natural for most human beings. It traps the expression of the emotion.
And why do we need to sit through pain? If your body is uncomfortable, if it feels pain - why not change the position? We need to LOVE our body, because we ARE our body, not torture it!
Vipassana doesn't build capacity to feel in a safe container - it teaches you to sit with things in a highly controlled environment, but doesn't take into account that some people do not have safety or capacity to sit with those things. So for people like me, when we go out into the open world we do get REALLY overwhelmed by things there and somehow none of the vipassana tools seem to work.
Vipassana teachers and volunteers do not have any understanding about trauma and psychology, and what to do if a psychotic episode occurs. Every answer that they give to any problem is: Just meditate more. Really? That doesn't sound like a safe environment where people know what to do if trauma comes up (saying that I am grateful to vipassana for the understanding about the cycle of thoughts, emotions and sensations and how to stop it, and yet I think for sensitive nervous system this path is not sufficient)
But nervous system work, somatic experiencing, and (!!!) the way of tea are ideal for me.
Vortex Healing too but depends on how I do it -it is more nuanced.
How interesting that intuitively I gravitated towards those?
The Way of Tea is perfect for sensitive individuals. Maybe that's why the Tea community is full of them.
Any path that is goal oriented, controlled, effort based and focused on achieving can be triggering and activating for the sensitive people.
Tea is about simplicity - so the whole setting does not overwhelm, it supports.
Tea is not goal oriented - it is an aimless activity, we do it for the sake of drinking tea
It feels effortless - in fact, ask any tea person and they will tell you: 'Tea is the only practice that stays in my life because it feels so enjoyable, I wake up and am looking forward to practicing it!'
It is not about achieving states - presence itself is enough.
Tea is DEVOTIONAL - it takes the attention away from us to something higher than us and involves Reverence, Beauty, Love, Trust and Offering.
Because of the sensitivity, any environments that are rushed, cluttered, loud and bright - can be discombobulating.
Tea Ceremony space exudes harmony, beauty, subtlety, it is set to regulate, to evoke peace and quiet and experience the world as it is, without filters. This can be highly comforting and regulating for sensitive people.
Of course, for me that means being careful with aged and fermented teas because they are really high in histamine, and how crazy that I only drink those with other people, never on my own. As if being surrounded by other systems that are able to take it in a healthy way, affects my ability to do it too.
What I am leading to is KNOW YOURSELF. Truly.
It would be ideal if everybody was attuned to their intuition and just chose things intuitively. Unfortunately many are disconnected from their bodies and do not feel what is right for them - they listen to what the wellbeing experts tell them, or the new wellness trends.
Like Ice baths. On one spectrum there is Wim Hoff that says that EVERYONE should do ice baths. On another spectrum there is Chinese Medicine that says NO ONE should do them. The truth is in the middle, as always. The truth is - it depends on you, your constitution, your type, your genes, your nervous system. But for most people it does have an extreme cooling effect and it's damaging. Unless you are a Yang Fiery person, maybe stay away from them!
There are many ways to do it, knowing your genetics is one of them.
But to me this needs to be the future in medicine - it is a unique, tailored approach for supplements, therapy, sensitivities and spiritual path.
I know that knowing them is mind information. And for example in Human Design they teach you to listen to your body and not make decisions with the mind but with the body. But again, in society SO disconnected from the body and so centred around the mind how do you respond from the body? At least knowing which therapy and spiritual practices are right for you will lead to less re-traumatisation from doing the wrong ones, which foods not to eat will lead to less inflammation in the body.
And from here true listening to yourself might begin.