Celebrate Green! Valentine’s Day part 1: Brain Sex
Brain sex: Long live the Valentine’s Day glow
Ah, Valentine’s Day. The day o’ love.
Amorous gifts, sweet sentiments and tender touches – the traditions de jour – make all those who celebrate feel oh-so-good. So good, in fact, that you may want to feel like this forever.
You can.
The secret? Make love to your brain.
By stimulating the brain’s pleasure center and flooding it with “feel good” hormones you’re likely to experience V-day-like euphoria and contentment – no matter the time of year (and, believe it or not, sans Hallmark).
Try these four simple, surprising, brain-pleasing ideas to make that Valentine glow a permanent fixture for you, your partner and your planet.
Bring on the chocolate. It’s no wonder the Aztecs associated chocolate with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of love and pleasure and why it’s is the number one food craved by American women. Chocolate contains naturally occurring chemicals such as tryptophan (linked to pleasure and fulfillment), and eating it stimulates the secretion of neurotransmitters including endorphins (morphine-like chemicals which increase pleasure, decrease pain, alleviate stress and can lead to feelings of euphoria) as well as phenylethylamine (associated with feelings of love).
Show your love for the planet, birds and the farm workers who grow cacao by choosing organic, shade grown, Fair Trade chocolate such as Sjaak’s (www.sjaaks.com) or Theo Chocolate (www.theochocolate.com).
Exercise. Physical activity not only helps you look good, it helps you feel good too. Like chocolate, exercise releases endorphins in the brain, leading to what’s known as a “runners high.” Studies have shown that regular physical activity decreases anxiety, depression and the propensity to abuse drugs, alcohol and food and that it can improve your body-image and self-esteem. What’s not to love?
Show your love for the planet by walking, biking (or snow-shoeing) instead of driving. Show your love for your love by getting physical together. (Sex counts.)
Body work. Acupuncture, chiropractic stimulation and massage are brain-pleasing activities that stimulate the release of “endogenous opioids” (i.e. endorphins) and work to increase pleasure and decrease pain and stress. The light-headed, groggy, peaceful effects of therapeutic touch are akin to the feelings experienced post-love-making (which some may also consider “therapeutic touch”) and may last an hour or more, depending on the activity.
Show your love for the planet by patronizing spas and practitioners who use sustainable products and materials such as organic essential oils as well as bamboo or organic cotton bedding and towels. When doing your own “body work” with your partner, keep light off and the heat low (generate your own).
Philanthropy. Charitable giving elicits the same brain-pleasing rush as good food, drugs and sex. Although the connection has only recently been scientifically explored, it appears that donating and giving to others not only aids in the release of oxytocin (the hormone of love, trust and bonding), it also activates dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in motivation (“I want to do it”), mood (“I feel good doing it”) and reward (“I’d like to do it again”).
Show your love by donating your time, talent and/or resources to causes you feel passionately about. Even a $5 contribution can produce feel-good results so there’s no need to be a Trump to get that philanthropic glow.
Originally published in Sexy Green, an ecozine previously published by Om Aroma & Co.
