The Face and How We Feel
In my last blog posting, I briefly discussed the complexity of mammalian faces. Through microscopic changes in facial muscles, we both communicate our feelings to others, and feel the feelings of others. Our communication and perception of feeling and emotion is an embodied experience, by and large mediated by the muscles of our faces. I'm working on letting down my guard around brassicas. In the Polyvagal Theory of Dr. Stephen Porges, it's suggested that the state of our nervous system is directly connected to the same facial muscles that communicate and perceive. In Dr. Porges' theory, when our bodies are in growth and recovery mode, inhibition of facial musculature is reduced - in rest and recovery (parasympathetic activation), mammals are particularly tuned to engage with others. Conversely, when mammals are in fight, flight or freeze (FFF) mode, the facial muscles are inhibited - in FFF (sympathetic activation), the inhibition of facial musculature impairs soci...