volunteering: the brain gym you forgot

The bennies are way too long for this little blog, but if you realized how awesome volunteering is for your brain, you'd be out there with your sleeves rolled and heart open every day! 

We mammals have a "caregiving network" in our brains that lights up when we do something kind.  Whether we are parents, caregivers, or strangers being nice, we experience a common neural response (which is good for us, the "giver").

I don't talk about the insula much, but it's a valuable member of this caregiving network.  A buff insula is wildly important since it helps us with our own interoception: feeling/understanding our physical, emotional and social selves!

When the body-brain connection gets fuzzy, everyday signals go silent or just get weird.  Like these:

• Suddenly, it's a 100-meter dash to the toilet, because your bladder forgot to share the news.

• You tell yourself you're zen, but then realize you've been clenching your jaw for the last 48 hours.

• You only notice you're cold when your lips turn blue.

• You try a body scan meditation and acknowledge you haven't checked in with your body since 2021.

Basically, a well-tuned insula lets you feel what's going on inside before your body throws a tantrum, and volunteering helps with that!

What's your favorite way to practice compassion AND strengthen your inner self? Please share!