Beyond the Brain: Understanding the 8 Subsystems of Your Nervous System

At Coriander Living Collective, we often talk about resourcing your body and engaging the rhythm of regulation. Whether we are in a Brainspotting session or dancing Open Floor, we are working directly with the intricate, brilliant wiring of your nervous system.

While most people think of the nervous system as just the brain, it is actually a vast, multi-layered network. Understanding the eight key subsystems of this network can help you make sense of why you feel stuck, on edge, or disconnected—and more importantly, how you can find your way back to a life well lived.

Here is a breakdown of the eight subsystems that keep you moving, sensing, and surviving.

The Big Picture: Central vs. Peripheral

The nervous system is first divided into two primary parts:

1. The Central Nervous System (CNS)

The CNS is your command center. It consists of your brain and spinal cord. It’s where information is processed, memories are stored, and decisions are made. In therapies like EMDR and Brainspotting, we work with the CNS to reprocess old "data" (trauma) that has been stored in a way that no longer serves you.

2. The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Think of the PNS as the communication cables that connect the CNS to the rest of your body. It reaches your fingertips, your toes, and your internal organs. It’s the bridge between your inner world and the outer environment. Sensation is part of the PNS.

The Action Takers: Somatic vs. Autonomic

Under the umbrella of the PNS, we find two distinct ways of operating:

3. The Somatic Nervous System

This is your voluntary system. When you decide to reach for a cup of coffee or walk through a flower farm, your somatic system is at work. It carries sensory information to the brain and motor commands to your skeletal muscles. It manages conscious perception, bodily sensations, and reflexes. The afferent system is responsible for gathering information from receptors (light, sound, heat, touch) and transmitting it to the CNS.

4. The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

This is the autopilot system. It handles the things you don’t have to think about: your heartbeat, digestion, and pupil dilation. At Coriander Living Collective, we focus heavily on the ANS because this is where our stress and fight-flight-freeze responses live.

The Autonomic system is further broken down into three specialized divisions:

• The Sympathetic Nervous System (The Gas Pedal)

This is your fight or flight response. It prepares your body for action or defense by increasing your heart rate and redirecting blood to your muscles. It’s essential for survival, but when it stays on too long, we feel chronic anxiety and overwhelm.

• The Parasympathetic Nervous System (The Brake)

Often called the rest and digest system, this helps you calm down after a stressor has passed. It lowers your heart rate and allows your body to recover. Finding your "Ventral Vagal" state (a concept from Polyvagal Theory) is all about nourishing this system.

5. The Motor Nervous System

The motor nervous system, efferent system, controls voluntary and involuntary movements by transmitting signals from the CNS (brain and spinal cord) to effector muscles and glands.

6. The Cardiac Nervous System (All Things Heart)

The cardiac nervous system is part of the ANS, a division of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary functions. It is composed of two main antagonistic subsystems: the sympathetic nervous system (increases rate/force) and the parasympathetic (decreases rate). 

7. The Enteric Nervous System (The Second Brain)

Did you know you have a brain in your gut? The Enteric system is a complex web of neurons that governs your gastrointestinal tract. It operates mostly independently from the brain and is why we feel butterflies in our stomach or why stress so often affects our digestion.

8. The Ocular Nervous System (ONS)

Primarily involves the CNS for vision and the PNS for motor control. The optic nerve (CN II) is a direct extension of the CNS, while oculomotor (CN III), trochlear (CN IV), and abducens (CN VI) nerves are part of the PNS, controlling eye movement and pupillary reflexes. Since our eyes and sense of sight are so complex and dynamic, the ONS provides a direct pathway into all the other subsystems of the nervous system. This is why in Brainspotting where you look affects how you feel.

Why Does This Matter for Your Healing?

Healing isn't just about talking through your problems. True integration happens when we address all these subsystems.

When you are triggered, your Sympathetic system has taken the wheel. When you feel numb or checked out, your Parasympathetic system might be over-braking (freeze). By using body-brain treatments like Brainspotting, we can help these subsystems communicate more effectively, moving you from a state of survival into a state of thriving.

Ready to get curious about your own nervous system? Whether it’s through a telehealth session or Open Floor Movement, let’s work together to help your whole-body system function with ease and intention. Schedule a brief, confidential consultation. Let's see if a brain-based approach is the missing piece in your wellness strategy.