Yoga & The Nervous System
A lot of people find yoga on their search for some sort of inner peace. Their search for some sort of vehicle to return Home. Others, however, find yoga on their search for something more practical - something more tactile - physical transformation. In fact, that’s how I found Yoga. I found Yoga as a means to move. At that time, when I was first introduced to Yoga, my relationship to movement was much different than what it is now. Then, I moved to change the way my body looked. Now, I move to celebrate the way my body looks. Then, I practiced yoga in an attempt to change my body. Now, I practice yoga to change my mind. Then, I practiced yoga to work out. Now, I practice yoga to journey in.
It wasn’t the potential to transform or the desire to truly meet myself that led me to yoga. No, it was a desire to experience some sort of tangible, physical, transformation. What started as another modality to work out soon became a means to find presence. And in presence, lives healing. Yoga is union ; yoga is the dissolution of perceived perimeters of Self and the diffusion into boundless existence.
When I first found yoga, I had no idea of the breadth and depth of its healing powers. Yoga is a multifaceted, layered, and potent tool to transform - not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
For this kind of healing + transformation to take place, the body needs to feel safe. That is where the Nervous System comes in. By practicing yoga with the knowledge of what is taking place in the Nervous System to catalyze such transformation, we can then place our awareness - our intention - on these processes. Which, in turn, amplifies their potency.
So, how does yoga effect the Nervous System? How does practicing yoga improve our ability to respond to stress in our day to day lives?
To wholly comprehend Yoga’s efficacy in reducing stress and ultimately creating an internal environment safe enough for radical transformation, we must first discuss the nature of the Autonomic Nervous System - or ANS. The ANS is comprised of the Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS); the mingling of the two creates a conversation to control the function of the heart, liver, intestines, and other internal organs.
The SNS - or fight or flight reaction - produces such stress hormones as adrenaline and cortisol. If and when these hormones are imbalanced in the body - aka when we are “stressed out” / in a state of “fight or flight” for extended periods of time - our body tries to combat this imbalance by raising blood pressure, increasing heart rate and blood sugar levels. This is our body’s response to try to help us. Our body is simply responding to a message it’s received: “My survival is in jeopardy”. So, lovingly, our body responds in an effort to “save” us and sends more blood + oxygen to the large muscles (the muscles we need to run, jump, and flee).
The PNS, in contrast, is the “heal and feel”, “rest and digest”, and “relaxation response”. This is our body’s state of recovery after a stressful event; our body’s way of balancing and restoring peace after fleeing. The PNS will slow the heart rate, lower blood pressure, and increase digestion + nutrient absorption. In other animals, the transition between the SNS and the PNS - the transition between stress and relaxation - happens almost instantaneously. In humans, however, this transition is something that needs to be intentional. With the amount of stimulus in our modern day environments (think horns, sirens, flashing lights, social media, 24/7 international news access, global pandemics, etc), we need to intentionally and consistently turn on our PNS - to turn off the SNS.
Enter stage left - Yoga. There are many forms of yoga that are purely restorative - meditation, yoga Nidra, yin yoga, slow restorative yoga; these have obvious benefits in solely activating the PNS for an extended period of time. However, I’d even argue that ~Vinyasa ~ Yoga is a more potent tool in creating lasting transformation within the Nervous System. In a Vinyasa practice, we are engaging the SNS while using the breath to intentionally communicate with the PNS.
The breath is a direct transmitter to the Nervous System: long, calm inhales and exhales communicates safety while short, shallow, chaotic breathing communicates danger. While our body’s may be in positions and postures that activate the SNS, our breath and our minds remain grounded in the PNS. So, this transition network - our ability to oscillate between SNS and PNS - becomes smoother. That transition becomes shorter. That transition becomes cleaner. We are training the body to move from a state of stress to a state of relaxation more quickly, with more ease, and with less collateral damage to the body and its systems.
When that process of de-escalation in the body becomes smooth, becomes seamless - that is when we begin to notice the differences. When we are able to intentionally activate the PNS, and thus, deactivate the SNS, we are able to respond instead of react in our day to day lives. When we respond instead of react, we begin to slowly transform every connection in our lives- including the relationship + connection to Self.
We, thus, begin to transform from the inside out. This is the practice.