Let's Talk about the Nervous System by Gabe Hopp
Take a moment to consider the speed of your life. If you had to identify an overall “speed score” for your life generally, what would it be? Slow and steady (2 out of 10)? Moderate (5 of out of 10)? Rocket launch fast (15!?!)?
Another consideration. How does your body and mind handle the speed of your life? Is it comfortable and the right pacing; meaning, are you able to relax and calm down easily? Or, do you find yourself trapped in a pace that isn’t good for your system overall; constantly go-go-going and unable to “turn off” your brain or calm your body? Are you stuck in a stress cycle that you can never seem to shake off?
In modernity, many of us get trapped in a highly adrenalized stress state, led by our sympathetic nervous system. Our sympathetic nervous system evolved to click on when we are met with extreme danger. It’s was designed as the response we need to outrun a saber tooth tiger or swim upstream to save our lives when swept away by the current. The body floods with cortisol, produced by the adrenal glands, and that hormonal response sets things in motion to put us in “high alert” mode. We are prepared for action!
The problem? With the pace of modernity, coupled with regular high stress situations, we can get stuck in this adrenalized mode. High alert, high stress, can’t calm down, can’t relax. Eek!
The antidote to the over-firing of the sympathetic nervous system is to teach the opposing system, the parasympathetic nervous system, to kick in. The parasympathetic system is responsible for our ability to rest and relax. When we are operating in parasympathetic mode, we are typically relaxed, calm and at ease. The breath is soft and shallow, we are not overly tense and anxiety is minimal. In this state, our digestion increases, we are able to sleep well and we may experience serenity or deep contentment.
So, the good news is…guess what? Yoga to the rescue, naturally! There are several important aspects of a yoga practice that can begin to unwind the affects of being hyper-adrenalized and to trains to increase and stimulate parasympathetic nervous function.
1. Just moving the body releases stored up nervous energy and completes the stress cycle. Moving the body, especially with the slow and steady movements of yoga, trains the nervous system to be fluid and smooth.
2. Yoga classes, especially at OTY, typically include a meditative component. A few moments of reflection and quiet in preparation for, or at the end of class, give us a much needed experience of silence and a break from the constant stimuli of the external world.
3. Savasana! Woo hoo! The best part of class, right? Savasana is literally just a rest. Literally doing nothing, which the body and mind deserve after (and sometimes even before!) the physical demands of practice.
4. There are yoga practices designed specifically to release the nervous system. Restorative yoga (find it on our schedule Sunday evenings at 5:15) is a practice which supports the body in poses to allow for the experience of deep rest and calm. Similarly, yin yoga, with it’s long holds and passive stretching can allow us a much needed slow and quiet experience to cool off from the constant activities of our days.
Sometimes the experiences we have and things that we feel in yoga are hard to identify or put into words. The sometimes subtle effect of our practice on our nervous system might not always been readily apparent right after class, but think about how yoga affects your life overall. Our goal for you is that yoga makes you more grounded, calm and able to manage the stress of your life.