Your Nervous System
You can’t see your nervous system but I’ll tell you something…it sees everything!
Your nervous system’s main job is to keep you alive. It works by getting information about your environment via your senses and is always looking out for danger to ensure you survive. It is made up of lots of nerves, organs, muscles and chemicals in your body that take on information which is sent up to your brain. The nervous system is the foundation of all our lived experiences.
There are a few parts that make up your whole nervous system. One part is called your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) which controls many of the body processes you rarely think about: breathing, digestion, sweating etc. Within the ANS we have 2 sub systems: the Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic Nervous System that work in opposition to each other.
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is our stress response. Its job is to mobilise us in response to threat – to ‘fight or flight’ – or in some cases, we can’t do either and we freeze.
Signs your SNS is activated:
· Heart beating fast
· Fast breathing
· Sweating
· Feeling sick / butterflies feeling in your stomach
· Body feeling tense
· Needing a to pass urine ‘nervous wee’
· Dizziness / lightheaded
· Changes to your vision
· Racing thoughts
The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) is our rest response. Its job is to help us relax, digest and heal, once the threat has passed. Whilst SNS activation happens automatically, usually without any conscious awareness, we can control the PNS a little more.
Ultimately, we need to try and get the opposite effects and yoga can help you do that!
To start with, slow deep breathing can help to slow down our breathing and heart rate and sends signals to the rest of our body that the danger is over. Making an audible exhalation e.g. sighing out of the mouth can help to activate our PNS by vibrating our nerves in our throats which are connected to this system.
Gentle movement of our body can help to get rid of unwanted/unused adrenaline and bringing the oxygenated blood back to our brain to help us regulate our thoughts and emotions. It also helps us to bring our awareness inwards rather than focusing on possible danger around us, again signalling to our brains that we are in a safe place.
Closing our eyes and focusing on bodily sensations during meditation can help us remind our body that the danger has passed. This also helps us build a better connection to our body to help us notice when we might be in sympathetic activation in the future.