Stress, the Nervous System, and Yoga
Perhaps you see yoga as a means to stay fit and agile. When I started doing yoga, many moons ago, that was my motivation. And while that is something that can be achieved, for me it has become a side motivation and an added bonus. What has become my primary motivation for continuing my yoga practice? My nervous system.
In this culture, we are constantly plagued with stress. Our schedules are busy. We have many responsibilities all demanding our time and attention. We have family and work and church and friends all requiring our attention. Our phones are constantly demanding our attention with the dings and pings of notifications.
We know that we need to slow down. We know that we need to say “no” to some things. We know that we need to balance work and home life, to budget our time as a finite resource, to make space for building relationships. But, while those are good practices and principles that I work hard to protect in my own lifestyle choices, in some seasons they just are not feasible. There are things that we cannot say “no” to, there are seasons that are just innately busy and full, and there are times in which slowing down is not an option.
This past year has been one of those years for me. There have been a lot of big changes, unpredictable schedules, perpetually pivoting plans, and I have needed to do some significant emotional processing. But knowing about the nervous system and the effect of stress has helped me to manage the stress when I can’t eliminate it. And let’s be realistic, life will always have stress in one form or another. Everyday life generates a certain amount of stress no matter what season we are in. Our goal is not to completely eradicate all stress. Rather, it is to mitigate the negative effect of stress on our body, mind, heart, and soul.
So let’s start with learning the basics about the nervous system. This is a subject that I plan to continue learning about and deepening my knowledge both intellectually and experientially. In this post, I will only be scratching the surface and offering a preliminary introduction to the anatomy of the nervous system.
The Nervous System starts with the Central Nervous System, the brain and spine. From there it branches off the spinal cord to other parts of the body. This is the Peripheral Nervous System and is divided into the Sensory Division, which sends information from receptors to the Central Nervous System, and the Motor Division, which sends signals from the Central Nervous System to effectors. These effectors are either involuntary responses (Autonomic Nervous System) or voluntary movement (Somatic Nervous System). The Autonomic Nervous System controls things like your heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and perspiration. This part of your nervous system is further divided between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic. This is the part of the nervous system that we often refer to when dealing with stress.
The Sympathetic Nervous System determines if we are safe and then takes the necessary action to keep us safe. Most of the time we speak in terms of the fight or flight response, that is the Sympathetic Nervous System in action. The SNS responds to stress by opening bronchial passageways (meaning we inhale more), increasing our heart rate and blood flow is directed to our limbs (to mobilize the body), as well as increasing blood pressure and sweat production. Our blood vessels and pupils dilate (so we can see/take in more information). Digestion is inhibited in this fight or flight state as well since it is unneeded and hinders mobilization. The adrenal glands send our cortisol and adrenaline.
The Sympathetic Nervous System is, obviously, important when it comes to survival. But further it supports our ability to wake up in the morning and move through everyday activities and stress. But God designed us to switch between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic. When we stay stuck in the Sympathetic, this is what results in chronic anxiety. And we need to learn how to “manually” switch over to the Parasympathetic Nervous System.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System is the “rest & digest” side of the Autonomic Nervous System. When our bodies are in this state, it begins to repair and provide damage control from the everyday wear and tear we experience. As our body repairs from stress, our blood pressure lowers, saliva and tears are supplied (which is often why we don’t cry until we feel relief), and our digestion is stimulated. This system helps us to sleep better and digest better. We can rest and process (both food and emotions) when we are in this state. While the Sympathetic Nervous System regulates the cortisol and adrenaline, the Parasympathetic Nervous System balances Acetylcholine (neurotransmitter), human growth hormone, Melatonin, Estrogen, Testosterone, and DHEA–all hormones that need to be balanced within the body. And just as being only in fight/flight mode leads to anxiety, the negative side of being stuck in the Parasympathetic Nervous System leads to depression, the inability to motivate yourself, to get up and go, mobilize and be active during the day.
I’m not going to talk a lot about depression because there are too many causes and nuances. Some forms of depression, those that I have personally experienced in my own life, can have a simple fix of balanced diet (aka less processed foods, more fruits and veggies), getting more sunshine, being more active, spending time with people instead of in isolation or withdrawal. But some forms of depression are more complex, often resulting from a hormone imbalance and figuring out what is causing the imbalance may require a bit more in depth investigation.
Trauma is another thing to consider when learning to understand your own nervous system and how you respond to stress and circumstances. Aundi Kolber’s book, Try Softer, is an excellent resource that I have returned to frequently when learning to process both stress and trauma in my own life. Trauma often affects how we respond to stress in our lives. And learning about how our body and brain respond to stress and trauma in our lives helps us to not feel so out of control.
Kolber writes:
“Learning about the choices we have for how to respond to our own bodies before they’re in full-blown crisis can help us to make choices that better reflect our true selves. If we’ve experienced a history of distress, shame, or overwhelm, we may feel that the sensations in our bodies and thoughts in our minds are simply happening to us instead of having a sense of control over how we respond to our lives and wounds.
“When I understand why my brain is reacting the way it is, I become empowered to validate the underlying need and then work on changing the situation.”
She clarifies that there are two categories for trauma, “big T trauma” and “little t trauma.” Here is an illustration she gives in her book that really stuck with me:
“One way we might think about the difference between big T trauma and little t trauma is to compare a person with a deep knife wound who needs immediate emergency room care with someone who gets a paper cut at the office. One paper cut might hurt and even cause some difficulties in daily life, but it’s not necessarily going to stop that person from living. However, a person who suffers a thousand paper cuts but is told those injuries are nothing is unlikely to ever stop to care for them. She may even assume that she is weak or lacks character as her pain mounts. At some point, however, her hand is likely to become infected, and she, too, will need to head to the emergency room. Whether the trauma is big or little, people find great relief when they receive validation that their wounds need care.”
Because stress, trauma, and anxiety are so prevalent in our lives and need tending to, I have shifted how I approach my health and wellbeing as well as how I approach yoga. Yoga has been increasingly beneficial as I learn how my own body responds to various stressors, whether emotional or physical. Therefore, in my own yoga practice I have shifted my focus from purely building strength and flexibility to an emphasis on noticing how my body feels and regulating my nervous system.
Here are a few ideas from my own practice that you can begin to build this awareness for yourself:
Be present: Most yoga classes begin with a few moments to check in. Use this time as an opportunity for a body scan. Pay attention to where your body feels tense, where your body carries emotions, and where your body holds stress. Learning to decipher between the tension of stress in your body and the aches and pains of age or other ailments does take some practice, so be patient and just simply notice how you feel each time you are on your mat. See if you can begin to find patterns in how you feel.
Slow down: Take the time to notice how your body feels in each pose, in each transition, and in each part of the class. Many classes have a flow to them, they start slow, build heat, and then slow down to end in stillness. Notice how you feel as you progress through each section of the class. The slower the class the more your body is able to find internal equilibrium. While I love the challenge of a good vinyasa flow class, I have learned that the slower classes, like Hatha yoga and especially Restorative yoga, gives my body time to unwind and recalibrate.
Breathe: If you remember when I talked about the Sympathetic Nervous System, I mentioned that one of the involuntary stress responses is to open the bronchial passages. This means that we inhale more. If we are stuck in the sympathetic side of our Autonomic Nervous System, we are often “stuck” on the inhale. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t breathing properly; it simply means that we are not breathing deeply. When we learn to deepen our breath through elongated exhales, it triggers the Parasympathetic Nervous System to engage. Yoga places an emphasis on the breath, giving us specific cues to take those deep breaths. Here is a quick 5 minute breath practice to help you start noticing your breath and how it affects your body.
Savasana: Learn to truly rest and relax any tension in your body. A good place to start is that final resting pose that closes out most yoga classes, Savasana, or Corpse Pose. Savasana is a fully supine pose, your whole body stretched out flat on your yoga mat. While in this pose, take a couple deep breaths. Allow your body to relax on the exhales. With your mind’s eye, take a whole body scan. Notice where you are clenched or tense, starting with your face and head then working your way down to your ankles and toes. See if you can go completely “boneless,” allowing the mat beneath you to catch your weight. This practice serves two purposes for me: I begin to notice where I my muscles are clenched – Hips? Jaw? Shoulders? Low Back? – and, secondly, it helps me to learn how to intentionally release that tension, which alerts my nervous system that I am safe, thereby switching from sympathetic to parasympathetic.
Yoga is a good place to start small. There is a beginning and end to the practice. So, if you want to practice paying attention to your body and your nervous system, be intentional as you practice yoga. Intentionally, notice how you feel and how your body is responding, either to the practice and movements or to your life circumstances as you move through various seasons. Eventually, this practice on the mat will transfer to moments throughout your day and soon simply become second nature. But remember to start small and be patient with your progress. There are good days and bad days, things that come easily and things that are difficult, anytime we are a beginner.
