How you can regulate your nervous system to feel amazing!
Energetic. Busy. Enthusiastic. Busy. Joyful. Busy. Determined. Busy. Dedicated. Busy.
For a very large part of my life, I have put a lot of value on being busy. Learning. Doing. Moving. Creating. Collaborating. It felt very successful to me to accomplish a lot of THINGS. And that is totally OK. I am still all of the above adjectives; however, I am much more aware of the sustainability of my pace. Meaning, I now value rest. I value stillness. I value space. It is so productive! When I was running a mile a minute for many years, my nervous system was very upregulated (I felt anxious, had digestive issues, trouble sleeping, etc). My “normal” was to be active and busy with my sympathetic nervous system releasing adrenaline and cortisol like it was a waterfall into my system! I was activating my stress response every time I had a deadline, or felt like I was not doing “enough.” I even struggled in Savasana because it was physically and mentally difficult to lay still (it didn’t FEEL useful)!
Our nervous system is designed to keep us safe. It does a great job doing that; however, it has become a little too simple for this complex world we are now living in. ;) Let me explain!
Simplistically, we have our somatic nervous system which allows us to voluntarily move our body (i.e.- “Inhale reach your right arm high”), and our autonomic nervous system which controls the involuntary functions of the body such as heartbeat, our digestive process, natural breath, and our sex drive.
Within our autonomic nervous system we have two parts:
Sympathetic Nervous System:
Involved in our body’s natural stress responses and activates when we need physical energy such as exercise or to stay up late working. Also activates when a person is under stress and faced with a potential or perceived threat (results in increased heart and breathing rates, blood rushing away from core of the body and organs into muscles and limbs).
Parasympathetic Nervous System:
When an individual no longer needs a lot of energy to mobilize for physical action this activates and returns the body to the natural resting state.
When a person is balanced (or regulated), the two symptoms work harmoniously and the body is able to maintain an equilibrium between “stress” and “rest” impulses. An example would be, let’s say a bear walked into the room right now. Your body cues (tightening in chest, bracing your shoulders, clenching your jaw) would alert your brain (via your vagus nerve) that there was danger. Your brain would activate your sympathetic nervous system by releasing hormones and energy to allow you to basically run or fight. After you ran away, or fought the bear (hell yeah!), you would use up those hormones your body released and you would return to a balance state.
A super long time we had stress (a bear), and then rest (no bear). Now we can activate that same stress response in regards to an email (or the THOUGHT of a stressful email) rather than a REAL dangerous life threat. Our body reacts to our perceived stress as actual live or die danger. So if I read an email that I perceive as stressful, my body would send a signal to my brain that I am not safe. My brain would activate my sympathetic nervous system which would release hormones and prepare my body for the threat. I might experience an increased heart rate, racing thoughts, inability to concentrate, low sex-drive, digestive issues, dry mouth, etc. I am not actually fighting anything or physically running away so those hormones (cortisol and adrenaline to name the most commonly known) are now swimming through my body without a release.
Stress that doesn't let up leaves your sympathetic nervous system on alert and hormones in your body that are not always supposed to be there! And over time, that can lead to you losing your mental sharpness and you may take longer to react to things and make more errors. You might have trouble sleeping, have a very busy mind, be more irritable, and the list honestly goes on. High levels of stress also affect your physical health, including weakening your immune system and raising your chance of heart disease.
Luckily, research has shown that yoga, meditation, and breath work are wonderful methods to guide the body back to homeostasis, or a balanced state. We can release tension in our physical body with movement on our mats. We can literally activate our parasympathetic nervous system (our restorative and restful state) with breathwork. And meditation has been shown to be particularly amazing at creating grey matter in our brain that allows us to regulate our emotions and reactions in a more skillful way!
I excel at activating my stress response particularly at night before bed thinking about all sorts of things that can possibly happen (all crazily bad, of course!) Somewhere in the past 6-7 years, I became more aware of this heightened, anxious, irritable, and exhausting state. Running so fast, doing so much, and working too hard was slowing me down. Now, I slow down to feel more grounded and centered so I can actually accomplish more.
Here are a few things you can begin exploring and experimenting with RIGHT NOW to support you in inviting more rest and ease into your body (and mind!)
Extend your exhales. You can do this right now or anytime throughout the day. Bring your attention to your breath. Breathe in through your nose slowly counting to 4, hold for 2 seconds, and then slowly breathe out of your mouth for a count of 6. Do this a few times. Lengthening your exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system. If there was a real threat (a bear!!) you would NOT be extending your exhales you would be taking deep inhales to help you run or fight. Think about it….. you are sending a signal to your body that you are safe!
Laugh! Laughter triggers a parasympathetic response and can also release mental, emotional, and physical tension!!
Another way to strengthen your vagal tone, which helps maintain balance in your nervous system, is listening to your biorhythms:
I.e. going to sleep when you are tired, eating when you are hungry, stopping when you are full. This helps the body naturally restore its nervous system and function at its optimal level
Mono tasking
Do one task at time and complete it slowly. This will help calm the brain and body. Anything you do in your day can be a form of meditation. The dishes. Laundry. Slow down and be present with the task at hand! (Slow down to accomplish more!)
Social connection can also support a balanced state
Hugging, connecting with a friend, writing a letter---we are social creatures and much of our vagal and nervous system responses were built on social activity and attachment styles.
Movement and stretching can release tension and stress and invite ease to our body, mind, and spirit!
Breathwork
This supports us in unhooking the mind and getting into our body! When we live in our heads we are living in fear, stress, “worst case scenario.” We are either in the past or future and hardly present. When we follow the breath we are experiencing and awake to what this moment has to offer.
If you are particularly anxious or are not sure where to start, simply place one hand on your belly and one on your chest and notice where you feel your breath.
Everything we do in each and every class at PALM+PINE allows us the opportunity to build on these tools we already have. We are practicing becoming aware of where we are at (anxious, fatigued, overwhelmed, heavy, balanced), and making choices in our practice that will support us in regulating our body (and mind)! We can then use those tools in our yoga “off of the mat” so we can approach our day to day challenges with more skillful responses. If you are reading this and still feel too busy to take a class or to slow down-- that only means you need it that much more! Trust me! I have beeeeeeen there!!! <3
The information shared above comes from a collection of experience and trainings as a social worker, as well as a blend of some of the amazing resources below! Let me know if anything resonated with you and if you would like any recommendations on where to learn more!
Yoga International Web Course: “Yoga Therapy for Anxiety”
Jessica Maguire’s Master Class: “Vagus Nerve Master Class” www.jessicamaguire.com/vagus-nerve-program
Firefly Training- Trauma-Informed Yoga Participant Manual
“The Body Keeps the Score” Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk
Life Coach Kelsey Flanagan’s various podcasts + work
Miscellaneous trauma trainings in the social work realm all bundled together in my brain!
“UnF+CK Your Brain Podcast” Kara Loewentheil
“Therapy Chat Podcast” --I cannot think of one thing I specifically addressed from this source, but I am sure some content was shared that I learned + relearned from their offerings!