The nervous system transmits signals between the brain, spinal cord, and nerves to control mindbody functions. Here’s why you need to become intimate with your mindbody’s communication network.
Health and disease don’t just happen to us. They’re potent processes that emerge from inner harmony or disharmony profoundly affected by our states of consciousness, as well as our ability or inability to “go with the flow” during life experiences.
Since our experience of the world depends entirely on the state of our nervous system, this begs the question: How intimate are you with your nervous system?
They say “when you know better, you do better.” When you become intimate with your nervous system, how it functions and how you can mediate how it responds to stressors, it’ll be life changing! This premise was understood by ancient rishis as it is today by experienced yogis and functional medicine practitioners alike.
Stress is the inability to cope with a perceived (real or imagined) threat to one’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing, which results in a series of physiological responses and adaptations.
Say Hello to Your Nervous System
Before diving into how stress impacts our wellbeing, let’s briefly tour our nervous system as related to the stress and relaxation responses.
Simply stated, your nervous system is the command center and major messaging system for your entire body. Everything you think, sense, feel, say, do, radiates outward from the brain and spinal cord—the central nervous system (CNS)—through a vast network of nerves. This network of nerves is your peripheral nervous system (PNS). It relays messages back and forth from the brain to different parts of the body. These “conducting” cells of the nervous system send messages outward to the 60 trillion cells in your body. Every experience we have of ourselves—from the senses of taste, sight, smell, sound, and vision to our movements and our thoughts, emotions, and memories—depends mightily on these nerve impulses.
When working optimally, the nervous system’s network of nerves transports messages to and from the brain without making any mistakes. One hundred million bits of data rush up and down the spinal cord each minute! Seems miraculous, doesn’t it? But alas, things can go askew and they do, even in a life well-lived. We’re not immune to how our lived experiences impact and dysregulate our nervous system throwing it off kilter.
The Autonomic Nervous System
One part of the PNS is the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which comprises two branches—the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous systems (PSNS). We’re focusing on those here given their influence on modulating the stress response and bringing the body back to a state of homeostasis or balance.
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System
The SNS activates the fight-or-flight response when facing stressful situations, while the PSNS restores the mindbody physiology to a state of relaxed awareness.
In fight-or-flight, the sympathetic branch gets those stress hormones flowing, speeds up heart rate, increases blood pressure, slows digestion, and moves circulation away from the surface of the body to the interior. The issue is when the SNS is chronically activated and no longer able to adapt to the stressors and bring the nervous system back into balance. This is when nervous system dysregulation sets in. And we can begin to experience “issues in our tissues.”
Our parasympathetic branch has the opposite effect—relaxing, resting, restoring our body in relation to stressors. It controls stress hormones, slows heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood flow to the skin and surface of the body, and increases movement of the digestive organs.
The vagus nerve, one of the 12 cranial nerves, is an important part of the PSNS returning it to rest, digest, repair mode. The vagus nerve represents a main component of the PSNS (comprises 75%), and oversees crucial bodily functions, including control of mood, immune response, digestion, heart rate, and more.
Normally, these two systems work in balance with each other, with a back-and-forth flow of dominance. The SNS being the accelerator, and the PSNS being the brake—revving up and slowing down. After stressors have been assuaged, balance is restored between these two systems. This is the ideal scenario. But for many of us, based on life experiences, there’s overactivity of the SNS. It’s as if the body is constantly reacting to a threat that never goes away. The goal is to find a balance between the activation of these two “opposing” systems, so the body can respond appropriately to stress while also allowing for rest, digestion, and healing.
The Stress Response
Constantly living in a state of constricted consciousness and reactivity dysregulates our nervous system shifting us into varying states of the stress response.
It’s helpful here to understand the widely recognized definition of stress in mind-body medicine: Stress is the inability to cope with a perceived (real or imagined) threat to one’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing, which results in a series of physiological responses and adaptations.
Key here is “inability to cope” and how we perceive or interpret stress. A devoted mindbody health practice utilizing powerful coping skills changes how we perceive and respond to stress. And let’s not forget the “real or imagined” part. Mark Twain humorously said, “I’m an old man and have known many troubles, but most of them never happened.” True that! So many of our worries never happen. This is where mindfulness powerfully assists us— being in the moment as much as we possibly can. As Ram Dass said, “Be here now”—a favorite mantra of mine!
Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are four ways our body responds/adapts to stressful situations, trauma, perceived threats—seeking balance and safety. A short primer here. Do you see yourself in any of these responses?
Fight – Responding to a threat by confronting it—tending toward an aggressive stance, reactivity, irritability, loss of temper, defensiveness.
Flight – Responding by fleeing or escaping— tending toward avoidance (“I don’t want to deal with it”), anxiety, fear.
Freeze – Responding by shutting down or hiding—tending toward numbness and detachment, feeling immobilized, hopeless, and trapped. Often seen in extreme burnout and trauma.
Fawn – Responding by appeasement—this is a trauma response occurring in abusive relationships and coercive situations. The tendency is to appease, placate, or pacify an abuser, to prevent provoking further abuse.
We’ll focus on fight-or-flight here since it’s a prevalent reaction to stressors we face on a daily basis. Fawn and at times, the freeze response, may require mental health professional intervention.
The Relaxation Response
As we expand our consciousness through mindful practices, remedies, and rituals, we’re consistently shifting into the PSNS state of calm, relaxed awareness or the relaxation response. And with this, we balance and harmonize the layers of our being— mind, body, spirit, and environment (our extended body). We become whole.
As we honor and balance our nervous system by changing dissonant habit energy and patterns in our life, we deeply connect with and fulfill our capacity for healing this beautiful amazing body of ours, the earthly vessel for Spirit.
Pascal said, “There is pleasure in being in a ship beaten about by a storm when we are sure that it will not founder.” When in a state of relaxed awareness, centered in Self, you won’t founder when life’s stressors brew around you. In this mind-numbing, attention-deficit world, we can’t totally eradicate toxic stress from our lives. However, we can choose to mindfully respond, versus mindlessly react to them.
As a longtime Ayurveda (read: mindbody health) specialist through the Chopra Center for Well-Being trained by Deepak Chopra, MD, and partner, neurologist David Simon, MD—one module I teach is called Emotional Freedom. See the helpful tables outlining what’s happening in the throes of stress/ reactivity. Quite the eye opener!
Fight-or-Flight Sows the Seeds of Illness
When the fight-or-flight mode part of our nervous system is in constant overdrive, dysregulation sets in, and over time, can contribute to a number of chronic diseases such as:
» Cardiovascular disease
» Anxiety, depression, insomnia, dementia
» Hormonal imbalances
» Addictions
» Heart disease, autoimmune conditions
» Mood disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome
» Diabetes, obesity
» Gastrointestinal disorders like IBS, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea
» Premature aging, reproductive/fertility issues, menopausal symptoms
» Viral/bacterial infections, cancer
» Heart attacks, strokes
Regulating and Restoring Balance to your Nervous System
The following evidence-based practices can help you get back to a state where you feel calm and centered. Find what works best for you to prioritize nervous system health.
Mindfulness: “Be Here Now”
Mindfulness is of utmost importance in all our lived experiences, including the practices here. When exquisitely present we’re more apt to make the most life-affirming choices possible that help maintain nervous system balance. This “witnessing” consciousness alerts us when we’re going astray, reminding us to pay attention—as to alter our path and return to relaxed awareness.
Develop Your Spiritual Practice
In Sanskrit we call this Sadhana, which is our daily spiritual practice. As we consistently show up and practice, new patterns of healing become ingrained or deep rooted in our lives. Set aside some time each day to practice meditation, a gratitude practice, energy healing, prayer, reading sacred literature, journaling, and more—all methods to support restorative neurochemistry and work with the PSNS to offset stress and create resilience.
With consistency, you’ll build a reserve of strength, faith, and hope to carry you through some of the most challenging times, while maintaining your equanimity.
Healing Breathwork is one of the quickest ways to balance your nervous system. Taking diaphragmatic/belly breaths shifts the nervous system into relaxation mode. Generally, the system is best supported through lengthening and deepening the exhale. Watch the gentle inflow and outflow of the breath, sensing where the breath is physically. Daily practice is key. Regularity over time changes the rhythms in your nervous system for better health and wellbeing.
Meditation prompts the PSNS to relax, relieving an active stress response. Meditation makes the entire nervous system go into a field of coherence. It’s the most important training method for becoming mindful and initiating relaxed awareness. Many meditation types are available—however focusing meditation (on breath, a mantra, Spirit) is shown in research to have powerful benefits for our nervous system. This includes rewiring our neural circuitry to better handle stress, grow our gray matter (part of brain responsible for cognition and memory), and much more.
With available apps and websites it’s even easier to find a meditation that suits you. Consider Chopra, Calm, Headspace, or Insight Timer apps for stress relief, meditation, sleep support, and more.
Mindful Physical Activity
Mindful movement practices, such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, Intuitive Dance, encourage us to come into the body and tune into every sensation, every movement, every breath—becoming embodied Spirit. The more we get out of the chattering mind and come into the body, the deeper the nervous system relaxes and releases tension. Research shows that any type of healing movement that is meditative will have a restorative impact on the nervous system. Bring a meditative nature into any of your physical activities—mindful walking, running, golf, etc.
Yin Yoga is especially potent for releasing constriction. Its slow pace with poses that are held for longer periods work to unwind the body’s deeper layers of fascia. As we work with these layers, we create the conditions to release deeply held tension.
Yoga Nidra or Yogic Sleep
Yoga Nidra is a powerful reset for the nervous system bringing you into one of the deepest states of relaxed awareness. It acts on the part of your brain responsible for REM sleep, so an hour of Yoga Nidra has been compared to three hours of deep REM sleep.
Prioritize Sleep
During sleep, our bodies rejuvenate, rest, and restore all bodily functions. Our brain not only rests but also uses this time to allow its neurons to communicate with one another, leading to regulation. It also effectively sweeps toxins from the brain. Sleep helps clear your mind from stressors and helps you wake feeling vitalized and refreshed.
Connect With Nature
Step outside and feel the sun on your skin or listen to the birds. Focus with all of your senses, making it a form of meditation. The outdoors gives us such visual beauty, serotonin-producing sunshine (our natural antidepressant), oxygen-producing plants, and more. “Forest bathing,” “grounding,” and “earthing” are all techniques for enjoying Mother Nature’s majesty and the resultant relaxation response.
Vibrational or Sound Healing
Humming, chanting, toning, and singing are all practices that create vibrations that tone the vagus nerve, which activates the PSNS relaxation response and helps the body move out of the fight-or-flight response. Music is also vibration and can elicit deep healing. Ambient, soothing sounds, especially Binaural Beats and Solfeggio Frequencies, are popular types of healing vibrations.
Hugs and Cuddles
Hugs promote parasympathetic balance by increasing the flow of oxytocin (the “love/bonding hormone”)—our bodies natural sedative. It relaxes us, reduces stress hormones and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and more. Twenty-second hugs are recommended for optimal healing. Make your hugs heart-to-heart for optimal benefit. Loving hugs are so good for your heart!
Massage
Touch is a powerful healing tool for relaxation—releasing anti-inflammatory and restorative neurochemicals into the body. See a professional therapist, give yourself a full body or partial massage wherever stress is stored.
Myofascial massage releases tension in our connective tissue called fascia. Tight fascia can restrict nerve messaging, energy flow, and transmission of fluids and healing chemicals through the body.
Socialize
Commune with others. Spending time with loved ones, including pet companions, relaxes our nervous system and helps you experience the most enriching aspects of being human—love, joy, and fulfillment. Consider volunteering, starting or joining a women’s circle, a men’s club, book club, spiritual study group, or game night.
These are all top-tier, evidence-based practices for balancing the nervous system. Also consider wearable technology, biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, unplugging from technology, engaging in restorative activities and hobbies that make your heart sing, laughter, adaptogenic herbs like Ashwagandha or Siberian ginseng, cold water immersion, and so much more.
And please, if you want to build a great life, slow down. Slow is often overlooked in our rushed culture. When we give our nervous system permission to slow down, our whole system is met in a magical place where regeneration and rejuvenation naturally begin to occur without any effort from us.
Never forget that your body is one of the most resilient, divinely created forces in the entire universe—a core principle of self-regeneration and cellular repair. Om.
For further support consider my books:
» Pleasure Healing: Mindful Practices and Sacred Spa Rituals for Self-Nurturing
» The Book of Self Care: Remedies for Healing Mind, Body and Soul
» Also: The Healing Self by Deepak Chopra, MD, and Rudolph Tanzi, PhD
I also highly recommend Deepak Chopra’s program: 7-Days to Relieve Stress & Anxiety, in the Chopra App.
NEUROPLASTICITY– HOW FLEXIBLE IS YOUR BRAIN?
We can’t talk about regulating our nervous system without discussing neuroplasticity—our brain’s ability to change itself in response to life’s experiences, including forming new neural connections. We form new neural connections—albeit slower—well into our elder years. You may have heard the saying, “Neurons that fire together wire together.” The more you run a neural circuit in the brain, the stronger it becomes. This applies to positive and negative experiences alike. For example, regularly feeding yourself positive affirmations forms neural circuits that enhance optimism—while constant negativity grows neural circuitry engendering a pessimistic outlook. Any experience we engage in regularly, like meditating, playing pickleball, speaking a new language, tickling the ivories, etc., creates neural circuitry that allows us to learn, adapt, change, grow, and get better at it.
Neuroplasticity allows our nervous system to adapt to change and respond better to stressors. And that’s where the magic happens: Resiliency expands under the influence of stressors. A balanced/regulated nervous system thrives under stress. Stress is not inherently bad for you! Our capacity to bounce back from stress hinges on our nervous system’s flexibility— the ability to flow with our experiences given a regulated nervous system. This encourages us to heal nervous system dysregulation and regulate wherever possible. Recognize sources of chronic stress in your life and take active steps to manage or eliminate them. Start viewing stress as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat. By introducing controlled stressors into your life, such as learning new skills, challenging physical workouts, etc. you build resilience and expand your capacity to effectively handle stress.