Do you ever get overwhelmed with the thoughts racing around in your mind? Or feel fatigued because your body is going non-stop to keep up with your growing to-do list that your mind continues to make? I do. That is one of the reasons I love the practice of Yoga so much. That this practice asks us to bring our attention to the body, mind and breath and stay there is no coincidence. It’s asking us to slow down and sit in the discomfort until we can find our way back to the stillness.
When my oldest daughter, Beatrice, was an infant, she was so curious about the newness around her that putting her to sleep became difficult. We tried a lot of things, but over time I found that what worked was when I held her against my beating heart, while rocking her and making the sound “shush” over and over. The action of bringing attention to breath, sound and movement, settled her nervous system and allowed her to relax, and then find rest.
There are two branches of the nervous system; the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS). The role of the SNS is to arouse us into action when there is danger threatening our well-being and allows us to find safety. What happens, though, is we cannot always turn it back down from hyper-arousal, which can result in anxiety, panic, agitation and hyper-vigilance.
Opposite to the SNS is your PSNS. Here is when you feel calm, collected, relaxed. It’s that feeling of happiness, peace, and bliss, like after a yoga class- that space when everything feels positively heightened and at ease. Unfortunately, we can’t stay in this space forever, because we live in our ever-changing and challenging world. We need both to function, and when they’re in partnership with the other, we can find equilibrium, or homeostasis.
Sounds easy enough right? Nope. It takes work to find this balance. And, Yoga can help. Every time you step on your mat, you are training your mind and body to find that easeful flow within the nervous system. Our daily life is often full of things that trigger our SNS, especially right now. So, we need tools to help to find ways to activate our PSNS.
Every time I show up on my mat, I am settling my own inner-child. I rock my body in rhythmic movements to controlled inhalation & exhalation, while bringing attention to the sound of my breath, finding peace there. That is the practice of yoga for me.
When we find that magic on the mat, we can then take it off the mat and respond mindfully to all that life brings to us.
Namaste
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