Yoga Poses to Calm the Nervous System
In my opinion, nervous system regulation is one of the biggest factors in managing chronic disease. I’d argue to say that it’s actually where most illnesses stem from because of its psychological effects on the body. When the body is already under stress and attack, the sympathetic nervous system becomes overactive and the body becomes stuck in a constant state of fight or flight. This creates a never ending cycle that cannot be broken until the body knows it’s safe enough to heal.
Whether you have a chronic illness or not, regulating the nervous system is the absolute key for a healthy body and mind. The body sees all stress the same, whether it’s physical stress from disease or mental stress from a busy day. Ideally, we should be in a parasympathetic state for a large majority of the day, aka the state of rest and digest. But with the stress in our modern society, that rarely happens for most people. Some stress is good stress, it’s actually necessary for us, but too much of a good thing can easily exist. This is why it’s crucial to make the conscious effort to tap into that relaxation response every single day, multiple times per day. And sometimes, just taking a few deep breaths or standing in a forward fold is more than enough - which literally takes 5 seconds out of your day.
So if you’re short on time and feeling the stress and overwhelm start to creep in, try out some of these poses!
•Child’s pose: Releases tension in the shoulders, a part of the body where both physical and mental stress is held. It also promotes a calming, steady breath to relax the body and mind.
•Downward dog: Releases tension in the entire body and increases blood flow to the brain to boost mood and energy.
•Ragdoll pose: Creates space between the vertebrae in the spine which turns on the body’s relaxation response. It also boosts circulation to the spinal cord, which sends a calming signal to the brain.
•Crocodile pose: Promotes diaphragmatic breathing to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system.
•Bridge: Both restorative and energizing by opening the heart energy center and strengthening the backline.
•Legs up the wall: Activates parasympathetic activity to reduce anxiety and calm the body and mind.
•Supine twists: Boosts digestion and detoxification which turns on rest and digest.