Restorative Yoga & The Nervous System

Welcome, fellow movement lover! I am beyond grateful for your time on this platform!

If you've landed on this blog, you are probably interested in learning more about the benefits of Restorative Yoga and how this wonderful practice can help you find balance and calm in both your body and mind. Fortunately, you are in the right place!

Today, I will share with you a practical guide about Restorative Yoga and how this practice relates to your Nervous System. So, without further ado, let's get geeky !.

• What is Restorative Yoga?

Restorative Yoga is a soft and restful practice that emphasizes the meditative aspects of Yoga ~ the union of mind & body ~ . The main idea is that, by relaxing in poses with the aid of (plenty) of props, without strain in the body, we can achieve with more ease, physical and mental relaxation.

The classes are slow and gentle and poses are held for longer than in other Yoga styles, which allows the practitioners more time to practice being in the present moment.

Another very important aspect of Restorative Yoga is the use of PROPS (cushions, blocks, bolsters, blankets) that help the body fully let go of any engagement and allows the practitioner to release and surrender completely into the poses.

• Why practice Restorative Yoga?

I believe that , in order to understand the benefits this amazing practice has to offer, we first need to get familiarised with some basic ideas about the Nervous System.

Let's have a look at the following chart:

For the purpose of this post, we will zoom in on 2 parts of this chart : the SYMPATHETIC and PARASYMPATHETIC Nervous System.

These two systems are part of the Autonomic Nervous System, which regulates involuntary physiological processes such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, amongst others. The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS - short form ) prepares the body to respond in a more 'alert' fashion. It is known as the FIGHT, FLY, FREEZE response to a possibly stressing or dangerous situation. When the SNS is driving the car, we can feel our heart rate speed up, higher blood pressure, faster breathing , pupils dilated and other more specific responses.

On the opposite end, the Parasympathetic Nervous System ( PNS - short form ) is in charge of regulating the so called REST and DIGEST response. It conserves energy and regulates functions in the body such as slow breathing and slow heart rate and it calms and relaxes the body.

Now, it is good to note that both SNS and PNS are very important for our everyday lives but what is even more important is that our Nervous System understands WHEN each of them is needed.

• Living in SURVIVAL MODE

Our brain's most important task is SURVIVAL. It is constantly assessing the internal and external environments for any kind of situation that might recognise as dangerous or threatening . This sounds like great news, right? Well, it is a bit tricky and quite complex .

The brain , in order to feel safe , is constantly getting information from different systems, it then decides what this information means and how to act about it .

It is of great importance that the first two parts ( INPUT - INTERPRETATION) are in 'good shape' to allow the last part (OUTPUT) to be an empowering and not a discouraging result for our life.

When the signals getting to the brain from all the different systems are clear and when the brain is healthy and able to process the information well, it will result in more 'empowering outputs'. Contrary, if the signals are 'muddy' or if the brain is not able to make sense out of them, it will result in 'protective outputs'

Remember : Each individual has a very unique Nervous System. Yes, we do share baseline characteristics but ultimately each of us is a completely different world.

• EVERYTHING MATTERS

For our Nervous System, EVERYTHING MATTERS. Every small little aspect of our lives has an effect on us: the food we eat, the music we listen to, the people we share our lives with, the words we read, the quality of our sleep, the culture we were born in, our history, our jobs, the way we move...and list can go on for ever! .

This means that, our Nervous System is non-stop trying to make sense out of reality and sometimes, as mentioned before, it might interpret things as a threat , even if we objectively think we are safe and calm.

So, if our Nervous System feels threatened, we might enter a state of alertness and sympathetic response even when we are chilling , sat down on a sofa, watching a movie.

Of course, there are plenty of things that might be activating 'protection mode' and it might feel overwhelming to even try to start checking in with all of these different aspects of life looking for a single one answer to a scared brain.

Then...what next?

• Relax, baby, relax!

One great starting point is trying to find spaces in our busy ,modern lives where we can relax and allow the Nervous System to go into a more Parasympathetic state and regulate itself. Practices like Restorative Yoga where relaxation is prioritised, help us lower that threat response allowing the Nervous System time to 'rest & digest' .

Of course, this is not the only way to a more balanced Nervous System but it is definitely a wonderful tool we can implement.

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Alright, my friends...this is all for today! I hope you have enjoyed this blog and maybe found value on it. If you think anyone you know might benefit from it, please feel free to share the love .

I will leave you with a beautiful quote from Moshe Feldenkrais that I hope inspires you to reflect :

'I believe that the unity of mind and body is an objective reality. They are not just parts somehow related to each other, but an inseparable whole while functioning. A brain without a body could not think'

Be kind to yourself.

With love,

Celeste ~