Transforming Stress with Nervous System Regulation

Chronic stress takes a huge toll on our health. Somatic Yoga offers a way to take control and regain a sense of calm and ease whenever you need it. This is achieved through gentle regulation of the nervous system and brings about a state of body and mind commonly known as the ‘rest and digest’ mode, where the softening parasympathetic nervous system is brought online.

The flip side of this is chronic stress, where the body is constantly in ‘fight or flight’ mode, with activation of the sympathetic nervous system this time. This state leads to chronic inflammation in the body and this in turn is linked to the vast majority of modern diseases and states of poor health, from diabetes to obesity, cancer, to heart disease and arthritis to respiratory disorders, to name just a few. Chronic stress can be hard to shake off and the longer it continues, the harder it can be for us to snap back out of it and return to a sense of calm safety. But thankfully, there are a range of things we can do to help this situation, and yoga can play a significant and transformative role here.

Somatic yoga in particular is a brilliant way to tune in to and regulate our body’s nervous system, allowing us to become familiar with the sensations of both stress and ease. In somatic yoga, we meet the body where it is and we invite it gently to loosen, let go and recognise the safety of this moment. From there, grounded in safety, we invite the body to explore a range of gentle yoga poses, training our system to open up to the world at its own pace and with a felt sense of security and strength. We return frequently to a centred, grounded and restful position, offering a calm respite whenever we notice this is needed.

This is a training that we bring into our lives off the mat. Our body learns how to consistently come from a point of nervous system activation or stress, back to calm. Once our body has learnt how to feel through that pathway from activation to regulation during a yoga practice, it's easier to carry this pattern through to other areas of life. And you don't have to take my word for it - have a go at adding some practices from somatic yoga to your existing yoga routine with my tips below. As ever with yoga, you'll see the best effects if you practice this every day, but even one session a week should give you a felt sense of the benefits of this approach.

Try this:

Be present. When practicing yoga, take time to tune in to the sensations of your body – the feeling of your feet on the floor, of your hands moving through space and so on. Really feeling into your body takes you out of your mind and any ruminating thoughts and brings you into the safety of this moment. It begins to train you into noticing how your body feels inside.

Try this:

Be attuned. Notice the natural rhythm of your breath and allow your movements to follow this. Move slightly behind the breath, rather than making your breath fit your movements. Notice the natural pause at the end of an exhale and wait until your breath bounces back to an inhale before moving your body in response. Our breath matches our emotional state and honouring that, bringing your whole body into alignment with this, is extremely settling for your system.

Try this:

Be creative. Explore your range of motion within a pose – try a smaller movement or a larger movement and see what feels nice today. Notice if more parts of your body can get involved with a flow sequence, for example ‘walking out’ a downward dog, maybe swaying hips side to side as you do so and then maybe bringing the swinging motion of your spine up to your upper back, letting the shoulders get involved. See if your head and neck want to move in response to this flow sequence too. Being creative and curious plants you firmly in ‘rest and digest’ mode and cannot coexist with feeling stressed.