How Yoga can help your nervous system

The nervous system consists of three parts: Central Nervous System (sensation & motor control), Peripheral Nervous System (connects nerves to organs and limbs) and Autonomic Nervous System (emergency response: Sympathetic- “gas pedal” & Parasympathetic- “break pedal”).

Some of the benefits to having a strong nervous system are that you can manage stress and be less nervous in tense situations.

Here is one way to think about the nervous system; think about a child who watches a scary movie. The child anticipates something ‘bad’ is about to happen and looks away. The child cannot bare to watch what is about to happen. This is what a weak nervous system is like in a way. A person cannot contain the reality of an event and therefore avoids it altogether. With a strong nervous system, one can watch and experience the scene no matter how painful. You cannot control what is happening on the TV screen, but you can control whether you allow yourself to experience reality.

Another way to think about the nervous system is that it is a container. To some, their container is a half-inch shot glass. This type of container can barely hold anything, so there is limit to the amount of stress or pain this person can hold. With this type of nervous system, it can be hard to even meditate for three minutes before feeling some sort of pain that will distract you. There is a limit to the depth of meditation one can experience with a weak nervous system as elevated states of consciousness can only be held for a short amount of time. It is said that people who have become insane from drug abuse experienced high states of consciousness without a strong nervous system to support these states.

One with a strong nervous system has a system more like a large steel barrel with the ability to hold whatever comes their way. This person can experience and process painful events faster as they can allow the experience without avoiding it. This person can experience more depth in meditation and can meditate for hours without distracting pain. When the nervous system develops the capacity to hold pain, then you can heal. You want to create the capacity to hold pain and then the system can bring awareness to it and then release it.

We have become a society that seeks pleasure and avoids pain at all costs.  By consciously avoiding the tough times you are running from reality. We all do it on some level, but the truth is that avoiding pain causes neurosis. It is important to have a strong nervous system to be graceful during tough times.

There is a great meditation for the nervous system which Guru Dev Singh (Master of Sat Nam Rasayan) calls, “To Stabilize the State.” Guru Dev taught that by working the armpits you are strengthening the nervous system. Kundalini Yoga works on a number of levels on different elements of what is known as the ten bodies. To learn more about kundalini basics, please check this introductory course out. https://withribbon.com/c/1014