Coming into Balance: How Stress and Relaxation Work Together

by Baxter and Nina

Mirror Image by Melina Meza

So, you�re lying on a beautiful beach somewhere, feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin and listening to the sound of waves lapping at the shore, and you�re feeling totally comfortable and very relaxed. So what is happening to you? Is this the relaxation response? The rest and digest state? Conscious relaxation? Or what?

Another time you�re sitting alone in your house, meditating on your breath. Your knee hurts a bit. Your thoughts seem wild, and you feel fidgety and restless. But you keep coming back to your breath, and after several minutes your mind begins to settle and quiet. What�s happening to you now? And how is this different than being on the beach?

Or, let�s say one night you�re driving your car down a dark, winding road through a forest when suddenly a deer bolts into the road. Your heart begins to pound and your breath speeds up as you quickly try to take evasive action. Is this the stress response? The Fight or Flight response? On another night, you�re meeting someone you�ve just started dating. When you spot them on the street coming toward you, your heart begins to pound and your breath speeds up. It feels kind of like stress, but in a good way�you know, exciting. What�s going on there?

As we have been delving into the topics of stress and relaxation, we�ve found there�s some confusing terminology out there in the literature and even here on our own blog! So it seems like a good idea to try and define once and for all some of terms that have been most commonly bantered about. To start, let�s take a look at the following terms to get clearer on what they mean:

1. Stress Response
2. Fight or Flight State
3. Relaxation Response
4. Rest and Digest State
5. Conscious Relaxation

Stress Response. This term describes the response of your mind and body response of your mind and body when you are faced with a challenge. Sometimes the response is to a real or perceived threat, ranging from serious life or death situations to stressful situations like doing your taxes or getting lost. Other times the response is to a positive challenge, such as running a race, falling in love, brainstorming ideas, or creating a work of art. The stress response increases the activity of your sympathetic nervous system, speeding up your heart and breath rates, and dilating your pupils to get you ready for action. When the stress response is at its extreme, you shift into the Flight or Fight State.

Fight or Flight State. This term describes the state of your nervous system when your sympathetic system is fully operational, and generally you actually are in danger, threatened, or think you are in danger. For example, if you are about to get into a car accident, your nervous system sends quick signals to your adrenal glands to release adrenalin, unleashing a rapid physical response evolved to get you to safety. (See below for details.) 

Relaxation Response. This term describes the response of your mind and body to safe circumstances or a secure environment, causing your heart and breath rate to slow, your blood pressure to drop, your energy usage to slow and your digestion and immune systems to turn on. In our above example, if you successfully avoided the car crash, once you got home and had some time to decompress, your system would slowly shift to the relaxation response. The relaxation response increases the activity of your parasympathetic nervous system, and enters you into the Rest and Digest state. 

You can trigger the relaxation response through conscious relaxation techniques or just by ordinary resting and relaxing while you are awake, such as by listening to calming music on your couch or by lying on a beach feeling the sun on your skin and listening to the waves. (This is in contrast to activities that are distracting rather than relaxing. For example, while TV distracts us from our real-life concerns, it is not actually relaxing your nervous system because the action you�re watching is typically very stimulating�as anyone who tries to go to bed after a scary movie or violent show soon realizes.)

Rest and Digest State. This term describes the state of your nervous system when your parasympathetic system is fully operational, you are mentally and physically relaxed, your body�s vital signs are in their calm state, and the immune, repair, and digestive systems are up and operating. You enter this state naturally when relaxing at home or out in nature, or when you use conscious relaxation to trigger the relaxation response.

Conscious Relaxation. This term describes any technique that triggers the relaxation response, including meditation, breath practices that are calming, guided relaxation practices, and even gentle and restorative yoga asana practiced mindfully. Keep in mind that this describes an active practice technique with a desired goal. But the awesome thing about conscious relaxation is that you can use it anytime and anywhere. You don�t need to fly to Hawaii. And although a quiet peaceful environment is helpful, you can even meditate or do breath practices in challenging environments. (See 6 Ways to Bust Stress with Yoga).

The Healthy Balance of Stress and Relaxation

So let�s say you�re sitting outside in the garden talking with a friend, and you�re feeling very comfortable and relaxed. Then your friend tells you about an interesting idea he has, and you suddenly perk up a bit. You then pitch in with an idea of your own, and that leads to very animated discussion. What�s happening here? Are you relaxed or stressed? Or, is it possible that you are both at the same time?

Ding, ding, ding! Yes, it�s both at the same time. You see your autonomic nervous system, which is regulates your involuntary body functions, such as heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion, is divided into two subsystems, the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system, which work together in tandem, providing you with a healthy balance of activity and relaxation.

Sympathetic Nervous System. This system stimulates you when you need to be active. The activity can be as basic as getting out of bed in the morning, writing an email, or practicing gentle yoga poses, something more challenging such as running a race or giving a public talk, or something really drastic such as trying to avoid a car accident. 

Your sympathetic nervous system prepares your body and mind for action by stimulating your heart to beat faster and stronger and slightly raising your blood pressure to improve blood flow, by opening your airways so you can breathe more easily, and by stimulating your thought processes so you can assess your situation and think more quickly.

In extreme situations�where serious action on your part is needed�your sympathetic nervous system triggers the Fight or Flight response, as described above. In this state, your sympathetic nervous system actually turns off the background functions of nourishment, restoration, and healing that are provided by the parasympathetic nervous system because these functions will slow you down. Being in the Fight or Flight state is normal and healthy as long as it doesn�t happen too frequently or continue for a long period of time, when it becomes chronic stress (see see About Stress: Acute Versus Chronic).

Parasympathetic Nervous System. This system is responsible for nourishing, restoring, and healing your body and mind. As you move through your day, whether you are totally relaxed, slightly active, or even very active, your parasympathetic nervous system stimulates digestion, activates various metabolic processes, and keeps your immune system turned on. (These functions will only be turned off temporarily when you�re in a Fight or Flight state.)

When you are physically still and your mind is quiet, your parasympathetic system functions optimally, allowing you to enter the Rest and Digest state. Being in the Rest and Digest state is normal and very desirable, as it gives your body and mind time to relax completely and recover from stressful periods. There�s probably no downside to spending a lot of time in this state, except you probably wouldn�t get very much done!

On an average good day, when you�re feeling rested and cheerful, and are involved in normal work and social activities, your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work together to keep you in balance, allowing you to be both fully functional and stay healthy. A well-balanced yoga practice, including both physical exercise and stress management practices, will help you maintain this balance when there are minor challenges in your life. It is only when you spend too much time with an overactive sympathetic nervous system due to ongoing stressful life circumstances that you can become out of balance. At this point, it�s very important to take steps to reduce your chronic stress and bring yourself back into balance again, as chronic stress is harmful to your physical, emotional, and mental health (see About Stress: Acute Versus Chronic). And conscious relaxation with yoga is the way!

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Your Nervous System Needs TLC

by Baxter and Nina

Nerve Cells

Although we tend to think about the nervous system only when we�re feeling stressed (or nervous!), your nervous system is essential for your survival. Basically, it provides the following essential functions:

• Controls background processes that keep your body alive and healthy, such breathing, maintaining normal temperature, and adjusting blood pressure to match activity.
• Responds to external stimuli (which come in through our senses), such as having a positive reaction to a beautiful smell, a pain response to a burn, or a quick reaction to an oncoming car 
• Obeys our conscious mental instructions, such as to talk, move, or breathe more slowly. 

By communicating through your nerves, your nervous system constantly monitors the internal activities of your body systems, attempting to keep them in a healthy balance called �homeostasis.� It also monitors your environment to assess if it is safe or dangerous, and sends messages to your body either to relax and enjoy or act quickly to get to safety. 

Your nervous system is made up of two main parts: the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. However, even though we�and our anatomy books!�always discuss the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system as two separate systems (see below), they are really a continuation of one another and are in constant communication with each other about the state of your body. 

Chronic stress has a negative effect on your nervous system, contributing to the development of anxiety, depression, sleep problems, lack of concentration, and memory impairment. Therefore, using your yoga practice to keep stress levels in check and to manage your stress during challenging periods, will support the health of your nervous system overall. Additionally, besides by staying generally healthy through exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet and drinking enough water, getting enough rest, and avoiding smoking, you can support the health of your nervous system by:

• Treating conditions that can negatively impact the system, such as diabetes and hypertension.
• Avoiding alcohol and drugs that affect the nervous system. 
• Decreasing use of over-the-counter medications, because as you get older, these can negatively affect your nervous system. 
• Testing your hearing and vision regularly (when they are not working well the brain has a harder time recording information).
• Cultivating brain health (see 6 Ways to Foster Brain Health with Yoga). 

Now let�s have a look at the individual components so you can understand how they all work together, how important they are for your basic survival and functioning in your daily life, and how yoga can help you keep your nervous system healthy. 

Neurons. The basic component of your nervous system is a specialized cell called a neuron, which are both part of your brain and also make up your nerves. The human brain contains about 86 billion neurons, and its neurons are densely packed and are only 10 microns long. While aging results in the loss of some of our brain neurons, the ability of our brains to grow and change (brain plasticity) means that continuing to stimulate our brains with learning will actually cause our brain neurons to grow and existing brain neurons to be repurposed. 

Neurons connect the brain proper to your spinal cord, and from the spinal cord connect to neurons in your peripheral nerves. Using your asana practice to maintain healthy posture and proper alignment of your spinal bones will help to keep your spinal cord safe from pinching and narrowing, which could cause nerve dysfunction or pain. 

Your peripheral nerves consist of longer neurons, which can be up to 1 meter in length. They transmit messages through the nerve via electrical signals and use chemical neurotransmitters to send the impulses from one neuron to the next. A sedentary lifestyle and structural injuries can negatively impact your peripheral nerves. With a regular asana practice, you can release holding patterns around your nerves, allowing them to function them better. 

Central Nervous System. Made up of your spinal cord and your brain, your central nervous system receives and processes information from all over your body. In response to conscious thoughts, your central nervous system sends nerve impulses to your peripheral nervous system to make the requested action happen. And in response to nerve impulses that your central nervous system receives from your senses and your autonomic nervous system (which keep your background systems in balance), your central nervous system sends nerve impulses to make your body react appropriately. 

Besides communicating through your nerves, your central nervous system also communicates with your organs and the rest of your body through chemical and hormonal messages, for example, by releasing the stress hormone adrenaline when you need to react quickly. 

Peripheral Nervous System. Consists of nerve fibers that branch off from your spinal cord and extend to all parts of your body, including your neck, arms, torso, and legs, as well as all your muscles and internal organs. The nerve receptors and long nerves that travel all over your body and back to your central nervous system are either delivering information to your central nervous system or receiving instructions from it. For example, when you decide to raise your arms in Warrior 1 pose, your brain sends a message via the peripheral nervous system to the appropriate muscles. Or, when you�re stressed, your peripheral nervous system speeds up your heart rate. Likewise, if you cut yourself, taste some chocolate, or sniff a flower, your peripheral nervous system communicates lets your brain know all about it. 

The peripheral nervous system is divided into somatic and autonomic systems.

Somatic Nervous System. Provides voluntary control of your body movements. In yoga, we use our somatic nervous system when we practice poses, perform breath practices, stay still when we meditate, and consciously relax muscles in restorative poses and guided relaxation. Obviously we want our somatic nervous to function optimally because to function well in our daily lives we need quick and coordinated responses to our mental requests for movement or rest. You can use your asana practice to support the health of your somatic nervous system by practicing a wide variety of poses and movement patterns to activate all those nerves on a regular basis, and by practicing balance and flow poses to keep your proprioceptors (the nerves that allow you to sense where you are in space) healthy. 

Autonomic Nervous System. Regulates involuntary body functions, such as heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion. It�s called �autonomic� because it works autonomously (automatically) without your conscious effort. (You don�t need to tell your heart to beat the same way you need to tell your front knee to bend to 90 degrees in Warrior 2 pose. Voluntary movements, such as knee bending, are controlled by your somatic nervous system.) 

Although the functions of the autonomic nervous system are generally involuntary, some of them are not outside of your awareness, and they may be influenced by your state of mind. For example, although you can�t tell your heart to beat faster or more slowly, you can feel it beating. And when you�re calm, you�ll notice that your heart beats more slowly and when you�re afraid or angry, you�ll notice it beating more rapidly. 

The autonomic nervous system is divided into two parts that function in tandem with each other: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. Learning about these two systems and how they interact with each other is one of the secrets to learning to keep your stress levels in check (see Life Changer: Understanding Your Nervous System). 

We hope this little anatomy lesson helps you understand the importance of your nervous system and the value of giving it active attention as you age. All the yoga tools at your disposal, including asanas, meditation, breath practices, relaxation practices, and even yoga philosophy, will help you support its good health.

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