Four ways yoga helps to calm your nervous system

I could talk all day about how magical yoga is for our mind and our bodies. Compiling my research and health psychology background, here are four ways yoga helps to support our nervous system.

1. 

   Slow breaths activate the parasympathetic nervous system -

   Our inhale activates the sympathetic nervous system (our fight/flight), whereas the exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system (our rest/ digest). When we make our exhale longer and slower than our inhale, it sends signals to our nervous system to let your body know that it is safe and it's ok for you to rest.

   
   

2. Yoga keeps both sides of your brain online -

   When we experience a stress response in the body, it can turn off one or both sides of your brain (our logic and creativity). The side to side movements of yoga helps to keep both sides of our brain online.

   
   

3. Helps to reduce high cortisol levels -

   We need cortisol in our bodies, as this is what helps us wake up in the morning and protect us from danger. However, too much cortisol can cause an inflamed and exhausted state within the body. The gentle breathing and slow movements of yoga helps to calm the nervous system and bring our cortisol to where it should be.

   
   

4. It reconnects you with your body -

   We can spend so much of our time thinking about things that have happened in the past or things that may or may not happen in the future. This can stop us from noticing what's going on in our bodies. This can cause us to miss signals that our body sends us about our health. Yoga helps us to become more aware of our bodies, how they move and how they feel.

   
   

   These benefits come from the slow breathing, mindfulness and gentle movement. Hopefully, this inspires you to try yoga!

   
   

   All my love,

   Em x

   
   
   
   
   
   

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