Anxiety, Grief, Depression, Distress, Heartbreak, Trauma - all wreak havoc on our central nervous system. Our biological response to these stressors increases cortisol, blood pressure, and tension in the body. If we aren't able to work through these strong emotions, we internalize them and our bodies continue to be in an active alert state - Constantly - leading to the breakdown of our immune system and aggression.
The past 6 months have been a season of grief for me. My father, after suffering from Alzheimer's for many years, left his earthly body in late September. Alzheimer's is a slow illness and he lingered through that regression for a long time. Even though his death was expected, preparing for his memorial brought back a flood of emotions from when he was healthy. Seeing pictures of my dad playing with me and my siblings when we were younger, coaching the sport he loved, and walking me down the aisle at my wedding all brought back a slew of emotions.
Through the years of my father's illness, my mother spent a lot of time with my family. We enjoyed seeing her multiple times a week and helping her through the process of caring for my dad. A few week's after my father's death, my mother was introduced to another man and they began a relationship. Before long, my mother was excited about plans to re-marry and travel. The time my mom had previously spent with us, was now spent with someone else. The phone calls announcing she was home after a trip, went to someone else. After spending some time "extra grouchy" according to my family, I began to realize that I was not just mourning the father of my youth, but also the time and attention of my mom - something I hadn't expected at all.
Fortunately, through all of the events of these past months, I've had to ability to tap into emotions, and release them through the many avenues yoga offers us all. One of the ways yoga helps is to access the vagal nerve which helps our Parasympathetic Nervous System kick in and relax us. Learn how the Vagus nerve works here -
https://www.exopermaculture.com/2013/07/03/the-vagus-nerve-biological-seat-of-compassion/
The vagus nerve and it's ability to control our emotional responses is exemplified in the PolyVagal Theory described here - https://www.sott.net/article/256043-Polyvagal-Theory-Sensory-Challenge-and-Gut-Emotions
The PolyVagal Theory suggests our body creates a hierarchy of emotions. When our emotions are clustered into depression, borderline personality disorder and others, our hierarchy becomes imbalanced - keeping us in a heightened state of alert and creating extra tension and stress build up in the body.
Along with tapping into the vagus nerve, accessing the psoas muscle also communicates with the nervous system as described here -https://bodydivineyoga.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/the-psoas-muscle-of-the-soul/
The psoas is a storage compartment for trauma, stress, and emotions. Being able to relax this muscle, that connects the spine to the legs, sends relaxation messages to the brain and helps to relieve our heightened emotional state.
SOOOO, that's a LOT of scientific information! How does yoga help with this? As described in this article -
http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/how-yoga-can-help-with-trauma-recovery-part-i-0209154 - yoga creates intention with movement and breath. Pranayama (breathing) is an important aspect of yoga's ability to relax the nervous system. Creating a longer exhale than inhale begins to lower the heart rate and reduces anxiety. Breathing through tension created by holding a posture until the muscles begin to relax allows greater release through the body. Experiencing mindfulness as we check into the body's response when entering a pose helps us to access release of tension in that area. Feeling the differences in each side of the body and noticing the wavering as the body tries to maintain balance on one foot all bring Mind/Body awareness - Mindfulness - to help us keep from disconnecting. In essence yoga is retraining the nervous system as described here -http://upliftconnect.com/yoga-and-stress/
I feel extremely blessed to be able to tap into the relaxation of yoga everyday. I know that my season of stress is minor compared to so many dealing with ongoing, life-altering, intense trauma everyday. My mother spent many years in constant stress caring for my father during his physical decline - and then the financial stress of him needing a full-time nursing facility. Many friends my age are experiencing major health issues - including cancer, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis - or caring for - or mourning a loved one with these ongoing life-altering health issues. Our military, first-responders and many others live with ongoing trauma and PTSD from major events and deployments. Whatever the types of stress our bodies are experiencing, the medical industry is beginning to guide people to yoga as an alternative means of treatment to release these strong emotional states trapped in our bodies.
This month's yoga pose challenge is geared to help us all to #PracticePeace. We have to make an effort to enhance our emotional health. While yoga does not replace psychotherapy and medication, it is another outlet for our bodies to find relaxation and relief. The poses displayed for this challenge help release tension in the psoas, open the heart, improve blood circulation and soothe the nervous system. While moving through each day's pose alone isn't the cure for every ailment in the body, my hope is that finding an outlet for your body to relax is accessed and you begin seeking more yoga in your life.
To further encourage you to participate in this relaxing yoga pose challenge, my friend, Holly, has created some wonderful jewelry. These pieces are made of turquoise, blue crystal, cats eye and glass beads. You can find more information about her awesome jewelry on her Facebook page, Romancing the Bead. To be entered to win this beautiful jewelry there are many options! The first is to simply share the information about this challenge through social media (Facebook, IG, Twitter, etc), then take a picture of your body's expression of that day's pose and share it with me!
You're welcome to post through your own Facebook or Instagram and tag me (@clarissapyeattyoga);
Share your photo in the comments on my post each day;
Email or Text them to me - clarissapyeattyoga@gmail.com
Each time you share your pose-of-the-day, you will be entered to win. The more you share, the better your chances!
As an additional incentive, the prize shown below will be given to the most creative pose throughout the challenge! Remember - creativity can be related to place, modification of the pose, or even people posing with you. Even though there is a specific variation of the pose displayed in the collage, your body is welcome to choose any variation that works best for you that day. I love to see all of our bodies finding relaxation in our own variations. This prize is meant to enhance your feelings of comfort and stress release in the body.
Accessing my emotions through yoga has helped me to find peace in the chaos of life. We will always have seasons of grief, anxiety and depression. Allowing our bodies to release emotions is healing. Seeking to find the beauty in the world, and looking for the positive, always helps us to rebound more quickly. I am at peace with my mom's marriage, and was blessed to "give her away" at her wedding - as well as make her healthy (diabetic and gluten friendly) wedding cake and gluten/dairy free cupcakes!
