You're probably familiar with the term "fight or flight". This is when our sympathetic nervous system (one of the two divisions of our autonomic nervous system) kicks in, giving us a rush of adrenaline to deal with a stressful situation.
But did you know fight or flight has an opposite? "Rest and digest" is when the parasympathetic nervous system conserves energy as it slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles in the gastrointestinal tract. This is also called the relaxation response.
The fight or flight response is meant to keep us alive in dangerous situations, and it does a great job of that. However, in today's world, it can be hard for our bodies to determine the difference in levels of threats from a lion chasing us from the stress of our work emails constantly coming through on our cell phone when we're not at work. It's not healthy to be constantly experiencing the fight or flight response, our bodies need the rest and digest response.
This slowing down of the body is when true healing and repair can take place. So when your stomach begins to gurgle and make noises during a massage, it's actually a great indicator that we've switched that autonomic nervous system over from sympathetic to parasympathetic, and we've reached a level of relaxation where the body can repair itself. This is a great thing!
Here's a quick video from YatraYoni with some other tips on how to reach that rest and digest zone.
But did you know fight or flight has an opposite? "Rest and digest" is when the parasympathetic nervous system conserves energy as it slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles in the gastrointestinal tract. This is also called the relaxation response.
The fight or flight response is meant to keep us alive in dangerous situations, and it does a great job of that. However, in today's world, it can be hard for our bodies to determine the difference in levels of threats from a lion chasing us from the stress of our work emails constantly coming through on our cell phone when we're not at work. It's not healthy to be constantly experiencing the fight or flight response, our bodies need the rest and digest response.
This slowing down of the body is when true healing and repair can take place. So when your stomach begins to gurgle and make noises during a massage, it's actually a great indicator that we've switched that autonomic nervous system over from sympathetic to parasympathetic, and we've reached a level of relaxation where the body can repair itself. This is a great thing!
Here's a quick video from YatraYoni with some other tips on how to reach that rest and digest zone.
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