One of the main intentions of my work is Nervous System support, care, and nourishment. Creating balance + homeostasis in this crucial body system.

My students and I practice this every week in Gentle Yoga and it is a main focus in my personal herbalism practices and public teachings.

But why? What is the Nervous System and why is it so important?

Physically your NS is made up of your brain, spinal cord, and all of the nerves in your body. But it is so much more than that.

Your Nervous System is the way in which you experience your life and the world around you. The colors you see, the sensations you feel, the way you respond + react⁠ to whatever comes your way.⁠

When your nervous system is in balance you are calm, relaxed, alert, focused, nourished, and supported. You just feel good! A calm + balanced NS coordinates and conveys health to your entire being, helping to maintain a pleasurable and balanced homeostasis.

When your nervous system is unbalanced you feel tired, anxious, depressed, overwhelmed, unable to deal with life, frazzled, and fried. ⁠A stressed + frantic NS limits the ways in which your body can care for itself, creating imbalance which can welcome in inflammation + dis-ease.

The Nervous System is a very complex body system and is made up of many functions, but for right now we are going to talk about the two basic states of the Autonomic NS, the part of the NS that regulates involuntary processes, the ones that your body does on its own without your conscious effort.

Your Autonomic Nervous System has two basic states:

Parasympathetic is the rest and digest state in which you are calm, focused, and peaceful. All of your involuntary body functions like digestion, immunity, reproductive + urinary health are operating at their most effective and with general ease.

Sympathetic is the fight, flight, or freeze state that is necessary for your survival. In this state you are able to run or fight whatever threats have come your way. Your body produces extra adrenaline and cortisol and your heart sends blood to your extremities to run or protect yourself.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the sympathetic NS state, in fact in can serve you well in times of emergency. The issue is when you're there all the time, unable to return back to the parasympathetic state.

In our frantic, busy, hectic, 1000 things going on all the time western capitalist culture we can get stuck there. Stuck in high stress, always feeling overwhelmed, never enough time to do anything. This decreases your brain’s ability to act rationally and with the long term in mind. Your body essentially overdoses on adrenaline and cortisol leaving you feeling agitated, quick to react, and very stressed ALL THE TIME. This overproduction of hormones burdens your liver as it tries to filter them from your blood stream. This chronic sympathetic NS state leaves many body systems without the support + nourishment that they need to thrive.

(Side note: EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED!!!)

Of course there are SO MANY things that you can do to help maintain balance in your NS, allowing your homeostasis to be in a parasympathetic state. Here are some simple ones that you can begin to incorporate today:

Practice Mindfulness Mediation. Even just a few minutes a day of noticing how you feel + watching the thoughts that flow through your head can be so helpful in observing where your stress comes from. (New to meditation? You can find a 7 minute guided one here.)

Move Your Body with Gentle Yoga. Moving your body slowly and with your breath calms your nerves, increases circulation to all parts of your body, and improves digestion. This isn't movement to change anything about your body, but rather to accept yourself as you are. The changes are just an added bonus. (Locals to RI + MA you can find my in person gentle yoga schedule here)

Spend time outside. Spending time in nature on a peaceful walk or even just sitting on your deck or in the backyard is hugely beneficial to your NS. The earth naturally brings your body back to a healthy homeostasis and the more you can connect with the rhythms of the earth, the better.

Call on your plant allies. There are so many herbs that love to balance and restore your NS. A relaxing nervine infusion/tea is my favorite way to enjoy these types of herbs. Oatstraw, nettle, tulsi, and lemon balm come to mind. Yum! (See my latest post about Nervines on instagram)

Practice Self Care. What are you craving? What does your body, mind, and spirit need to feel good? Give that to yourself! It might be something as simple as taking a relaxing bath or something with more intricacies like distancing yourself from a negative coworker or friend.

Sleep! Make sure that you are getting ample hours resting. Go to bed early if you have too. Scrolling on your phone or watching tv is not worth feeling crappy and tired the next day.

When I was first learning about my nervous system in a more in depth way the below two paragraphs really spoke to me. They are written by Rosemary Gladstar and are in the NS portion of her online herbalism training The Science and Art of Herbology.

“From whatever philosophy of life you choose to participate, the nervous system is your only means to connect and interact with your world. If you treat it like a very delicate instrument, it will play back the finest music to enrich you’re being. Keep it tuned and healthy, feed it well, protect it from overuse and exploitation; and your rewards will be a life of exquisite quality. Abuse it and the music turns to a cacophony of sound, the colors fade and run, the joy and zest for life drain away into indifference.

That part of you that can’t be measured or quantified, that part which understands these words and makes rich associations from them, that part which can transcend all physical boundaries through the creative thought process- YOU - are the creator of your life. This nervous system is your instrument of creation. You must determine how to care for yourself."

What are the ways that you strengthen, nourish, and support your nervous system? What are you going to commit to this week to feel better? Email nicolelebreuxyoga@gmail.com, I’d love to know!