Our unconscious brain is designed to manage all of our bodily systems based on our location in the environment. When we remove one system to work with it (such as the nervous system, or one nerve) in order to induce a change, we are no longer operating within a holistic paradigm where all systems function together autonomically. Altering the nerve from the outside may cause a shift, but since the unconscious mind did not create it, it cannot recreate it. The nervous system’s perception of danger in the environment didn’t actually transform, it just got overruled. Our body knows how to find homeostasis based on where we are, not how we feel.

This depiction of Fight or Flight physiology happens to show only the active stages of the stress response. Missing are the passive stages of the Sympathetic Nervous System that also occur reflexively but are not as well-known or understood. Also missing from most information about the stress response are the structural changes. Every mammal tucks their tail, ducks their head, shifts forwards on their toes, narrows their vision, and more.

Now that I have stepped away from teaching and practicing yoga, I see how yoga kept me and my fellow yoga students mentally occupied with all the instructions we were constantly following (keep the inner heel anchored, deepen the hip crease, draw your shoulders back and down…) We were changing our musculature mostly by pulling on our muscle attachments (a frequent site of injury for yogis). We were getting ego boosts from achieving more advanced asanas and attaining extreme ranges in the poses. (Do we really need to take our ankles behind our necks?) The adrenaline/cortisol release from the breathing practices created an addictive high that kept us coming back for more.

The more I learned about the nervous system in my CranioSacral Therapy studies, the more my meditation practice became essential to promote what I thought was Parasympathetic tone, give me insights into my actions, reactions and relationships, as well as to prepare my instrument for optimal performances on stage. Even though having my son and becoming separated created a challenge to have a consistent sitting practice, I still managed to meditate most days, even if my only time to practice was when nursing.