Calming the Nervous System
@travelandthegirls
Massage is often known for its relaxing properties, for calming us down and soothing our nervous system. But how does this actually happen?
Your nervous system guides almost everything you do, think, say or feel. It controls complicated processes like movement, thought and memory. It also plays an essential role in all the things your body does without thinking, such as breathing, blinking and your heartbeat.
This complex system is effectively the command centre for your body. It regulates your body’s systems and allows you to experience your environment.
You have a ‘central nervous system’ which is your spinal cord and brain and a ‘peripheral nervous system’ which relays signals to and from your brain and spinal cord to and from the rest of your body.
It is the latter, the peripheral nervous system that we are focusing on here. Within all of our peripheral nervous systems, there are two main divisions, the voluntary (somatic) and involuntary (autonomic) nervous system. The involuntary nervous system works automatically, without a person’s conscious effort and manages a variety of bodily functions such as blood pressure and heart rate. This involuntary system is further split into Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). These are the two systems that are key for this conversation around massage.
The SNS helps deal with acute stress and danger, both physical and psychological. At these moments of acute stress your body releases hormones to awaken the SNS. This triggers physical responses such as rapid shallow breathing, increased heart rate to allow increased cardiac output to get more oxygen around the body, your muscles tense up so they are ready for physical activity, you start sweating, your digestion will potentially have an immediate release and then slows, your pupils dilate; all immediate responses so your body is poised, ready to react.
In modern life however, there are many everyday stresses that trigger this response as the body does not know the difference between acute danger or stress where this reaction is vital and everyday stresses and worries where this response is not required and actually very unhelpful.
This is a very common state to stay in when living in busy, demanding lives. The body struggles to switch off.
Conversely, the PNS soothes the body into a more relaxed state, aiding rest and recovery. PNS is also responsible for more peace and tranquillity in the mind and where the mind goes the body will follow. If the SNS is constantly active then the PNS remains inactive.
The SNS is key for survival but you do not want it to remain permanently active. Regularly stimulating and purposely activating the PNS helps restore the whole body and mind to balance and harmony and allows the body to function at its best. It also allows us to feel more calm and relaxed which in turn aids reduction in stress and anxiety.
There are many ways to stimulate the PNS from small daily rituals such as short mediations, or even sitting quietly with a cup of tea away from screens, or spending a few minutes listening to some beautiful music, taking a walk in nature, some deep breathing or it also very beneficial to include more extensive regular relaxation practices and rituals such as longer mediation practices, yoga or massage therapy.
