This is more important than the “actual” Yoga!
One of the most enlightening parts of my 200hr training was learning about Polyvagal theory. It personally made so much sense to me and I was finally able to understand how I was feeling. At the time it was very much “freeze” for me. I was dissociated, numb, and wanted to lie down CONSTANTLY.
It took four weeks of intensive training (and an additional week before returning to work) to start to come down from that place.
For context, we should be somewhere between the green and the red on a daily basis (the squiggly line). Our mind and body will respond to stressful situations and we’ll pop into fight or flight, then come back down when the threat has passed. However, stressful situations don’t always pass, and the modern world is full of things that keep us in that fight or flight response. It’s when we don’t come down from there that we risk drifting on up into freeze.
I still have this chart on my fridge and each day I can look at it and find where I am. By doing this, I am informed about what I feel capable of in that moment. And by arming myself with that information, I can then go about finding my way back down (if I’m not already there). I usually take myself off somewhere quiet and relaxing, close my eyes and take some deep calming breaths. Increasing the length of the exhale slows the heart rate and helps bring you away from fight or flight.
Google “Polyvagal curve” and challenge yourself to find where you are each day.
Join one of my Nurturing Flow classes to help stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest, the green bit!)
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