The Effects of Yoga on the Nervous System

There are many factors in a person’s life that combine to equate to good health. Exercise, proper eating habits, and positive mental health all benefit one’s body and mind. Another form of health in a person’s life is manifested through happiness. Health and happiness may be magnified by practicing the ancient art of yoga. No other practice has sustained the elements the ways in which yoga has, nor has any other natural practice been proven as effective in positively changing a person’s entire being.
Yoga has the ability to alter many parts of the body, but some underestimate the power that yoga practices have on they body’s systems, particularly those that are somewhat abstract to us because they are not visible like the arms or the legs. The nervous system, a key example of this, is a vital structure that affects parts of the body from the organs to the muscles. A well-rounded nervous system is what enables one to remain level headed in stressful situations. Neurons are the cells that make up the system, with fibrous hairs attached to the cell membrane which enables each cell to transmit impulses to nerves.
The asanas in yoga are what cleanses these cells, which in turn allow the nervous system to react carefully to stress. The muscles are also able to relax during a time of tension and other negative symptoms produced by our adrenaline that pours into the system during “fight or flight” mode are repressed. All of these effects are due to activity within the sympathetic nervous system.