Hiya Friends,

So is anybody else feeling exhausted lately? For non-essential workers - feeling like you “should” be so much more productive with a little extra time on your hands, but can’t seem to get anything done? Are you forgetting meetings, clients, keys, what you did yesterday? Yep - right on cue!

(I want to take a moment here to say THANK YOU to our essential workers. You have everything I’m about to mention in addition to working your tail off in highly frightening conditions potentially. I lay my heart down before you with gratitude for what you are doing to help the rest of us stay safe, get medical care, eat, etc…. You are the unsung heroes of this pandemic.)

I’ve been trying to talk about our Nervous Systems in class since I started researching the subject for my own body when I was about 32. As I have further the studies and research, I have come to realize that the health of the Nervous System in the MindBody is soooooo incredibly important for our overall health and often out of balance in the majority of us. On a personal note - this is the main reason I have stay with and practiced yoga - it has helped me retrain my Nervous System which was stuck on “on” and agitated a majority of the time.

It’s extremely complex, so in super simple terms that are becoming more well known - there are two parts to the Autonomic Nervous System. One part is the Fight,Flight, & Freeze part of the system (Sympathetic Nervous System -SNS). The second part is the Rest & Digest part of the system (Parasympathetic Nervous System - PNS). They are both important. We need both of them to survive. However, in today’s grind culture (read - over-scheduled) and our focus on extrinsic values (read - thinking we will gain happiness from outside sources)… we tend to overuse the SNS part of Nervous System and move away from balance (Homeostasis).

What physiologically happens when our SNS is activated is that in preparation to Fight, Flee, or Freeze - our heart rate increases, our respiratory rate increases, our blood sugar levels increase, and all the blood and energy get sent to our extremities while digestion and healing get put on the back burner. You can imagine that if this is happening regularly in the body - this could start to:
A) Move us towards dis-ease
B) Exhaust us.

I wanna focus a bit on the “B” - the exhaustion part. For over a year now the majority of us have been in Fight, Flight, or Freeze mode, I dare say, a majority of the time. Ya see, one of the main jobs of the Nervous System is to keep us alive. Guess What?! This past year between news cycles, COVID, political unrest, social injustices, literal deaths and beatings, as well as having to worry about going to the grocery store, if our business will stay open, if our kids mental health will suffer, if OUR mental health will suffer…. I could go on and on here - our MindBody has been trying to keep us safe and alive in a way most of us have never known.

You may be one of the Folx saying, “Not me, I haven’t been stressed out.” I would love to have been able to take blood samples from your body to see how much and how often you had adrenaline and cortisol in your system. I would put a lot of money into a bet that we have all been in our SNS more than we know. See that’s the thing. We often aren't even aware that our body is in high alert. Plus, this year - I think we numbed to it after a certain point for self-survival. How many of you weigh 15 more pounds than at the onset of the pandemic, have binge watched every show on Netflix, have purchased a bunch of crap you don’t need online, have drank way more alcohol than usual, etc…. Those are just SOME of the ways we numb when we are stressed. I am not shaming you. I have done my share of numbing and am trying to figure out other, healthier ways to self-soothe too. We are all in this together. My point is - if you are partaking in any of these behaviors - that is proof positive you are stressed out and your SNS is activated.

Back to EXHAUSTION. The SNS uses a ton of energy. Literally - that breakdown of sugars and fats to make energy so our BodyMind can functio - Yeah, well most of that has been going to our SNS survival mode. Think about that for a second. Now can you imagine that yes - you are indeed tired and forgetful and although you are lonely you just don’t want to expend energy talking to someone else?

I want to Name this so that we can all be a bit more compassionate with ourselves. So that we can understand what has been happening at a subtle level in our bodies. So that maybe we can also start to figure out ways to activate our PNS so that we can move back toward balance (Homeostasis) for our health. I won’t take too much time to point out that in addition to the physiological changes that occur when our SNS is activated that can be detrimental to our physical health long term - being in our SNS too much also moves us toward anxiety, worries, and depression - AKA mental health issues (personally, I have been dancing with all 3 this year).

On my YouTube/CJoyYoga Channel - I am videoing and posting techniques from yoga that modern scientific research is proving out (yet again) to help activate the PNS side of our nervous system. The Rest & Digest side of it. I’m trying to make them short and sweet so that we can do them multiple times through out our day/week in order to activate our PNS as much as we can right now.

So be kind. Be gentle. Maybe lay off the bullying attitude that is so hard on you for not getting stuff done or forgetting something during this time.

I personally have been very fond of the “Spontaneous Savasana”. At random times, I lay down whatever I’m doing, set a timer for 5-20 minutes, lay my body down in a comfy position, feel the earth underneath me, breathe, and chill. I have found it most beneficial to do during the times when I’m the busiest. I end up feeling more recharged.

For me personally, taking the time to be there for this MindBody - well it is thanking me for being there for it. The more supported “it” feels, the softer I am with myself, the better I feel all the way around. And that’s saying something this year!

OFFERINGS:
1) I still have a few spots left for the in-person class offerings on Saturday at Insync Fitness for WW Folx. For Out-Of-Town Folx - you can take them on Zoom. In-person we are now able to take our mask off once we are on our mats for our Asana Practice.

2) Patreon.com/CJoyYoga has over 300 videos on it with new ones posted every week that you can access for $15/month. For $50/month you get that, plus access to 5 weekly Zoom classes. (I added a Wednesday Gentle Class that is going swimmingly.) You can purchase these classes individually as well.

KEEP YOUR PEEPERS PEELED:
1) Starting in June - outdoor classes will start up again. The T/Th class will go hybrid with the option for Zoom or to join through P&R out in Pioneer Park. The Saturday class (also hybrid) will move out to my bros winery, Dusted Valley, who was so gracious to host us last year. Gentle will hopefully move to hybrid as well so some of the Folx can take it in-person.

2) I don’t have the dates yet, but I hope to do a few SUP Yoga classes again this summer. P&R even wants me to teach a few SUP Yoga classes at Memorial Pool! Super cool!!

That’s what I know Friends. Life is impermanent, so we will be adaptable to change, but these are my intentions!

Be well. Stay well. Activate your PNS as often as you can. And it’s worth saying again - BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF!!!!!!

SO.MUCH.LOVE
Christel Joy

We Are Exhausted