Nervous System Information Please

[StressLess]

Hello All, I am brand new to this Forum and Site.  I am enjoying the AYP teachings and practice especially. The benefits are arising naturally and with some ease.

My question is in regards to the Nervous System.  Other than understanding the yoga anatomy / high school version of what the nervous system is I'm a bit short on knowledge when it comes to how experiences, especially trauma and stress can "lodge" in the system or create a toxic environment. When Yogani speaks about "purifying" this system what IS purifying and how does it get lodged or live in the system anyway?  Do you see what I'm getting at?  I want to understand more deeply about this introcate system and how we use it to contact our inner and outer worlds.  Thank you for any insight/ links etc..

Warmly,

StressLess

[Bodhi Tree]

Greetings StressLess,
My understanding is that the nervous system is much like an intricate web of pathways, with the spine being the superconductor of the whole operation. Information and energy are continually streaming through these highways in a vast microcosmic network of communication. The life force of a sentient being travels through the meridians in order to animate and give life to the material body.

Therefore, it is implicit in the design that some invisible Spirit is shaping one's character via the nervous system. Yogani says: The nervous system is the doorway to the Infinite. My practices and personal experience have confirmed this proclamation.

I consider obstructions to be karmic data that are not fully supportive of the flow of divine nourishment and manifestation. Much like the hardware of a computer is run by software (which can be glitched or invaded by viruses), so is the nervous system run by the stored patterns accumulated from past experience.

Deep Meditation uses the purity of bliss consciousness (with the help of a vibratory mantra) to sweep out the obsolete programming. Spinal Breathing Pranayama uses breath (life force) to stimulate the fresh flow of ecstasy through the channels. Samyama uses the resident stillness to co-create divine essences and miracles. Cultivation, fertilization, fruition.

When tranquility, mental spaciousness, and inner silence permeate the nervous system, the inner and outer worlds become merged and more accessible. Though I have only touched the tip of the iceberg, the accounts of more seasoned veterans reveal mind-blowingly profound implications, including awakening to one's status as a cosmic being no longer bound by the confines of Earth.

Symptoms of purification and opening include, but are not limited to:
--abiding in a persistently calm state of being
--acting in accordance with divine love and unity (automatically)
--unlocking one's unique talents and potential in the spirit of service to humanity and all of creation
--surrendering to the magnetic allure of the Goddess (or God, or both)

Hopefully, this over-the-top, shamelessly indulgent exposition sheds some light on the matter.

Unity. Wisdom. Lightness of Air.

[maheswari]

nice post BT[]

[Ecdyonurus]

Hi StressLess

Bodhi Tree gave you a very interesting answer on a spiritual level. I am an engineer, so I would add some phyisical informations.  

The nervous system is a highly adaptive system: it changes its own behavior and even ist physical structure (!) in response to environment input. Such a change happens when environment input is repeated several times.

A classical example: When a child learns to walk, the first steps are difficult because it is a totally new process for the child’s nervous system. But by repeating those steps again and again, the process of walking produces a new permanent structure in the nervous systems. The same happens, let’s say, when a musician learns a new piece of music, and the notes get literally «printed» in the nervous system by restructuring the synapses in the brain of the musician.

During adult life in modern times, our environment is stressfull, fast and noisy. So our nervous systems gradually changes in order to handle daily life in such an environment. Now, one could consider this to be a positive adaptation to our environment. The problem is, when one‘s nervous system is on that « noisy mode » all the time, one will not be able to experience stillness and silence anymore (think of people who come home from work and immediately turn on radio or TV or some computer because they cannot be in a noiseless environment anymore). That is what I would call nervous system pollution, but it’s just an example. Another example are negative thoughts that one keeps repeating over years – that also causes a profound change in the nervous system. This can make your nervous system very sick on the long term.

In other words, after some years on earth, your nervous system is very much the result of the stimuli you have been exposed to by living in your environment. The question is : are you happy with it or do you want to change it ? If you are happy, with it, well, nice for you ! But if you you really want to calm your nervous system down and experience silence and stillness (again), yoga is a great tool for that, because by doing yoga you can give your nervous system a new behavior and also a new structure. I am just a beginner, being on the yoga path for a couple of years now, but I have experiental evidence that that yoga stuff works for me in terms of changes of body and behavior in daily life.

I can suggest reading "A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers", written by Mel Robin.

[Bodhi Tree]

Well said, Ecdyonurus!

[StressLess]

I really needed to hear both your answers as I'm a bit more scientifically oriented.. and yet Bodhi Tree gave a lovely spiritual angle to it all.  I so appreciate both your answers and will take them to heart and into my practices!  Thank you very very much for such thorough and thoughtful answers!  Peace,
StressLess

quote:Originally posted by Ecdyonurus

Hi StressLess

Bodhi Tree gave you a very interesting answer on a spiritual level. I am an engineer, so I would add some phyisical informations.  

The nervous system is a highly adaptive system: it changes its own behavior and even ist physical structure (!) in response to environment input. Such a change happens when environment input is repeated several times.

A classical example: When a child learns to walk, the first steps are difficult because it is a totally new process for the child’s nervous system. But by repeating those steps again and again, the process of walking produces a new permanent structure in the nervous systems. The same happens, let’s say, when a musician learns a new piece of music, and the notes get literally «printed» in the nervous system by restructuring the synapses in the brain of the musician.

During adult life in modern times, our environment is stressfull, fast and noisy. So our nervous systems gradually changes in order to handle daily life in such an environment. Now, one could consider this to be a positive adaptation to our environment. The problem is, when one‘s nervous system is on that « noisy mode » all the time, one will not be able to experience stillness and silence anymore (think of people who come home from work and immediately turn on radio or TV or some computer because they cannot be in a noiseless environment anymore). That is what I would call nervous system pollution, but it’s just an example. Another example are negative thoughts that one keeps repeating over years – that also causes a profound change in the nervous system. This can make your nervous system very sick on the long term.

In other words, after some years on earth, your nervous system is very much the result of the stimuli you have been exposed to by living in your environment. The question is : are you happy with it or do you want to change it ? If you are happy, with it, well, nice for you ! But if you you really want to calm your nervous system down and experience silence and stillness (again), yoga is a great tool for that, because by doing yoga you can give your nervous system a new behavior and also a new structure. I am just a beginner, being on the yoga path for a couple of years now, but I have experiental evidence that that yoga stuff works for me in terms of changes of body and behavior in daily life.

I can suggest reading "A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers", written by Mel Robin.

[tonightsthenight]

Stress less,

Obstructions are simply resistance to the divine order. They are self-produced distortions in the bodymind.
Whenever we resist the will of god we are generating obstructions. Most of the time we are unaware that we are resisting. Its our resistance and ignorance that keeps us identifying as separate from all that is.
As far as I know we don't have a precise map of the nervous system in this context but we don't need one because the practices here are guided by an intelligence that is omniscient.
Give up, let go, and take action. Then keep doing that.

[StressLess]

Thank you very much "tonightsthenight"  something to ponder.  And yes, may be not so important to know exactly how it all works... what's under the hood that is.. just practice with just a few tools and all will come. Thanks again.

StressLess

quote:Originally posted by tonightsthenight

Stress less,

Obstructions are simply resistance to the divine order. They are self-produced distortions in the bodymind.
Whenever we resist the will of god we are generating obstructions. Most of the time we are unaware that we are resisting. Its our resistance and ignorance that keeps us identifying as separate from all that is.
As far as I know we don't have a precise map of the nervous system in this context but we don't need one because the practices here are guided by an intelligence that is omniscient.
Give up, let go, and take action. Then keep doing that.