Think about the first time you walked into a new yoga class.
You were probably on high alert. Watching the teacher, checking whether you were doing the pose correctly. Looking around to see how everyone else was doing. Even in savasana, the final relaxation pose at the end of class, you likely were not truly resting. You were still monitoring, still slightly on guard.
But then you went back the following week and the week after that. Slowly, the room became familiar. The teacher’s voice, the order of the poses, the feel of the space, it all started to feel known.
And then one day, something shifted. You lay down in savasana and you actually let go, without even trying.
Your nervous system had finally gathered enough evidence that this place was safe.
That moment of genuine release is your parasympathetic nervous system switching on. That is your body finally moving out of alert mode and into ‘rest and digest.’
Apply this to any area of your life and you may start noticing the same pattern. Walking into a room full of strangers. Starting a new job. Entering an unfamiliar environment. Having a difficult conversation.
I am also one of those people who can feel slightly anxious or on edge in a room full of strangers. My eyes tend to scan the room quickly. The body becomes more alert. Breathing changes. Muscles tense slightly. The mind starts analysing and predicting what might happen next.
And only when the nervous system slowly gathers enough evidence of safety, familiarity or connection does the body begin to soften.
That shift from alertness to ease is not just in your head. It is happening through the nervous system.
What does the parasympathetic nervous system actually do?
We hear a lot about stress. But not enough about the system designed to help us recover from it.
The parasympathetic nervous system is often called the body’s ‘rest and digest’ mode. It is the calming branch of the autonomic nervous system that helps the body slow down, restore balance and recover after stress.
While the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for action and survival, the parasympathetic nervous system helps bring the body back into a sense of safety.
This is where healing, digestion, repair and restoration can happen.
When the parasympathetic nervous system is active, the body shifts away from constant alert mode into a more regulated and restorative state. It slows the heart rate after stress or exercise, encourages calmer breathing patterns, supports digestion and nutrient absorption, helps with elimination, conserves energy and works to restore the body’s natural balance, a state known as homeostasis.
In simple terms, it is the system that tells the body-
‘You are safe enough to rest now.’
A simple way to observe nervous system regulation
One interesting sign of nervous system flexibility is how quickly the body calms itself after stress.
If you have access to a heart rate monitor, check your resting heart rate, then take a deep breath in and hold it. Notice how much your heart rate rises. When you exhale, if it drops back down fairly quickly, your nervous system may be regulating well. If your heart rate rises and stays elevated, it may suggest your body is carrying a higher stress load and finding it harder to downregulate.
This is simply a moment of noticing, not a medical test. But sometimes noticing is where things start to shift.
The parasympathetic nervous system and emotional health
The nervous system does not only affect the body. It also influences emotional wellbeing.
Chronic stress, anxiety and depression can all affect autonomic nervous system function, including how well we regulate stress and maintain heart rate variability.
Some people spend long periods in a heightened sympathetic state, feeling anxious, hyper-alert or overwhelmed. Others experience the opposite, a kind of shutdown marked by fatigue, low motivation or emotional flatness.
Emotional experiences are not simply ‘in the head.’ They are felt through the whole nervous system.
If you would like to explore simple ways to support regulation and help your body shift out of constant stress mode, you can also read our previous article on helping your nervous system feel safe again.