When I first began training in yoga, many of my teachers often talked about how its practice and breathwork could regulate what is called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is a regulatory system in our bodies that tells different processes in it to turn on or off or up or down.
It is composed of two parts that work in opposition to one another: the sympathetic nervous system, often referred to as responsible for our “fight or flight” response, helps us navigate through the active parts of our life. Whether we are dealing with stressful, threatening situations or just navigating our way through the city streets, it’s the part of the ANS that works to keep us alive in our environments and protect us from things our body thinks may harm us. The sympathetic’s counterpart is the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “rest and digest” aspect of our daily life. When our parasympathetic system is active, we are calm, relaxed, and without distraction. Sleep is a perfect example of a time when our parasympathetic system is most active. When we are within this state, our body feels comfortable and safe, and begins to activate the vital regulatory systems of our organs, such as the digestive and immune systems. Think of this part of the system as building up our body’s resources, creating something like gas for our body to run on. In opposition, the sympathetic nervous system burns that gas as it works to protect us in our daily life. When there is enough “gas” for us to function, we are able to manage our daily lives with ease and keep these two systems in harmony. But, when we slack off on feeding our bodies this “gas” —for example don’t sleep enough, eat poorly nutritious food, or allow daily stressors to take over—it drains these resources, and results in sluggishness and prevents our parasympathetic’s ability to create more gas. The result is that we are constantly tired and stressed, and it begins to take a toll on our bodies, making us more vulnerable to injury and sickness. This where an acupuncture treatment comes in.
I named my practice Autonomic Acupuncture because I wanted to stress how fundamental this equilibrium is to our bodies and how acupuncture can help.
At the very least, acupuncture treatments help to bring these two systems in balance, and allows us to build up our natural defenses. The insertion of needles, their manipulation, and retention time stimulates our body’s parasympathetic system and tells it to begin healing processes to counteract whatever we have been doing that depletes its resources. Some people who have never tried acupuncture because they are afraid of needles and are concerned that their insertion will hurt, don’t realize that once the insertion is finished, the treatment is actually quite a relaxing experience. In fact, many people fall asleep on the table! I, myself, have had this experience and it’s what drew me to practice this medicine in the first place; I wanted to share this blissful result with others and help them come to their own experience of rejuvenation and healing. Acupuncture (as well as the other hands on modalities such as cupping and gua sha) is a way to encourage ourselves to heal our bodies from within encourages us to confront how our body reacts to stimulations from the outside world. At Autonomic Acupuncture, I am dedicated to working with my patients to create this experience and take control of these counterpart systems so that their bodies can work without distraction to heal what is ailing them.
