YOGA NERVES from Srivatsa Ramaswami's February 2010 Newsletter

Even orthodox Astangi's get 25 breaths in Sarvangasana and Sirasasana which can be taken as long, deep and as slow as they like. For the home Ashtangi The complete book of Vinyasa Krama has some nice variations worth considering while your up there.

YOGA NERVES

from Srivatsa Ramaswami's February 2010 Newsletter.

The brain and its nerve pathways form an important system of the human

being and again Yoga has some unique procedures to help the efficacy

of the nervous system. The brain, the spinal cord containing the nerve

fibers, the ganglions, the plexuses and the peripheral nerves form

this system. We have already seen the benefit the yogic technique of

meditation can bring to the brain. It helps to create new neural

connections and reduce disturbances. This Raja Yoga technique works

within the brain and transforms (parinama) it to a better functioning

organ. The Hata Yogis through the Hata Yoga practices such as

Pranayama, viparitakaranis and some mudras help to maintain good

health of the brain. The two postures that really help the brain are,

as you can guess, the inversions, Sirasasana and Sarvangasana.

Many people, when they start to practice Headstand, find that their

faces flush and they feel a rush of blood to the face and the skull.

After some regular practice for a short period of time, the body

adjusts to the new posture and auto regulates the flow of blood. Even

so when one practices this posture for a significant time, the blood

circulation in the brain improves considerably, since the blood

vessels in the brain do not contract or dilate the way other blood

vessels do. This is very refreshing to the brain and normally people

get a cleansed feeling. Equally important is that the cerebro-spinal

fluid, which is a clear and colorless liquid surrounding the brain and

the spinal cord, drains and pools upon the top portion of the brain.

It enters the ventricles and small recesses in the brain and helps in

the nourishment of the brain cells. The third ventricle conveys a

small recess to the posterior portion of the pituitary gland. The

pressure of the CSF, while staying in Headstand, helps the gland to

secrete more of the hormones into the CSF which again is said to

stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. So people who have a weak

sympathetic system may benefit from remaining in Headstand for a

considerable amount of time. The weak sympathetic is considered to be

one of the causes of some ailments like bronchial asthma. Hence this

exercise could be useful for those who suffer from such conditions as

bronchial asthma, its cousin eczema and distant relative, epilepsy y

stimulating the sympathetic.

Sarvangasana is similar to but yet different from Headstand. In this,

instead of the crown, the occipital portion of the head is on the

floor, and the CSF pools into the midbrain and the back of the brain

including the medulla. These areas are really stimulated by a good

stint in Sarvangasana. It is said the Vagas nerve nuclei are

stimulated by this exercise. Thus it results in the activation of the

para sympathetic. It results in reduction in anxiety and insomnia. My

Guru used to say that it helps normalize sexual functions. Thus a

judicious mix of Headstand and Shoulder stand would help to bring

about a healthy balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic

nervous systems.

Yoga is particularly directed towards maintaining the integrity of the

spine. The spinal cord is about 45 cm long for men and 43cm for women.

The enclosing bony vertebral column protects the relatively shorter

spinal cord. In fact, the spinal cord extends down to only the last of

the thoracic vertebrae, or the thoracic spine, and then the tail flows

down the lumbar region. The spinal cord is inside the neural canal --

almost the diameter of the thumb-- of the backbone. The nerves from

the spine emanate on either side through openings called neural

foramina and then proceed to the autonomic nervous system and then

various organs. The slightest displacement of the vertebrae will

result in chronic or acute pain. In Yoga, efforts are made to maintain

the spinal column in proper position and mobility. There are fibers of

both the central and autonomic nervous system. When there is some

pressure on the nerves due to even the slightest displacement of the

vertebrae, there is pain which inhibits the various impulses that pass

through the brain, spinal cord, the various organs and muscles. This

can be compared to ‘noise’ in the telephone transmission system. In

such cases the signals do not properly reach the organs or the brain

and spinal cord do not receive the signals properly resulting in the

inefficiency of those organs. So Yogis take special care to see that

the spinal column is properly exercised, mobile and supple. The

exercises are designed to prevent any vertebral pressure on the nerves

by maintaining a healthy inter-vertebral space. And then these spinal

exercises help to circulate blood and CSF to nourish the spinal

nerves. They also suggest strengthening the back muscles so that the

spinal column is well supported. Paschimatanasana, as the name

implies, will meet the requirement admirably.

The movements for the spine include side bending, forward bending,

curving the back, back bending and of course twisting. These may be

done in different postures as is usually done in Vinyasakrama. One of

the simple sequences that helps achieve this is hasta vinyasas and

thoracic exercises in Tadasana, which include all these movements.

(See my book “Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga, Chapter on Tadasana).

This stretching of the spine will be enhanced if one practices the

scores of vinyasas in inversion poses like Sarvangasana and sirsasana.

The spinal cord is inside the thoracic region of the vertebral column.

So when we move the arms and do the various movements the spine at the

thoracic region does not stretch as the ribcage moves up and down as

one unit. The intervertebral discs in the region of the thoracic spine

are much thinner than in the cervical and the lumbar regions. As a

result there is generally less movement between the vertebrae of the

thoracic spine. The yogis have found a unique way of stretching the

thoracic spine. This is achieved by doing all the movements with deep

breathing, especially inhalation. When we do deep inhalation, the

chest expands side to side, front to back and also up and down which

will help stretch the vertical thoracic spine and maintain a good

intervertebral space for mobility and freedom for the nerves. Hence

the vinyasakrama method of doing asanas with good breathing has this

additional advantage. Again a good stint of Pranayama practice

especially Nadisodhana (nerve cleansing) with an easy, graceful and

secure Jalandharabandha should be very useful for the spinal cord.

Pranayamic deep inhalation and the long breath holding (1:4:2) after

inhalation (antah kumbhaka) directly benefit the nerves inside the

spine.. So when you do deep inhalation, hold the breath and stretch

the spine, the breathing itself acts as an internal traction of the

thoracic spine.