Something powerful happens when we ask questions, and try to search and understand… Because when good things arrive sometimes body feels fear.. Last week, even though everything in my life was going well, my yoga classes growing, art classes full, my 300 hour training flowing i suddenly felt exhausted, a wave of fear washed over me..
The voice in my head: What if i can’t keep being good enough? what if i can’t stay consistent ? My body felt a little blocked, heavy, tired.. and i thought maybe i am pushing myself too much..
But instead of spiraling , i really tried to understand what was going on..
Why was i shrinking ?
What was really happening inside me ?
How did yoga meet me in this process?
i tried to understand all through the lens of the nervous system.. All the things i had prayed for a looooong time consistency, stability, support were finally entering in my life. And i think my body was simply learning how to hold this new period..
The nervous system is not concerned with our self-realization. Its only priority is safety. And “safe” for the nervous system means: familiar, predictable, recognizable …
So when we move into the unknown even a beautiful unknown, the system can activate the Sympathetic state: fight, urgency, racing thoughts, tension, pushing or running from the discomfort. This is the moment that we find ourselves back in the familiar pattern. Shrinking back to what we know.. This doesn’t happen because we’re weak.It happens because the body wants to protect us. It is a biological response.
Yoga Helps Us Witness the Pattern.
Maybe one of the way is Sraddha. I really tried to understand the meaning of this sanskrit word last week and also shared in my classes.
Patanjali describes the inner qualities that support us on the path:
“śraddhā–vīrya–smṛti–samādhi–prajñāḥ” (I.20)
Trust, energy, remembrance, presence, and deep knowing. These qualities are not mental they are embodied states.Yoga teaches us to cultivate them inside the moment of contraction:
śraddhā — trust
Trust in the body, in breath, in the moment in the process.A softening inside fear.
vīrya — steady energy
The strength that rises from groundedness, not force.
smṛti — remembrance
Returning to what we know in our bones.Remembering safety.
samādhi — presence
The ability to stay here without running away.
prajñā — wisdom
The quiet inner voice that knows the way forward.
These are the antidotes to the nervous system’s “shrink response.” The passage to the parasympathetic phase.
