What Does It Really Mean to “Regulate the Nervous System”?
Why We’re Hearing About It Everywhere
“Regulating your nervous system” has become a buzz phrase lately—you’ll hear it on podcasts, see it on Instagram, and it’s a prevailing theme in yoga studios and healing centers. But what does it actually mean? And why is it so important?
Our nervous system is our body’s communication network. It connects the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, carrying messages that control everything from our heartbeat to our stress response to our digestion. When people talk about regulation, they’re referring to how well this system moves between its different states: alert, calm, activated, restful—depending on what life asks of us.
A Simple Picture of the Nervous System
Your nervous system has two main parts:
The Central Nervous System (CNS): your brain and spinal cord — the “command center” that processes information.
The Peripheral Nervous System: the network of nerves that carries those signals throughout your body.
Within that is the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) — the part that works in the background to control things you don’t think about, like heart rate, digestion, and breathing. It has two main branches:
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): the “gas pedal” that mobilizes you into action (fight, flight, or get-things-done energy).
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): the “brake” that allows you to rest, digest, and recover.
We need both. Just like a car needs both acceleration and brakes to drive smoothly, your body needs both activation and rest to stay healthy. Trouble shows up when you’re stuck pressing too hard on one pedal—or when neither responds the way it should.
🌟When this system is balanced, you can shift gears smoothly—meeting deadlines, enjoying connection, and then resting deeply at night. When it’s out of balance, you may feel stuck in overdrive or unable to get going at all.
The Nervous System in Everyday Life
Think of it this way: these essential aspects of the nervous system are designed to keep you safe and adaptable.
When danger arises, it activates fight, flight, or freeze.
When safety is sensed, it allows for rest, digest, and repair.
But here’s an important point that often gets missed: a stimulated sympathetic nervous system isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s what gets us up in the morning, motivates us to clean out our closets, go for a run, feel excited about a fun event, and stay alert enough to avoid harm. We need activation. It fuels growth, creativity, protection, and engagement with life.
On the flip side, being still or inactive doesn’t always mean you’re relaxed or balanced. Sometimes, inactivity can reflect shutdown, withdrawal, or burnout—when the nervous system is underactive and needs a gentle boost to re-engage.
A 2018 paper by Sullivan and colleagues explains this beautifully, drawing on Polyvagal Theory to show that we have multiple states, not just “stressed” or “calm.” Their model suggests that yoga therapy helps people move flexibly among these states, rather than getting stuck in one.
🌟 Read more here
Why Balance Matters
When the nervous system is out of balance, symptoms can show up as:
Anxiety, chronic stress, or insomnia when the SNS is overactive.
Fatigue, depression, or disconnection when the system is underactive or shut down.
Physical concerns like digestive issues, chronic pain, or even autoimmune flares.
Regulation isn’t about being calm all the time; it’s about flexibility. Proper balance means being able to rise to the occasion when life demands energy, and then return to rest and recovery when the challenge passes.
How Yoga Therapy Can Help
This is where yoga therapy is different from a general yoga class.
A yoga class usually offers the same sequence to everyone, often focused on movement and breath. It can feel wonderful, but it may not address your unique nervous system patterns.
Yoga therapy is one-on-one and personalized. It begins with understanding your health history, stress patterns, physical, mental, and emotional needs, as well as your goals. Together, we create practices—whether movement, breath, meditation, or deep rest—that meet you where you are and help bring your system back into balance.
🌟 If you’re wired and anxious, you may need practices that ground and settle, turning on the PNS.
🌟If you’re flat and disconnected, you may need practices that lift, energize, and activate the SNS.
While a single practice can sometimes be helpful in the moment, the more profound shifts come from having a personalized practice you return to consistently. Over time, this helps reset your baseline, allowing your nervous system to become more resilient, stable, and adaptable. That’s the real power of yoga therapy compared to one-off techniques.
And it’s worth noting: not all practices are helpful for everyone. Some kinds of breathwork or movement can actually increase anxiety, while others may not provide the uplifting effect your system needs. Working with a yoga therapist who understands which practices will support your unique patterns makes all the difference.
Science Spotlight: Yoga and Brain Chemistry
It’s not just tradition that tells us yoga helps the nervous system—science backs it too. In a 2012 review, Dr. Chris Streeter and colleagues found that yoga practices can increase levels of GABA, a calming brain chemical often low in people with anxiety and depression. They also noted improvements in heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of nervous system balance and overall well-being.
In plain terms, yoga helps the body switch more easily between activity and rest—exactly the kind of resilience we need to meet life’s challenges without getting stuck in overdrive.
🌟 Read the abstract here
This research confirms what yoga therapists see every day: consistent, personalized practice helps people shift more smoothly between activation and rest, building lasting resilience.
The Bigger Picture
To “regulate the nervous system” is not about forcing yourself into constant relaxation. It’s about cultivating adaptability—learning to recognize when you’re over-revved or under-engaged, and practicing ways to return to center.
Yoga therapy offers a caring and personalized approach to finding that balance. It meets you where you are, whether you need grounding, uplifting, or rest, and provides tools that support your entire self—body, mind, and spirit.
✨ A note of care: The nervous system is incredibly complex, and what I’ve shared here is a simplified way to understand it in everyday life. Scientists are still learning more, and models like Polyvagal Theory continue to evolve. My goal is to give you a clear, approachable picture of why balance matters and how yoga therapy can help. If you’re curious to dive deeper, you’ll find links to studies within the blog.