The Parasympathetic State?

Your nervous system has two major components, the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous systems.  The Sympathetic system provides the flight of fight response that allows you to react appropriately to situations of high tension or stress.  A good example is if you are confronted by an aggressor, you will either get ready to do battle or prepare to escape the situation.  In this more Adrenalin is dumped into the blood stream to provide extra power and faster response time!  Once the threat is gone, a person will feel drained and want to rest, at this point the body enters into a Parasympathetic state of rest and repair.

The Parasympathetic state is a healing state whereby the body can make repairs and recharge!  Hypnosis, Reiki, Reflexology and other modalities help people enter into the Parasympathetic State by creating a state of mental focus along deep physical relaxation. Hypnosis adds the component of language to direct the conscious mind and deliver suggestions to the unconscious mind in a way that reduces resistance and enhances the ability to create positive changes.

For many people the Parasympathetic state feels like a very light and wonderfully relaxing sleep.  Personally, I find it like being asleep, but with an awareness of physical touch and what is going on around you.  Most people feel re-charged, calm and balanced after experiencing this state.

It is important for people to access the Parasympathetic state because it is so effective for dealing with stress.  With the stresses of running a household, working, finances, news, world instability and more many people can have an ongoing Sympathetic Response to this constant stress called Adrenaline Trickle.  This trickle means the adrenal gland is always working and adrenaline is being constantly dumped into your blood stream due to the stress.  The parasympathetic state can help reduce adrenaline trickle and entering the state on a regular basis can greatly improve your overall ability to deal with stress as a whole.  For some great tips on reducing stress, please see Tips for Destressing!