The neuroscience of stress relief… and why pilates works wonders!

Do you know about your vagus nerve?

It’s a long, shaggy, meandering nerve (vagus means “wandering” in Latin) that connects your brain, heart and gut together.

The vagus nerve is the queen of your parasympathetic nervous system - your body’s chill out/rest-and-digest response system.

If your overall stress levels feel high or you feel constantly anxious or worried, or have trouble calming down or sleeping, you’re probably spending a lot of time with your sympathetic nervous system (the high alert/fight/flight/freeze system) activated.

To reduce your stress response, you’ll want to strengthen your vagus nerve - so it can help you turn on the parasympathetic nervous system and relax FASTER after stress.

Having a strong, healthy vagus nerve is known as “high vagal tone.”

So what does this have to do with Studio Evolve?

Well, practicing Pilates or Gyrotonic regularly can help improve vagal tone and reduce stress.

Here’s how.

1. The way we teach Pilates and Gyrotonic at Studio Evolve will help you improve your interoception - the ability to feel and notice sensations within your own body. Like the sensation that your abs are working, that you’re hungry, or that your heart is beating fast.

Improved interoception helps our regular students quickly learn to turn on sleepy muscles and release excess tension, which can improve biomechanics, reduce pain, and prevent injuries.

Learning to feel and respect your internal signals, like you’ll practice in your private sessions, will also help you regulate your own nervous system, turn on and strengthen your vagus nerve, and over time, improve your vagal tone.

2. Deep breathing, like we teach at Studio Evolve, turns on the vagus nerve enough to act as a brake on your stress response.

At Studio Evolve, we’ll teach you how to breathe deeply, even when you’re doing something hard.

Like trying a new move on the Reformer or Gyrotonic Tower. Or asking for a raise. Or setting a boundary with your mother-in-law.

(You get the idea.)

3. Safe, consensual human connection - the kind lots of us have been seriously missing during the pandemic - turns on the vagus nerve and cues the body to relax. That’s why working with in-person one of our highly sensitive, expert teachers will help you reduce stress in a way no home workout ever will.

Lots of our regular students report reduced stress, better moods, and improved sleep since they started practicing at Studio Evolve.

You may have already felt some of these benefits after your first session!

Ready to commit to a regular practice and usher in more ease?

Sign up for membership now - before you get distracted by the ten thousand other things on your to-do list.

We make it easy - learn more about membership so you can start towards your #goals, now!

Looking to determine your first step? - learn more about our pricing options and innovative wellness accelerator here!