Fight, Flight or Learn!
The autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic system, which is often identified with the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic, which is identified with what’s been called the relaxation response.
Both of these states-of-being, are natural and both can have dramatic and far-reaching implications for ALL learners. The former state inhibits effective learning, while the latter, offers enormous learning opportunities, as well as higher rates of learning retention.
The Autonomic Nervous System – aka. The Flight or Fight System Explained
When we do yoga, meditation, etc – the deep breathing, the stretching, the movements that release muscle tension, the relaxed focus on being present in your body – you initiate a process that turns the fight or flight system off and the relaxation response on. That has a dramatic effect on the body. The heartbeat slows, respiration decreases, blood pressure decreases. The body seizes this chance to turn on the healing mechanisms and ‘switch on’ the neural pathways to more effective learning.
It’s not rocket-science or New Age ‘whoo whoo’. It’s fundamentally Science. Anatomy and physiology linked to more effective learning.
The best part of course is that it’s FREE. Well, mostly free. You may have a little initial investment to make in finding a teacher (YouTube and other internet resources are a great and inexpensive alternative) but the ROI (return on investment) would make even the most avaricious Enron manager gloat!
Try it alone, try it with your children and just notice. Notice how you feel and notice how much more information you retain just by applying some simple ageless body awareness practices.
Go on, notice the difference! Have fun.