Preksha Dhyana Self Awareness by Relaxation

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 17

adrenalin and other hormones to keep the body tense and alert, and (4) sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system which is responsible to ultimately prepare the body for 'fight or flight'.
Physiological Conditon
The physiological conditions which are brought about by the integrated action of the above are:
(a) Blood-supply to the digestive system is curtailed; digestion slows down or is halted.
(b) The salivary glands dry up.
(c) Respiration rate increases; breathing becomes faster or gasping.
(d) The liver releases some of the store of blood-sugar and it is carried to the muscles of the arms and legs. (e) The heart beats faster to pump more blood where it is most needed and blood-pressure rises.
All these and many other complex changes occur to generate extra quantities of electrochemical and hormonal energy which enables us to act quickly. The energy goes to the muscles even when there's nothing that needs to be done and gets bound up in the muscles as tension. When the emergency conditions have subsided, we have what is needed to bring us back to a balanced, tensionless state. It is the concern of the other component of the autonomic nervous systems-the parasympathetic-to resume normal activity and restore peaceful conditions. The pr sympathetic nervous system is designed to work in close harmony with and balance the sympathetic nervous system. The activating of the parasympahetic is meant to happen naturally after the emergency is over. Its response balances the sympathetic by returning the chemistry to normal and relaxing the tense muscles. The sympathetic is action-oriented and aggressive; the parasympathetic is restoring and passive When both function normally, there is a see-saw action which reflects in our body as
2