You, your nervous system, and The Zone

A little biology today…

There are plenty of medical textbooks out there about the nervous system and the human body, but what I’m going to do today here is save you the time of digging through all of those sources, and give you the low-down on your nervous system and how it all works when it comes to your performing life.

So, on to your nervous system – and more specifically, your Autonomous Nervous System.

We’ve all got an Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) – and it’s a good thing too!

Your ANS is a type of control system in your body, which bears the lofty responsibility of looking after things such as your heart rate, pupil dilation, digestion, salivation, perspiration rate, and more.

And, we can talk about your ANS in terms of 2 branches: Your Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS),
and your Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS).

Now, forget all the big words, lets talk SNS and PSNS.

Your SNS creates activation and arousal in you. So, when you’re stressed out at work, eating on the go, or running from sabre-toothed tigers (as it was on the old days), it’s your SNS that is being activated.

Your PSNS creates a calming, healing, relaxing effect in you. So, when you’re meditating, daydreaming, or sleeping, it’s your PSNS that is running the show.

Your SNS and PSNS are complimentary, so you might say that your SNS is the accelerator pedal in a car, where the PSNS is the brakes.

Now, the problem is this: In the modern ‘civilised’ western lifestyle, your ANS is probably out of balance, with your SNS working much more than your PSNS, keeping most of us in a constant state of tension and stress – which may be easily visible, or lying just under the surface.

And the problem with that is, that when you get into an even more stressful situation, such as performing for an audition or competition, your SNS, which is already used to working hard, can step it up a notch, making you get the shakes, feel queasy, have sweaty palms, hyperventilate and so on.

What can you do about all this?

Apply the brakes in your everyday life! By doing this, you will be able to minimise the effects of your ANS in stressful situations, helping you cope a lot better!

So how do you release the gas pedal, and apply the brakes, so that you can perform in The Zone?

If you’re a classical musician, opera singer, catwalk model, snooker player, or any other performer for that matter, there are a lot of tools that are simple to use that can help you to minimise the activation of your SNS and allow the PSNS to take over the reins, so that you can get control of your mind and body in performing situations.

Meditation is a great help, as is yoga, gentle physical exercise, correct diet, living in the ‘now’, going peripheral, Qi Gong, visualisation, as well as a whole host of other tools.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be talking a bit more about each of these tools which you can apply in your daily life and performing situations so that you can regain a heathy balance of your SNS and PSNS, lower your stress levels, and help you to feel calm, controlled, and confident in performing situations.

Stay tuned!