Conditioning a healthy sympathetic response through yoga
Why we need to understand the sympathetic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system is often misunderstood. It’s associated with stress, anxiety and being “wired” — but in a balanced system, it's a source of drive, energy and purposeful action. It’s what gets you out of bed, helps you speak up, run, create, move forward.
The problem isn’t sympathetic activation. The problem is when we get stuck there.
A well-regulated nervous system doesn’t just live in calm. It moves flexibly between activation and rest — rising to meet challenge, then returning to baseline. When we can consciously upregulate and then downshift, we build true resilience.
Why healthy upregulation is important
Many people who’ve experienced chronic stress or burnout feel flat, sluggish, unmotivated or easily overwhelmed. Their systems may be stuck in a freeze or collapse state. Learning to gently activate the system again — with safety and support — is an important step in restoring vitality.
Healthy sympathetic activation allows us to:
Mobilise energy when we need it
Feel alive, alert and engaged
Take purposeful action without tipping into overwhelm
Expand our capacity for intensity and joy
Yoga practices that support healthy activation
Certain yoga practices can help condition the body to engage with sympathetic energy in a healthy way:
Dynamic flow or morning vinyasa: builds warmth, rhythm and momentum
Strong but grounded standing poses: create stability and activation together
Kapālabhāti (skull shining breath) or brahmari (bee breath): gently stimulate alertness
Focused drishti (gaze) and mantra repetition: increase mental clarity and intention
Playful or expressive movement: invites joy and emotional release
The key is intention: we are not pushing or performing, we are engaging consciously.
How retreat practices support this
On retreat, our morning sessions are designed to gently upregulate your system — inviting movement, breath and energy after rest. Practices like dynamic embodied flow, breathwork and standing sequences prepare your body to meet the day.
Then, through nature-based activities — walking, forest bathing, wild swimming — you continue to build a healthy relationship with activation.
Cold water immersion (totally optional!), in particular, activates the sympathetic system while encouraging vagal tone — teaching your body to meet stress and return to balance. According to Harvard Health, cold exposure can stimulate alertness and enhance stress resilience in the sympathetic system while encouraging vagal tone — teaching your body to meet stress and return to balance.
By combining yoga with nature and somatic tools, we build nervous system flexibility — the ability to move between rest and action, softness and strength, with more ease and awareness.
In summary
Regulation isn’t just about calming down. It’s about learning to respond, not react. To meet life’s intensity without getting swept away. To build a body that can rise to the occasion — and then rest deeply afterwards.
This is the dance of a resilient nervous system. And yoga gives us a space to practise it.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can create health balance for yourself, check out my upcoming nervous system retreat - Wild Reset: A Nervous System Yoga Retreat.