A woman sits on a yoga mat in a serene room, practicing meditation or yoga. Photography: Thirdman.

Have you ever heard of the "rest and digest" or "feed and breed" system?

Both are informal descriptions of complex systems that can cause significant pain and frustration when poorly regulated.

Also known as the parasympathetic nervous system, it is a network of nerves that relaxes the body after periods of stress or danger. It is also responsible for running life-sustaining processes, such as digestion, when you feel safe and relaxed.

In the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the sympathetic nervous system, which helps our bodies activate their "fight-or-flight" response.

Your sympathetic nervous system is a network of nerves that helps your body activate its "fight-or-flight" response.

This system becomes more active when you're stressed, in danger, or physically active. For instance, a near-miss car accident, a sudden loud noise, or a confrontation can trigger the 'fight-or-flight' response. The effects include increased heart rate and improved breathing, enhanced eyesight, and slowed bodily processes such as digestion.

Becoming stuck in our sympathetic nervous system.

Living with a condition like PTSD or C-PTSD can be a real challenge. One of the primary reasons for this is that our nervous system becomes stuck in the sympathetic nervous system, remaining in a state of constant alertness.

A slight variation on this is that our nervous system is in a state of sympathetic dominance. This means that the sympathetic nervous system is overactive, easily triggered, and remains in control for longer periods, leading to dysregulation and a constant state of alert.

Unresolved traumatic experiences are often the root cause of both variations, even though they play out a little differently in each individual.

Often, people suffer from these conditions for years or even decades without knowing it. One reason for this phenomenon is that the manifestations typically become apparent after a person's coping strategies have ceased to be effective.

How can yoga positively impact PTSD?

What I personally love about yoga is how effective it is when practiced regularly, and how it pulls the body into the parasympathetic nervous system. Tony Robbins always says during his live events, "repetition is the mother of all skill", and this couldn't be more true when it comes to yoga. Based on my personal experience, the benefits of yoga have a significantly greater impact on my body now than when I first started practicing it.

If you are new to yoga, stick with it, as the impact of yoga might take a little while for your body to discover. Try for a few months before making a judgment on your results. As you become accustomed to it, you will come to love the sense of mastery that the yoga practice gives you.

Yoga is much like developing muscle memory in your nervous system, allowing us to build a new, positive reference point and establish a renewed sense of safety as we rewire our brains.

Practicing yoga regularly also teaches us to control our bodies through our breath, a tool that's accessible at any time. When healing from PTSD and C-PTSD, having a toolbox of easily accessible methods can really make a massive impact in terms of giving yourself the upper hand in your recovery process.

A neon sign that glows and says "breathe," mounted on a wall, emphasizing relaxation and mindfulness. Photography: Tim Goedhart.

How can yoga make a positive impact when fatigued?

What many people find particularly challenging when they're fatigued is determining the optimal level of exercise to support their recovery. Too much movement and exercise can overwhelm the nervous system. On the opposite end of the spectrum, not engaging in any movement or light exercise at all is also detrimental to our mental state.

The significant upside of yoga is its wide range of forms, which allow us to move our bodies and get some exercise without exhausting ourselves. If you are in the early stages of fatigue, also known as the "stressed phase", a light to moderate intensity yoga form will be a good match.

However, if you are in the "wired & tired" or "crashed" phase of fatigue, a low-intensity form of yoga will probably be a much better choice. The key is to listen to your body and choose a yoga practice that aligns with your current energy levels.

Practicing yoga can help alleviate fatigue by providing a combination of physical, mental, and physiological benefits. This is especially true for individuals dealing with chronic conditions or general tiredness.

Research shows that regular yoga practice—which typically includes postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), and meditation—helps reduce fatigue by lowering stress levels, improving sleep quality, boosting energy, and modulating inflammatory responses.

A skeleton holding a "burnout" sign illustrates burnout's effects. Photography: Tara Winstead.

Grounding, grounding, grounding.

Grounding your body through yoga involves practices that emphasize physical stability, present-moment awareness, and a connection to bodily sensations. Yoga combines poses, breathwork, and mindfulness to help individuals anchor in the present moment.

For those with PTSD, who may frequently experience dissociation, hypervigilance, flashbacks, or emotional numbness due to trauma's impact on the nervous system and the mind-body connection, this approach can create a renewed sense of safety, regulate arousal, and promote healing without the need to process traumatic events verbally.

From a physiological perspective, grounding in yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the "rest-and-digest" state, countering the chronic "fight-or-flight" response that is common in PTSD.

This practice enhances interoceptive awareness—the ability to sense internal bodily states—helping individuals recognize and tolerate physical cues associated with trauma. This can reduce avoidance and dissociation.

Focusing on breath and stable postures lowers cortisol levels, increases GABA (a neurotransmitter that promotes calmness), and reduces muscular tension. These changes lead to better emotion regulation and a reduction in symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts.

This body-centered method helps rebuild trust in one's physical self, empowering survivors to feel more centered, accepted, and connected to themselves.

Combining microdosing LSD & practicing yoga.

I've been a long-time fan of microdosing LSD, as I find the subtle effects very helpful in regulating my nervous system. When I started practicing yoga, I was curious whether the positive effects of yoga, on the one hand, would stack with the positive effects of microdosing, on the other hand.

From my personal experience, when practicing restorative yoga forms, microdosing LSD makes it easier to enter the parasympathetic nervous system. It allows me to go "deeper" into the grounding practice, promoting an incredible feeling of relaxation.

When I've been microdosing LSD with a yoga form of higher intensity, I've noticed that I feel more in flow with the movement and in touch with my body. I would also say the combination of microdosing LSD while practicing yoga increased my flexibility and allowed me to go deeper into the various postures.

What does the research tell us?

Microdosing may temporarily enhance mood and decrease psychological distress, thereby increasing happiness, energy, and a sense of connection, while complementing the stress-reduction effects of yoga. Practitioners of both approaches often experience lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to those using either method alone, resulting in better overall well-being outcomes.

The practice enhances absorption and mindfulness, leading to a deeper immersion in experiences. This can heighten the meditative aspect of yoga and improve body awareness without causing dissociation. Psychedelics have been shown to enhance meditation quality for many individuals, which may also apply to yoga's flow states, resulting in greater presence and insight.

Microdosing fosters mental adaptability, aligning with yoga's aim of calming the mind (chitta vritti nirodhah). Users report increased focus, better coordination, and improved creative flow during sessions, which helps with pose accuracy, breathwork, and post-practice integration.

An Australian study from 2019, researching the combination of microdosing with yoga, found the following: "The yoga group and the microdosing group recorded similarly higher overall psychological well-being scores compared with the control group”.

And interestingly, people who engaged in both yoga and microdosing reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. This suggests microdosing and yoga could have synergistic effects."

I couldn't agree more with the findings from the Australian study, and I encourage you to explore microdosing in combination with yoga.

Learn More about Microdosing Psychedelics