Introduction: Antidote to stress

- [Instructor] In this next meditation, we'll explore an antidote to stress by looking at ways to activate the parasympathetic wing of your autonomic nervous system. That sounds kind of funny, but the autonomic nervous system is responsible for maintaining the equilibrium, the homeostasis, the balance of all our vital internal functions including the workings of the heart, lungs, secretions from some glands, salivation, perspiration, blood pressure, bowel, and bladder. The autonomic nervous system has two sides: the sympathetic, and the parasympathetic. They work like a seesaw. The sympathetic nervous system is the fight-or-flight response. It activates in response to threat. It stimulates the heart rate, raises the blood pressure, causes the hypothalamus and pituitary to secrete steroids, changes the coagulation of your bloodstream. It's a stress response. The parasympathetic calms things down. The acronym for…