The nervous system is our communicator with spirit, our connection with the inner world, and a gateway between the physical and spiritual. An agitated nervous system fails to receive the spirit's guidance, just as a warped antenna cannot receive television signals properly. That is why, in yoga and in life, we must protect the nervous system and ensure that it lives in a state of equanimity. Similarly, we must create an experience for our students that sooths, rather than irritates, their nerves.

The nervous system is a transmitter as well as receiver. It is an electrical system emitting powerful electro-magnetic waves and transmitting impulses that connect and harmonize all aspects of our being. The nervous system feels joy and sorrow and initiates laughter and tears. However, when agitated, it fumbles through its job, and so do we.

In our society, we are always being hurried along, running from one task to another like frustrated rats on an eternal treadmill. Our poor nerves rarely get a chance to rest or breathe. Yoga classes should be an antidote to this feverish fervor. They should give our students time to pause, feel, and tune in. Let us not reduce our classes to one more hectic episode in a student's day or one more unrelenting blur of intense activity.

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