How often do you hear anybody mention the parasympathetic nervous system on TV and then in a drama. It happened last night on a British mystery show on PBS , “Midsomer’s Murders”, where right at the end of the show the pathologist explains that the deceased, he just examined, apparently died from a parasympathetic rebound. He explained this as when someone encounters something so frightening or terrible that his or her sympathetic stress nerves go into extreme overdrive and then in reaction the calming effects of the parasympathetic react just as strongly and can actually stop someone’s heart. I am assuming this is a real phenomenon. Practicing yoga and meditation really comes down to stimulating our parasympathetic nervous system and allowing it to express itself, to calm us down and help us feel easy and relaxed. But definitely something short of stopping our hearts. Slowing and easing there for sure but not stopping.