Pupils: They regulate stress and relaxation

The pupils of your eyes are the small dark openings that regulate how much light enters. They also respond to your emotional and mental state.

Typically, pupils measure between 2–4 millimeters in bright light, expanding to 4–8 mm in dimmer settings.

But do you know that your pupils change size depending on your state of excitement, arousal, and even threat perception.

When you focus on a near object, your lenses thicken, the eyes converge, and the pupils constrict, all to help you see fine details up close.

Conversely, your pupils widen when triggered by adrenaline, such as in states of anxiety or anticipation of danger.

The study of how your pupils change based on your state of arousal or relaxation is called pupilometry.

To learn, I have been using an online version. Depending on how I stimulate myself, my pupils change size. Stress causes them to dilate and a relaxation response causes them to shrink.

The biofeedback is amazing to observe even though I cannot actually see my pupils.

So what have I learned?

To be somatically aware. To understand how my body responds to different stimulii. To understand how I can change the way I respond.

Deliberate, intentional regulation of my pupils to some extent agnostic to my stimulus. I am a mere beginner.

But with practice, it is not difficult to get really good at regulating how you respond.

Of course, it need not be just your pupils. You can do the same thing to your heart, digestion, breath, blood flow and so on.

The more I practice, the more aware I become. What was an autonomous function is something I am learning to be aware of.

But the awareness is just the start. Being able to better regulate, even over ride my autonomous function is the training I am after.

You can be too. It feels like magic.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain