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Yoga for Nervous System Regulation | Summer Class 4
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New here? Read this first!
Yoga for Nervous System Regulation is a unique program combining yogic tradition with neuroscience to help students engage with the nervous system, calm stress responses, and cultivate peace and resilience in body and mind. Learn more about the program here.
If you’re new to this program, please complete the entire Spring Series first, regardless of the current season. Each series builds upon the material covered in previous seasons, so doing them in sequence is important for your understanding and your safety.
Remember, yoga is best practiced on an empty stomach, which means no food for 2 hours prior and no beverages for 30 minutes prior. Follow your practice with food and plenty of water. Review the complete Yoga Safety Tips here.
Each weekly class consists of a playlist of 3 practices to be completed in order. The asana (yoga poses) prepare us for pranayama (breathwork) which prepares us for meditation, which prepares us for life!
Pause the track and practice on your own when prompted, or whenever you need to. Below the video playlist you’ll find additional resources to enhance the learning experience.
I would love to hear your thoughts and questions. Please submit a comment at the bottom of the page, or follow KMKyoga on Instagram, where I share additional insights, support, and resources with a growing community of fellow practitioners.
Thanks for being here!
Our focus for the Summer Series is interoception – the perception of sensations from inside the body – and the clues they provide about what we need in order to feel and be our best.
In this week’s asana practice, after the familiar breath awareness practice and warm-up, we’ll build up to a “stay” of 2-3 breaths in lunge in order to experience the sensations of both inhale and exhale while holding the pose a bit longer. Then we’ll move to pranayama, in which we’ll observe the action of diaphragm using our old friend, ujjayi breath. We’ll continue to study the work of the diaphragm in today’s meditation.
If you haven’t already, please complete the Spring Series of Yoga for NSR before moving on to Summer, regardless of the current season.
Remember, yoga is best practiced on an empty stomach. Review the complete Yoga Safety Tips here.
Please don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments section at the bottom of the page, or by sending me an email at kath@kmkyoga.org. I’m happy to help with clarifications or modifications to ensure your practice is safe, comfortable, and enjoyable.
Find a quiet space with room to move. You may wish to pause notifications on your digital device. Gather your mat, a sturdy chair, some water, and a blanket. When you’re ready, hit Play on the first video in the playlist – asana – to begin.
Enjoy today’s class!
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Summer Class 4 Video Instruction
Each class playlist consists of three videos to be practiced in order:
Asana ➙ Pranayama ➙ Meditation
The purpose of asana (yoga pose or “seat”) and pranayama (breathwork) are to prepare the body and mind for meditation, where the real magic happens! I strongly suggest you try the classes in sequence, but after you’ve completed the entire sequence at least once, feel free to revisit individual parts as you’d like.
Once you complete a video, the player will automatically advance to the next one in the playlist. You can skip to the next video at any time using the next/previous arrows at the bottom of the player window, or by clicking the icon in the top right corner.
An important note about pose diagrams and transcripts
If you’ve been practicing Yoga for Nervous System Regulation from the beginning, you may be accustomed to seeing asana diagrams and transcripts no the class page. After careful consideration, I opted to remove this feature because I was concerned it might tempt students to skip the asana video and practice directly from the diagrams. The videos include detailed demonstrations of the poses, including how to get in and out of them, that are essential to a safe and effective practice. If your learning style favors written content, please turn on subtitles for the videos. If you’re still having difficulties, contact me at kath@kmkyoga.org and we’ll find a solution that works for you.
Additional Summer Class 4 Resources
We talk a lot in Yoga for NSR about to two parts of the body that are essential to nervous system regulation – the diaphragm and the vagus (or vagal) nerve. Their communication is the mechanism by which breathwork helps us to achieve a calm, parasympathetic state.
Check out this week’s Instagram post for more about these intricate systems and how they interact.
Additional Summer Class 4 Resources
Comments or questions?
I’d love to hear about your experience with this week’s class and address any concerns you may have. If you’d prefer to reach out privately, send me an email at kath@kmkyoga.org.
Hi, I’m Kath. I teach yoga, breathwork, and meditation as a path to greater somatic awareness and nervous system regulation. Through this practice, I have learned to care for myself so that I can live more peacefully and more purposefully in my body, my mind, and the world. Read my full bio here.
I created KMKyoga for people like me, who can benefit tremendously from yoga but need an option that doesn’t break their bodies or their budget. All KMKyoga classes and learning resources are funded by donations. Learn more.