Yoga for Nervous System Regulation | Summer Class 5

In This Series

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, we’ll explore sensations in the shoulders, arms, and back. As you breathe through these simple arm rotations and twists, notice which areas of your body are calling for your attention. In pranayama, we’ll practice breathwork with arms in new positions to observe the effect on the diaphragm using our interoception. We’ll end with an imaginative meditation in which we’ll be sending energy out to our extremities on inhale, and relaxing them deeply as the energy flows back to our center on exhale.

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!

Summer Class 5 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.

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 5 Resources

In this week’s asana video, I mentioned an online physiologist who introduced me to some of the arm rotation exercises we used. Her site is an excellent resource. Check out more from Petra Fisher here: www.petrafishermovement.com.

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.

2 Responses

  1. Great article! I really appreciate the clear and detailed insights you’ve provided on this topic. It’s always refreshing to read content that breaks things down so well, making it easy for readers to grasp even complex ideas. I also found the practical tips you’ve shared to be very helpful. Looking forward to more informative posts like this! Keep up the good work! YouTube Downloader Online

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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.

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