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COURSE

Balance Your Nervous System Through Yoga And Science

With Danielle Bendall

This course is for busy minds and tired bodies: a reset of your nervous system using yoga-informed, science-based strategies. Learn ways to regulate your stress responses and manage your energy. Over 6 sessions you will learn about how the nervous system operates, through the scientific lens of polyvagal theory and window of tolerance theory. We also explore what the yogic wisdom of the gunas can tell us about our different energetic states. This course offers a blend of informative theory and trauma informed practical exercises to help you balance and regulate your nervous system.

A practical blend of science and yogic wisdom for emotional resilience and nervous system health.

6 Days

19 students

5.0 stars

8 min / day

English

About this course

Body Scan

Settling Practice

Dosha Balancing

Meet your Teacher

Danielle Bendall

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Hobart, TAS, Australia

Danielle has been teaching yoga and meditation for over 13 years and practicing for more than 25 years. She first attended yoga to help quieten her busy mind and quickly found that the practices could also help her to manage her emotions and better understand herself. Danielle has trained with world leading yoga teacher trainers, including Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, Donna Farhi, and Lizzie Lasater. She has also completed trainings in yoga for mental health and trauma awareness, as well as the neuroscience of yoga. Danielle has a practical and relatable approach to yoga philosophy, and explains how it can be applied to busy lives in a modern world. She loves to draw from different bodies of knowledge and wisdom, whether that be from yoga, Buddhism or science, to see the different perspectives that each offer. This enables her to offer a range of practices and approaches to meet different learning styles and preferences, from movement to mindfulness to breathwork.

View Profile

6 Days

19 students

5.0 stars

8 min / day

English

Lesson 1

Meet Your Nervous System

Let's start with an overview of what your nervous system is and how it works. We look at the functions that it controls and the effects it has on how you feel, and how you respond to stress. Our practice for today includes a breath awareness meditation and body scan, which will help you develop your awareness of how you feel internally, known as interoception.

Lesson 2

The Science Of Your Nervous System

Today we explore the nervous system further, from a scientific lens. We explore models from neuroscience and psychology. We will look at Dr Stephen Porges' work on Polyvagal Theory and Dr Dan Siegel's work on Window Of Tolerance. Today's practice involves self-reflection. Grab a journal or notebook to write down your responses to the prompts I will give.

Lesson 3

A Yogic Perspective

In this lesson we will explore the Gunas, from yoga philosophy. The Gunas describe three different energetic states. Understanding this philosophy can give us another lesson for understanding our nervous system, as well as our energetic and emotional states. Our practice today is an embodiment practice that explores what each of the three energetic qualities feel like.

Lesson 4

Down-Regulate Your Nervous System

This lesson provides some tips on how to down-regulate our nervous system when we feel stressed, anxious or worried. When our nervous system is hyperaroused, or we have too much "Rajas" energy, there are some principles we can follow with movement and breath to help bring the nervous system into more balance. We will do a calming breathing practice to see how this affects you.

Lesson 5

Up-Regulate Your Nervous Sysytem

This lesson provides some tips on how to up-regulate our nervous system when we feel lethargic, unmotivated or depressed. When our nervous system is hypo-aroused, or we have too much "Tamas" energy, there are some principles we can follow with movement and breath to help bring the nervous system into more balance. We will do an uplifting movement and breathing practice to see how this affects you.

Lesson 6

Maintaining Balance

Today we explore how to cultivate and maintain a balanced state. We look at a few principles that can guide us with our movement and breathing practices when we want to stay in our Window Of Tolerance, or a state of Sattva. Our practice today is alternate nostril breathing, or nadi shodhana.