Calming yoga class for the central nervous system (good for those of us with psych drug withdrawal syndrome too)

Relaxation and Stress Relief

Millions of us in our modern world suffer because we are constantly pushed and hurried. Rushing causes tension and stress. We are over-exposed over-saturated with incoming information 24/7. Any information that comes to you causes your sympathetic nervous system (the fight, flight or freeze) to act or react. When you are exposed to stressors it is up to your parasympathetic nervous system to bring you back down. (read more on youtube below the video)

This is the second video I’ve shared with Melissa West teaching. See the first one here. I like how she teaches and both the video I’m sharing today and the prior one are very very gentle. Just perfect for my hurting but healing body. Don’t let the gentleness fool you, however, these are powerful yoga sessions and if you do them mindfully you’ll feel just how powerful they are.

I’m copying and pasting the below from the prior post as it is still true and has some helpful information for beginners.

Yoga has been and remains fundamentally important to my healing process. Not only did it allow me to slowly rehabilitate my bedridden, atrophied muscles. (it’s rather astonishing what happens to the body after being mostly inert in bed for two years). But it has since started to slowly deeply strengthen me in a multitude of other ways. In this process too, since yoga is also a profound mindfulness practice, I’ve come to learn to deeply listen to my body. Yoga, among other things, serves as a system of somatic release. In this way layers and layers of trauma and pain can be accessed and healed.

Below I’m posting some of the yoga posts that include very easy videos that I started out with as I got out of bed. Look for RESTORATIVE yoga videos when you first start. These are deeply healing to the nervous system and those of us with withdrawal syndrome need to heal our autonomic nervous systems.

Here are some links that can get people started if they’re still ill or if they’re just beginning a yoga practice:

these sequences have also been very healing…belly breathing is also really really good for the calming of the nervous system:

Yoga postures, breathing and waking-up
Belly breathing and a bit of yoga …pick and choose what feels appropriate for you…at bedtime I mostly do legs against the wall.

The above can get you started with baby steps. Don’t feel beholden to do all of any of these videos. Pick and choose from what your body likes and wants.

Here is a longer but very gentle routine as well…again, remember only do that which your body likes.

Your yoga for today

I want to underscore that I rarely do more than 20 minutes of yoga at one sitting even now and I’ve been doing a deep and profound yoga practice for several years now. I did do this whole video as it’s so slow and gentle. I did however shorten many of the holds…so in that respect I didn’t do the whole thing. My body is still healing…this is what it needs. Being a good yogi doesn’t mean necessarily stamina (or great physical flexibility)…it’s much more about listening and attending to the body right NOW. On physically stronger days I may do yoga several times a day. Anything from 5 minute to 20 minute sessions. On better days I may do that several times during the day. On a really bad day I may do nothing at all or more often just really small laying down stretches for no more than a few minutes.

Trust yourself. Trust your body.

MORE: Yoga posts on Beyond Meds

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