Yoga Nidra + Nervous System Care
4 recorded sessions of Yoga Nidra + compassionate nervous system care including gentle movement, breathwork & compassionate mindfulness
Learn and embody Yoga Nidra and compassionate nervous system soothing tools so you feel as if you’ve been wrapped in loving arms – from the inside out.
In the busyness of our modern lives it’s easy to get lost in overstimulation, the looping of the mind and some unseen urgency. But if you’re really listening maybe you can hear your body, heart & mind asking for some time to unravel and to do things a different way.
Join me for 4 x 75 minutes of Nervous System Care, Somatic Movement and Yoga Nidra.
Each session we explore a bite sized chunk of theory, gentle movement and heart centred mindfulness and self compassion before resting into a Yoga Nidra (the Yoga of Sleep) practice.
Each practice designed to help support you in caring for your nervous system and preparing for a gentle night of sleep.
You’ll be guided in simple compassionate somatic movement, inner safety and mindfulness techniques grounded in the body, breath and science to help you care for your nervous system.
In these sessions we use gentle mindful movement & breathwork to soften tense tired muscles and bones, to cultivate safety and grounding from the inside out.
Once the body has found inner safety you’ll learn and practice heart centred compassionate mindfulness and Yoga Nidra. Leaving you with a felt sense and internal memory of what ‘home’ feels like and a toolkit of resources to help you keep coming home long after the session has passed.
We repeat simple slow practices, that create hard wired changes in your nervous system and the space for your body to viscerally feel safe and at home.
If you’re experiencing anxiety, overwhelm, burnout or find it hard to stop some traditional stillness based meditation practices or aesthetic based yoga practices can add stress to an already dysregulated nervous system leaving you feeling ungrounded or more disconnected. Yoga Nidra combined with somatic movement is intended to bring an attitude of self compassion so even if your mind wanders or you fall asleep you will still receive the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits.
This 4 session journey is anchored in bodyfullness as much as mindfulness.
Together we move away from the idea of arriving at ‘perfection’ and towards softening into what feels right for me, in this moment.
“The big difference between a bottom-up somatic approach to self-regulation, and top-down approaches commonly used in mindfulness traditions, is that the former emphasises a conscious return to the body.
Here, mindfulness provides the opening, but the regulation happens in the animal body, working directly with the body’s own deep intelligence.
We can use the term ‘bodyfulness’ to describe the experience we enter when we return to the body in this way” ~ Embodied Intimacy
“Mindfulness, which includes tenderness and kindness toward ourselves, restores dimensions of our being. These have never actually been missing, just that we have been missing them, we have been absorbed elsewhere. When your mind clarifies and opens, your heart also clarifies and opens.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
What to expect?
Each session we’ll practice gentle movement, breathwork, mindfulness and Yoga Nidra as a way to help you feel more grounded and at home in your body. We’ll explore:
- Simple tools to help reset, rest and retrain the mind while grounding in the body
- Techniques for mindful breathing, loving kindness and self compassion
- Practices to support healthy self compassion in times of overwhelm or stagnation
- Bite sized chunks of theory including:
- Introduction to Yoga Nidra + Nervous System Care
- Benefits of Yoga Nidra
- Polyvagal Theory & the difference between stillness and frozen
- Self Compassion & the three directions of compassion
- Bringing loving presence, acceptance and compassion into your daily life to help you find space to respond rather than react to challenges
Cost: $99
Location: Sessions are prerecorded and available for viewing online + downloadable audios.
“The most important thing I learned was that I can quieten my mind to meditate but also be gentle with my thoughts.”
“It’s like a massage for the soul. Built for everyday life.”
“I feel more relaxed and able to cope more with everyday stresses and situations.”
Why Somatic Movement, Compassionate Mindfulness + Yoga Nidra?
Mindfulness and meditation have quickly become one of the most powerful wellness trends but not all practices are accessible to a mind that is chronically overwhelmed or a nervous system that is frozen. Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and chronic immune disease are showing us it’s time we look a little closer at what’s going on inside our minds.
Maybe you know you need to take care of the food you eat – but what about the thoughts you focus on? Or the emotions you experience regularly? Or your relationship to stress? As a collective is it possible we’re addicted to thoughts, feelings and busyness that could be even worse for us than junk food?
Are we addicted to drama? Negativity? Judging ourself and others? Worrying? Fear? Wearing our busyness as a badge of honour?
But even if you know you want to stop the looping and the busyness, have you noticed getting out of the head and into the body is sometimes easier said than done? In these Yoga Nidra & Nervous System Care sessions we gently bring awareness back to your visceral, felt experience to help soothe parts of the brain focussed on survival so you can return to (and expand) your window of tolerance and settle into expanded states of consciousness.
Cultivating gentleness, mindfulness, compassion and Deep Rest in your ordinary every day life.
This is a gentle heart centred journey to help you transform overwhelm, anxiety and stress and build more compassion for yourself and others.
What is Somatic Movement?
Somatic movement is a type of movement that focuses on the internal experience of the movement rather than the external appearance or result of the movement. It is a slow, controlled, and intentional movement that is used to increase awareness of the body and its sensations.
Somatic movement is based on the idea that the mind and body are interconnected. When we are aware of our bodies and how they are moving, we are better able to identify and manage stress, tension, and pain. Somatic movement can also help to improve flexibility, balance, and coordination.
What is Somatic Mindfulness?
Somatic mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the physical sensations in the body without judgment. It is a way of becoming more aware of the body’s needs and signals, and of learning to manage stress and tension in a healthy way.
What is YOGA NIDRA?
Yoga Nidra, sometimes called “yogic sleep,” is a modern day deep relaxation technique and an ancient Tantric practice for the expansion of consciousness. As you lay comfortably you’re guided through a process of setting a clear, present and positive intention while relaxing the body and maintaining conscious awareness. With a relaxed and loving attitude in the practice of yoga nidra it’s not important if your mind is quiet or if you stay awake – in the receptive state that yoga nidra creates the benefits are believed to still be received and long lasting change at the level of the unconscious mind created. Benefits include stress reduction, improvement of deep sleep, physical and mental well-being and transformation of life patterns.
“When awareness is separate and distinct from mental activity,
when waking, dream and deep sleep pass like clouds,
yet awareness of Self remains,
this is the experience of total relaxation…
That is why, in tantra,
yoga nidra is said to be the doorway to Samadhi.”[1]
– Swami Satyananda
Compassion ~ Courage ~ Connection
“Mindfulness is the awareness that arises when we non-judgmentally pay attention in the present moment. It cultivates access to core aspects of our own minds and bodies that our very sanity depends on,” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
Benefits of Somatic Movement + Mindfulness + Yoga Nidra (Bodyfulness + Mindfulness)
Somatic movement therapy is a field of therapy that uses gentle, mindful movements to help you become more aware of your body and to release tension and pain. It is based on the idea that the mind and body are interconnected, and that by paying attention to our bodies, we can learn to better manage our stress and emotions.
By using the body, breath and mind recent research on the benefits of somatic movement suggest participants in regular practice may experience the following benefits:
- Calms and balances the mind and body.
- Supports the regulation of the autonomic nervous system (rest, digest & social engagement).
- Stimulates the vagus nerve to support reduction in stress, anxiety and depression.
- Helps to release tension and trauma from the body and improve symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Releases fascia and improves joint health.
- Balances the internal organs and improves the flow of chi or prana.
- Cultivates an inner attitude of gentleness, kindness and self-worth.
- Helps to reduce pain and improve function in people with choronic pain conditions such as low back pain, arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Using physical poses & mindful movement we give space for the body, mind and heart to release stress and tension often stored in the deeper layers of the connective tissue and mental & emotional bodies. Letting go of the need to arrive anywhere we allow ourselves to unravel at our own pace while bathing our entire system with compassion, kindness, gentleness and self-acceptance.
We rest.
We practice the art of slowing down and listening from the inside out.
We cultivate a deep inner awareness in and in between each movement.
We become aware of what is it we’re experiencing right now.
We observe the nourishing effects of fresh qi (subtle energy) moving in us.
In a culture that often values outcomes and doing and constant activity these sessions provide an opportunity to pause, reset and reconnect – bringing balance and a sense of being at home within ourself.
Our practices are focussed on prioritising
GROUNDING + EMBODIMENT + INNER SAFETY
“To be ‘well’ is not to live in a state of perpetual safety and calm, but to move fluidly from a state of adversity, risk, adventure, or excitement, back to safety and calm, and out again. Stress is not bad for you; being stuck is bad for you. Wellness happens when your body is a place of safety for you, even when your body is not necessarily in a safe place. You can be well, even during the times when you don’t feel good.”
~ Emily Nagoski, Amelia Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to unlocking the Stress Cycle.
Would you prefer to work 1:1 or in person? Visit my Services page to book a private session or a complimentary call to see how else we might work together.
Have a work group or team you think would benefit from this work. You can also book a single session or a multi Week Course in your workplace. Contact Me to discuss what your group needs.
Join our mailing list to be the first to hear about new courses and events.
Why work with me?
Hi, I’m Lani, the heart and voice behind heART of Rest. Inspired by the power of meditation and yoga for mental health and wellbeing I specialise in compassionate, mind-body-heart practices to care for the nervous system & help you when you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, burnt out or simply craving a community to connect to.
I’m a qualified Yin and Hatha Yoga and Meditation instructor and I’ve spent the past 10 years studying and teaching embodiment practices, Yoga for Trauma, Tools for the Highly Sensitive Person, Grief Loss and Trauma Counselling, Psoas release, Trauma Release, Sacred Sexuality and Tantra.
Having moved from a corporate career in the Tax Office feeling stressed & disconnected to a life inspired by the values of nature + nurture I know how hard it is at times to slow down. With over a decade in the Government sector and another decade living, studying & teaching Yoga & Meditation I merge practical & heart-based somatic movement methods with traditional mindfulness & yoga practices to support you in slowing down and regaining a sense of empowerment, relaxation and emotional balance in your life.
My passion is YOUR REST.
