Episodes
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Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat Sheet 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/
In this yoga nidra practice, we will explore the deep restorative power of rest to heal from the exhaustion that comes from chronic stress and overwhelm. This session is designed to address dorsal vagal shutdown, a response in the nervous system where the body "shuts down" to conserve energy after prolonged periods of stress. This shutdown can manifest as profound fatigue, emotional numbness, and a need to withdraw from daily life.
Many of us, especially those who habitually overwork, over-give, and push past boundaries, experience this kind of depletion. When our nervous system is constantly activated, it can lead to a state of collapse, where both body and mind feel deeply drained.
Yoga nidra offers a pathway back to balance. Through this practice, we will create space for deep rest, allowing the nervous system to reset and recover. You will be guided through gentle body awareness, breathwork, and sensory relaxation, inviting your body to move from exhaustion into a state of healing. This practice is a powerful antidote to overdoing, helping you reconnect with your inner reserves and nourish yourself from within.
Rest as remedy is central to this yoga nidra, emphasizing the importance of self-care and boundaries as essential tools in preventing further shutdown. Allow yourself the time and space to experience true rest, replenishing your energy and restoring your body’s natural rhythm.
Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat Sheet 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/
Playlist for the Navigate Your Nervous System Series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdFcYtDajz211W6al_imYcQfdPOL9l7Gn&si=IAA2LjVl1gOEOIVj -
Yoga Nidra for Depression | Navigate Your Nervous System Series #4 | YWM 707
Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat Sheet 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/
Welcome to the second month of our Navigate Your Nervous System Series. This is the fourth class in the series.
This Yoga Nidra for Depression is a compassionate practice designed to support those navigating the weight of depression by fostering gentle connection, self-compassion, and a sense of safety. Drawing from the teachings of Deb Dana and Polyvagal Theory, this guided journey helps you tune into your body’s natural intelligence, acknowledging the protective role of the nervous system.
Through mindful awareness, you will be invited to explore the dorsal vagal response, which can manifest as disconnection or numbness, and gradually shift toward states of connection and ease. With each step, you'll be guided to honor your body’s responses with kindness, without rushing or forcing change.
In this practice, we use tools like mindful breathing, awareness of opposites, and a compassionate body scan to gently reconnect with yourself. As you move through the practice, you will be invited to hold space for yourself with compassion, curiosity and non-judgment. The practice encourages a deep sense of self-compassion, allowing you to return from the experience with a renewed sense of connection and safety, both within your body and in your external world.
Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat Sheet 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/
Playlist for the Navigate Your Nervous System Series: CLICK HERE -
Missing episodes?
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12 Yoga Poses for Positive STRESS Response | Navigate Your Nervous System Series #3 | YWM 706
Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat Sheet 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/
In the third class of the navigating your nervous system series, we will explore sympathetic activation. Over the last two weeks we have explored the “negative” sides of the “fight and flight” responses of your sympathetic activation. However, in this class we will explore how sympathetic activation can often be employed for positive outcomes in our bodies and throughout our day.
In this class, we explore the concept of navigating the nervous system through mindful movement and breath, embracing the sympathetic nervous system’s activation as a natural and necessary part of life. Stress, when managed with care, can become a source of growth, learning, and resilience. By working through postures that activate and release stress, we practice balancing sympathetic arousal with relaxation, recognizing that stress signals engagement in meaningful aspects of our lives. Throughout this practice, we cultivate compassion, allowing ourselves to move through stress with kindness and a deeper understanding of its role in our personal evolution.
12 Yoga Poses for Positive Stress Response Sequence
Spinal Warm Up
Kapalabhati Breath
Frog Pose
Lunge
Pyramid
Knocking on the Door of Life
Knocking on Meridians
Breath of Joy
Uttanasana
Camel
Child's Pose
Reclined Twist
Props Needed: Yoga blocks, bolster, meditation cushion
Go to 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/ to download your Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat sheet -
Yin Yoga to Release Anger & Frustration | Navigate Your Nervous System Series #2 | YWM 705
Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat Sheet 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/
📕Get My Yin Yoga Book Here 👉https://melissawest.com/book/
Welcome back to the Navigate Your Nervous System Series! This will run through September & October here on YouTube and in our membership community. This week, we will continue exploring your Flight Response of your nervous system, with anger, frustration and irritation.
Physiological responses of your nervous system under threat “fit in, fawn, fight, flight and freeze” have corresponding emotions and behaviors
Your Sympathetic Nervous system fight response begins with irritation, moves to frustration, then anger, then rage as the threat or perceived threat escalates
Anger, frustration, irritation and resentment are the emotions associated with the liver organ system and wood element season. Throughout this class I will guide you into yin yoga postures and teachings about anger and the nervous system from my book, Five Element Yin Yoga.
Our members will get and an elevated, deep dive into a PREMIUM ELITE TIER where they navigate fitting in responses of the vagus nerve in September. This week they will receive teachings on boundaries and a yoga class on having Strong and Flexible Boundaries.
Props: Blocks, Blanket, My book
Poem: A Great Wild Goodness by Annie Lighthart
Go to 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/ to download your Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat sheet
📕Get My Yin Yoga Book Here 👉https://melissawest.com/book/ -
Yoga for Anxiety | Navigate Your Nervous System Series #1 | YWM 704
Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat Sheet 👉 📄 https://melissawest.com/navigate/
Welcome to the Navigate Your Nervous System Series! This will run through September & October here on YouTube and in our membership community. We will begin by exploring the Flight Response of your nervous system with Anxiety.
This class has several nervous-system sensitive tools to bring to the yoga class from grounding, resourcing, orienting, sounding, breathing, self-contact, and as always trauma informed cueing.
This class combines the best of classic hatha yoga along with some qigong inspired flows.
I have a gift for you - a Navigate Your Nervous System PDF download - today we will be going through the Flight Response in the Sympathetic Nervous System - September on YouTube we will focus on Sympathetic Nervous System
Our members will get and an elevated, deep dive into a PREMIUM ELITE TIER where they navigate fitting in responses of the vagus nerve.
Go to melissawest.com/navigate to download your Navigate Your Nervous System Cheat sheet
Props Needed: Yoga Strap, yoga blocks,
Poem: Primary Wonder by Denise Levertov -
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
📕Get My Yin Yoga Book Here 👉https://melissawest.com/book/
✨1:1 Abundance Code Readings ✨https://melissawest.com/abundance/
In this Yoga Nidra for sleep session, inspired by modern sleep science and ancient yogic wisdom, we will explore the essential, non-negotiable nature of sleep as described in Matthew Walker’s book, "Why We Sleep." Sleep is crucial for the daytime functioning of our brains and bodies, but in today's fast-paced world, we find ourselves not just physically tired, but also mentally and emotionally exhausted. Our nervous systems are overworked, and our spirits are in dire need of regeneration. This Yoga Nidra session will guide you into a deep, restorative sleep by addressing not only the physical need for rest but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion that many of us face.
As yogis, we recognize that sleep transcends the material world. Our physical bodies are just one aspect of our sleeping experience. In this Yoga Nidra practice, we will step into a realm where our energy bodies, mental bodies, emotional bodies, and intuitive and imaginative capacities are also nurtured and restored. By allowing total relaxation to permeate all dimensions of our being, Yoga Nidra offers a profound level of rest and recuperation. This multidimensional rest is what makes Yoga Nidra so effective in enhancing our sleep quality. Join me, Melissa West, as we journey together into a state of complete relaxation, allowing every aspect of our being to be rejuvenated and restored.
There will be no close-out in this yoga nidra so you can drift off into deep sleep. As always, there will be an audio download of this yoga nidra for members in our membership community. -
Yin Yoga for Kidney Meridian | Rest & Reset Series #5 | YWM #702
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
📕Get My Yin Yoga Book Here 👉https://melissawest.com/book/
✨1:1 Abundance Code Readings ✨https://melissawest.com/abundance/
The kidneys are the essence of your energy body, serving as the root of your life force and the reservoir of your deepest nourishment. By pulling and pressurizing the tissues of the kidney meridians in our yin yoga practice, we gather all the scattered energy and draw it inward to connect with our true nature. This practice allows us to slow down, breathe into our lower back and kidneys, and cultivate the deep, quiet pool of energy in our lower dantien. This is a practice of rest and deep renewal. Our practice honors the softer edges, nurturing ourselves for authentic healing and rejuvenation.
In this yin yoga class, we will use our breath and visualization to gather and direct the flow of qi in our bodies. The principles of yin guide us to find a balance between comfort and challenge, fostering change and ease simultaneously. The kidneys, work overtime when we are stressed, pushing on even when we are exhausted. By cultivating an appropriate rhythm and living in balance, we can rebuild our vital life force. This class allows us to pause, move qi into the bones and deeper connective tissues, and create space for energy and inspiration to emerge within us. Through stillness and softening, we support our kidney meridians, recharging our energy.
Yin Yoga for Kidney Meridian Sequence
Centering
Child’s Pose
Butterfly
Dragonfly
Reclined Twist
Savasana
Poem: Self-Care by James Crews -
In this Nervous System Yin Yoga class, part 4 of our Rest & Reset Series, you'll embark on a transformative journey designed to release stress, tension, and anxiety. By focusing on the Bladder Meridian, which runs along either side of your spine and down the backs of your legs, we will pull and pressurize the tissues to affect your nervous system.
This practice will release stress, tension and anxiety as it helps to relieve muscle tension, improve the flow of qi, and stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system. You will learn to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which is essential for rest and recovery, allowing you to move away from the constant state of fight-or-flight that depletes your energy and leaves you feeling exhausted.
Pulling and pressurizing the tissues along the Bladder Meridian releases emotional tension. By the end of this session, you will feel a deep sense of calm and relaxation, ready to face life with renewed energy. Join me, Melissa West, for this soothing yin yoga practice with a special focus on restoring balance and harmony in your nervous system.
Nervous System Yin Yoga Sequence:
Toe Stand
Hand to Big Toe Pose
Half Happy Baby Pose
Reclined Twist
Half Dragonfly
Savasana
Poem: In the Flow by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Props Needed: BLocks, Bolster, Blanket, strap
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
📕Get My Yin Yoga Book Here 👉https://melissawest.com/book/
✨1:1 Abundance Code Readings ✨https://melissawest.com/abundance/ -
Restorative Yoga to Replenish Energy Reserves | Rest & Reset Series # 3 | YWM 700
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
✨1:1 Abundance Code Readings ✨https://melissawest.com/abundance/
Welcome to a very special milestone, my dear Yoga with Melissa YouTube Yoga Community! This is the 700th episode of Yoga with Melissa, and I am so grateful to have you all with me on this daily yoga journey. To celebrate, I have a special class, designed to deeply replenish your energy reserves.
In this restorative yoga class, we will embrace the art of restoring our energy with LONG holds—700 seconds per pose, which is about 11.5 minutes each. These extended holds are a tribute to our 700th episode, symbolizing not only the depth and longevity of our practice together over the last 15 years, but also the potential of restorative yoga to replenish our energy reserves.
What to Expect:
Deep Relaxation: Each pose will be held for 700 seconds, allowing you to sink deeply into relaxation and truly let go. These long holds will help activate your parasympathetic nervous system, promoting profound rest and recovery.
Energy Replenishment: Through these restorative poses, we'll focus on gently opening the body and encouraging the free flow of energy. This practice is designed to help you recharge your energy reserves, leaving you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
Stillness & Silence: The extended time in each pose will give you the space to cultivate quiet and peace, creating a parasympathetic nervous system state that supports both rest and renewal.
Let’s honor this incredible journey together with a practice that embodies the essence of restorative yoga—long, luxurious holds that allow you to reset and recharge deeply.
Thank you for being part of this yoga with Melissayoutube community, and here’s to many more episodes of yoga nidra, restorative yoga, yin yoga, hatha yoga and qigong yoga flows.
Join me for this special class, and let’s celebrate the 700th episode of Yoga with Melissa in the most relaxing and rejuvenating way possible.
Yours in Yoga, Melissa
Restorative Yoga to Replenish Energy Reserves Sequence:
Restorative Locust Pose
Restorative Child’s Pose
Restorative Twist
Restorative Fish
Savasana
Poem: Of Goodness by Mary Oliver
Props Bolster, Blocks, Blankets, Eye Pillow -
It is easy to feel burned out and running on fumes, especially in summer when high temperatures make doing life even more exhausting. This qigong yoga flow is designed to nourish the kidneys so that we can recover and store energy.
Our kidneys are responsible for storing and distributing our vital energy throughout our body, so if we are looking to recover energy, this is the best place to create an energy reserve within.
The kidneys are the root of life and provide the fundamental energy we need for our physical strength and endurance. Join me for this qigong yoga flow class where we will recover and store energy in our kidney organ system. -
Yoga Nidra | Healing Power of Rest | YWM 698
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
✨1:1 Abundance Code Readings ✨https://melissawest.com/abundance/
Welcome to the first class in the Rest and Reset Series.
This 70 minute yoga nidra for healing is a deeply healing and restorative guided meditation for when you need physical and emotional healing. Deep rest is essential to our overall physical, mental and emotional well-being. When we take time to deeply rest, our bodies can be healed at a cellular level. Our parasympathetic nervous system, lymphatic system and organs can do their natural work of repair. When you are experiencing illness, pain and emotional depletion this guided meditation for deep inner healing will allow you to tap into your own body’s innate capacity for healing.
In this yoga nidra meditation for healing we will trace your awareness through the network of cells, tissues, and organs to improve the free flow of energy along the pathways for your body’s wellbeing. This meditative sleep yoga allows you to open your awareness into different parts of your body to mobilize your own innate healing power. This free flow of energy will greatly assist your body’s innate healing capacity.
This return to your inner world for healing is a kind of revolution. One that puts aside the demands of our capitalist consumer culture, one that demands that we are aways producing and doing. Because there is a part of your inner being that knows there is deep value in rest and repair, we can call upon it to support us in our healing. This is a radical act of reclamation and the first step towards healing our world.
I hope you enjoy this extra long yoga nidra.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be at ease.
Sign up for my Emails to stay in the loop about the Reset and Reset Series: https://melissawest.activehosted.com/f/3
Get my Yin Yoga Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/ -
Vagus Nerve Reset Yoga to Welcome Abundance 697
✨1:1 Abundance Code Readings ✨https://melissawest.com/abundance/
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This hatha yoga qigong fusion class will combine hatha yoga with qigong. We will begin by releasing the scarcity and poverty thinking with qigong purging exercises. Then we will focus on the kinds of abundance that you want to draw into your life. Additionally, this class will open up your lungs so that you can breathe in more inspiration and good quality and integrity of qi. We will practice fountain pose from easy pose and finish our class in savasana with a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.
This short yoga class for abundance will focus on drawing in prosperity and abundance in a simple and easy way. It would be a great class to practice during the full moon to celebrate abundance and prosperity and to release the scarcity and poverty mindsets that are keeping you from experiencing abundance in your life. -
Emotional Release Qigong Yoga Fusion | YWM 696
💸Abundance Code 1:1 Reading 💸 https://melissawest.com/abundance/
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
📕Get my Yin Yoga Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/
Cleanse, Clear & Heal your Emotional Body in this qigong yoga fusion class. Emotional pain often manifests in our bodies as tension, tightness, or even chronic discomfort, particularly when emotions become stuck and unexpressed. This can leave us feeling heavy, burdened, and disconnected from our true selves. In our Emotional Release Qigong Yoga Fusion class, you will be guided through a gentle yet powerful practice designed to help you release these trapped emotions and cleanse your emotional body.
Drawing from both Qigong and Yoga, this class will support you in letting go of emotional burdens that may not even be yours, creating space for healing and renewal. Through mindful movements and guided visualizations, you will activate the flow of healing energy, clear emotional blockages, and restore balance within your emotional body. Whether you are dealing with emotional dysregulation, nervous system dysregulation, stress, sadness, anger, anxiety, or other challenging emotions, this practice offers a compassionate and nurturing space to support your emotional well-being. Join me for a powerful emotional cleansing, release and healing class. -
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💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
Thank you so much for your feedback. Thanks to your requests, we are re-releasing this yoga nidra with VOICE ONLY for your enjoyment.
Our yoga nidra practice opens our neuroception to be grounded in the present moment, to be more regulated, calm and spacious. By gently moving our awareness around our body, we anchor in the present moment and create a sense of calm and presence.
In this calming Vagus Nerve Yoga Nidra practice, we invite deep relaxation. As I guide your awareness through your body, I invite a profound sense of stillness to envelop you. Breath awareness and practice will regulate your vagus nerve. With each breath, we nurture connection to the present moment, fostering a sanctuary of peace within ourselves.
Through this practice, we cultivate a harmonious balance between body, mind, and spirit, tapping into the healing power of the vagus nerve to restore inner calm. -
Yoga Nidra for Deep Healing 70 mins | Yoga with Melissa 694
Get my Yin Yoga Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
This 70 minute yoga nidra for healing is a deeply healing and restorative guided meditation for when you need physical and emotional healing. Deep rest is essential to our overall physical, mental and emotional well-being. When we take time to deeply rest, our bodies can be healed at a cellular level. Our parasympathetic nervous system, lymphatic system and organs can do their natural work of repair. When you are experiencing illness, pain and emotional depletion this guided meditation for deep inner healing will allow you to tap into your own body’s innate capacity for healing.
In this yoga nidra meditation for healing we will trace your awareness through the network of cells, tissues, and organs to improve the free flow of energy along the pathways for your body’s wellbeing. This meditative sleep yoga allows you to open your awareness into different parts of your body to mobilize your own innate healing power. This free flow of energy will greatly assist your body’s innate healing capacity.
I hope you enjoy this extra long yoga nidra.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be at ease. -
VAGUS NERVE Restorative Yoga | YWM 693
Get my Yin Yoga Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
This calming vagus nerve restorative yoga will support your parasympathetic nervous system, in particular healthy ventral vagus and dorsal vagus activation of your nervous system so that you leave feeling “zenned out, ” meditative and contemplative.
Vagus Nerve Restorative Yoga Sequence
Restorative Locust Pose
Restorative Hand to Big Toe Pose
Restorative Child’s Pose
Restorative Twist
Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung: The Ultimate Healing Tool
(https://www.3ho.org/meditation/ra-ma-da-sa-sa-say-so-hung-the-ultimate-healing-tool/ )
Savasana
Props Needed: Bolster, 2 Blocks, eye pillow/blanket/or pillow, yoga strap meditation cushion or chair -
This vagus nerve yoga nidra is designed to reset your nervous system from sympathetic activation or or dorsal shutdown. Whether you are feeling anxious and stressed or disconnected, depressed & drained of energy, this yoga nidra will engage neuroception to follow the three streams of awareness: inside your body, outside your body and in between to reset your vagus nerve.
In this Vagus Nerve Reset yoga nida, we invite deep relaxation. As I guide your awareness through your body, I invite a profound sense of stillness to envelop you. Breath awareness and practice will regulate and reset your vagus nerve. With each breath, we nurture connection to the present moment, fostering a sanctuary of peace within ourselves.
Through this practice, we cultivate a harmonious balance between body, mind, and spirit, tapping into the healing power of the vagus nerve to reset and restore inner calm.
Get my Yin Yoga Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/
💕Revive & Thrive Incubator 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership -
Join me for a calming nervous system yoga session designed to soothe your nervous system. This gentle practice focuses on nervous system regulation, incorporating gentle and calming yoga poses, breath practices, and mudras to support your parasympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve. With Melissa's guidance, you'll activate your vagus nerve, promoting a sense of calm and relaxation. This is yoga for a calm and healthy nervous system. Leave feeling "zenned out," meditative, and contemplative.
Props Needed: Yoga Block
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Our yoga nidra practice opens our neuroception to be grounded in the present moment, to be more regulated, calm and spacious. By gently moving our awareness around our body, we anchor in the present moment and create a sense of calm and presence.
In this calming Vagus Nerve Yoga Nidra practice, we invite deep relaxation. As I guide your awareness through your body, I invite a profound sense of stillness to envelop you. Breath awareness and practice will regulate your vagus nerve. With each breath, we nurture connection to the present moment, fostering a sanctuary of peace within ourselves.
Through this practice, we cultivate a harmonious balance between body, mind, and spirit, tapping into the healing power of the vagus nerve to restore inner calm. -
Yoga to Let Go Into Love | Yoga with Melissa 689
Get my Yin Yoga Book 🙏👉https://melissawest.com/book/
💕Join Our Membership Community 💕http://bit.ly/ywmmembership
This yoga class is about being connected to the presence of love in moving meditation. When we take this time each day to be in the presence of love, we will feel the expansiveness of unconditional love in our lives. It is not a doing, but a letting go and softening that allows us to connect into the expansiveness, vibrance and radiance of our hearts. When we align with the unconditional love that already exists in our hearts we can let go of the striving to try to be better people. This yoga class allows us to slow down and make space for the love that is always and already present in our hearts. It is a devotional practice to love itself.
The gentle standing yoga postures in this class will align you and your body so that your aura is attuned to the essence of love for your own healing and for all those you connect with in all directions and kind. This loving healing is gentle, grounding, warm, expansive, soft love and love that is always safe.
Additionally we will tend to anything that is in the way that is blocking us from connecting to the love in our heart. Anything that is keeping us from serving from our hearts and allowing us to be connected to the frequency of love throughout our day.
Join us in this gentle yoga flow as we trust and follow the currents of love inside to lead others with the heart, this including ourselves and our own internal guidance. It is an honour to practice with all of you spiritual healers, teachers and guides.
Props Needed: None - this entire class is done standing
Poem: For a New Beginning - John O’Donohue - Show more
