HLL05 BioMedical Yoga Therapy for YogaBrain: The Brain that Changes Itself (Online)

For centuries yoga has prevailed as a “science of the mind”, and now modern neuroscience is starting to prove its amazing claim. Yogabrain is the integration of body, mind, and nervous system into full presence – the basis of a balanced, strong, and resilient nervous system. It has been shown now for multiple decades that cultivating mindfulness through awareness, the breath, and active yoga practice have the ability to strengthen our tenth cranial nerve, and thus the vagal tone, which untimely has the capacity for a regulated, stable, and resilient central nervous system. Indeed, this notion has been identified by Steven Porges as the polyvagal theory, which is now the foundation for many psychotherapeutic remedies for the mind and body.

Join our teachers as they deepen your awareness and knowledge of the vast and amazing world of neuroscience and the nervous system and strengthen & explore your Yogabrain.

The recordings included in this training will help you to understand your own visceral states and traits. You will learn the basics of how to affect the brain through diverse movement-based therapies such as yoga and seated meditation. You will explore how this will assist your brain and bodily health throughout your lifetime and enhance your mindfulness by reducing ‘brain smudging’. In reducing such, you will learn how to enhance and remap your cortical brain through increasing your proprioceptive sensory experience. You will learn how to affect certain parts of the brain with different yoga, breathing and meditation exercises. For example, we will explore how to increase the size of the hippocampus, involved in memory and learning, using yoga movements to increase brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

Celia has extensive knowledge of neuroscience in conjunction with psychobiological states and how yoga practice has the capacity to change not only your current physiological and psychological state but also your ability to change these states for your future and create genetic intergenerational change.

You will come to an understanding that the ‘brain is in the body, and the body is in the brain’. We coin this deep understanding of the current mind-body medicine research, “YogaBrain” and refer to the following research:

These Ten Facets of Research for Understanding your YogaBrain are as follows:

1. The vagus nerve
2. The heart-brain connection
3. Heart rate variability (HRV)
4. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
5. The gut-brain axis and
6. Psychoneuroimmunology
7. Neuroplasticity and Cortical Re-Mapping
8. Bioplasticity and The Embodied Brain
9. Meditation for our DNA, epigenome, telomeres
10. Meditation’s effects on our Inner Pharmacy

You will be exploring:

• How the growth grey matter and cortical thickness changes by way of understanding the following neurobiological areas:
  • Amygdala
  • Prefrontal Cortex
  • Hippocampus
  • Anterior Cingulate cortex/gyrus
  • Posterior Cingulate cortex/gyrus
  • Insula
  • Temporal Parietal Junction
  • Thalamus
  • Cerebellum
• Neuroscience of brain in stress/trauma/PTSD/anxiety/depression/pain versus benefits of meditation on brain
• How to rectify the brain changes that occur in prolonged periods of stress, anxiety, depression and trauma
• Specific Yoga Therapy and Breathing Pattern Therapy for Brain stimulation and nervous system health
• Induction of Salivary Nerve Growth Factor by Yogic Breathing and how to induce flow states through yogic breathing techniques
• Exploration of ancient philosophy side by side with modern neuroscience

Meditations for a Strong Nervous System with Samantha Lindsay-German will explore:

• Further understanding and practical application in parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system control
• How to challenge and improve the central nervous system
• How to navigate tight spots and relax into being
• Specific cleansing and strengthening exercises for a strong, resilient, healthy nervous system
• Yoga therapy tools such as Sat Kriya, long holding postures, and trauma release exercises for the nervous system
• How to apply yoga therapy tools for your own well-being and to teach others same

You will further explore the brain changes that occur with consistent practice of both mindfulness and compassion, and the neurobiological changes on the body, by clearly understanding the science of psychoneuroimmunology.

We shall also touch briefly upon the work of pioneering neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson and the Emotional Life of our brain. Davidson proposes that each of us have an Emotional Style composed of Resilience, Outlook, Social Intuition, Self-Awareness, Sensitivity to Context, and Attention. Where we fall on these six continuums determines our own “emotional fingerprint.” With this understanding behind us, we shall apply the therapeutic principles of mindfulness and Compassion focussed therapy as originally described by Paul Gilbert to treat the brain in trauma, stress, anxiety, depression and the addicted state.

Compassion for self is an innate necessity, yet surprisingly something we, as a collective community often forget to do. Our minds work in connection with others, yet this connection first must begin within in order to have the capacity for true selfless altruism. Further, this innate necessity is remarkable, perhaps miraculous, as it works two-fold – meaning that the more compassion we offer to ourselves, the more compassion we can offer others, which in turn offers our minds, and neuro connectivity, growth, resilience, and integrated holistic wellbeing.

Opening our hearts and minds to loving others and ourselves is not an instantaneous thought driven concept. Indeed, opening the heart, building confidence, and cultivating compassion come with yoga postures and practice that specifically are designed to beget an integrated mind, body, and soul that recognises the relationship between awareness, practice, and enlightenment.

You will be exploring:

• The neurology biology of mindfulness, yoga and compassion of the brain
• Hypothalamus & Pituitary gland
• What it means to strengthen your body’s vagal tone (Polyvagal theory)
• How your emotional wellbeing relates to the science of the mind and hormones
• How to practice and teach meditation practices of loving-kindness and Thong Len
• Therapeutic principles of mindfulness and Compassion focussed therapy
• How compassion practice creates positive epigenetic changes within you in as little as one day
• How the brain changes with compassion meditation and compassion focussed yoga therapy
• Eye contact meditation and its the effects on the amygdala
• Compassionate listening and hearing with soft vocal tones
• Increasing gamma wave brain frequency through compassion meditation
• Compassionate posturing for the Heart-Brain

In addition, you will experience gentle asana and meditation techniques such as Yoga Nidra, Trataka, Antar Mouna, Mantra with mudras (hand gestures and locks). You will explore positive intention through the notion of the sankalpa in relation to neurobiological change based in pattern formation. With an intuitive heart sankalpa, we have the power to create new Nava Sharira Samskara (physical patterns) as well as new Nava Manas Samskara (mental patterns). Not only does this process of intentionally forming new physical and mental patterns directly relate to neuroplasticity and the formation of new physical and mental synaptic connections through repeated experiences, but so too of the process of abhyâsa and vairâgya (Sutra 1.12 – 1.16).

You will be exploring:

• How to use Sankalpa with Neuroplasticity
• Notions that reflect the adaptive methodology of the embodied brain to facilitate optimal well-being
• Antar Mouna for the Mind
• Trataka for one-pointed attention
• Yoga Nidra for deep awareness
• Gentle yoga posturing and Mudra for subtle energetic change

Please note that not all face to face content is included in online course training due to copyright issues. You will receive many classes and recordings in your online training, but occasionally the face to face sessions will not be directly matched.