Regulate your

Nervous System with

Yoga & Ayurveda
Guide + Checklist
Learn 5 simple daily practices from Ayurveda
(mixed with science) to start self-regulating your
nervous system

By Mel Singh
Welcome!
First and foremost, I’m SO glad
you’re here!

If we’re just meeting, allow me to

introduce myself: I’m Mel - Yoga +
Ayurveda Practitioner,
Kinesiologist, Meditation teacher,
and Mama.

Almost a decade ago I sustained several concussions as a rugby

player that completely changed my life, leaving me with intense
anxiety, wonky digestion, and what I now know to be a super
dysregulated nervous system.

Little did I know this awful experience was the catalyst for deeper
transformation, mind-body-spirit.

My healing journey sent me on a spiritual path into Meditation, then

Yoga, and eventually Ayurveda which completely changed my life.

I coupled this beautiful ancient wisdom with modern science from my

degree in kinesiology, and certification in functional nutrition and
have experienced some profound healing within my body and mind,

I went from being asuper anxious, stressed ane emotionally

dysregulated human being, to being able to self-regulate and
remain calm in almost any situation. And if I can do it, I‘m confident
you can too.
Alright, enough about me, let’s talk
about *you*
Chances are, if you are reading this, it’s because you are stressed,
anxious and exhausted, eeeeven though you practice or teach
Yoga.

You’re purpose driven, ambitious, but at the end of the day you feel
like you just don’t have enough energy to work on your passions or
your practice.

So you find yourself more irritable, tired and emotionally

dysregulated; little things send you over the edge, and give you
anxiety.

Yoga and meditation just aren’t "doing the trick" anymore, you feel
calm while you’re in practice, but you’re right back to square one
once you leave the practice,

You feel like you’re missing something when it comes to calming

your mind and truly regulating your nervous system.

You want to feel like no matter what life throws

at you, you can handle it.

And maybe, you feel a bit overwhelmed with what you *should* be
doing because there is just SO much information out there, and it
paralyzes you, keeping you stuck in inaction, and the overwhelm
spiral. Am I close?
Over the years I've come to see that Yoga + Ayurveda, when
mixed with modern science truly helps you cut through all the
noise, and start doing things that *actually* work for YOU.

I can’t get into *everything* in this guide, so today I want to give

you 5 simple practices from Ayurveda + Yoga that you can start
implementing NOW that have the power to deeply support and
nourish your nervous system.

Will this work?

After years of practice and counseling, I’ve specifically curated these 5
practices based on healing some of the root causes of stress and
anxiety from Ayurveda + modern science that we are going to discuss
below. Even though they are simple, they are super potent!

Because once we begin healing things at the root, our ability to

manage stress and energy improve, and anxiety decreases.

So first I want to give you a bit of background on *why* what you’ve

been doing up until now likely hasn’t worked.

Why Yoga on it's own is not

working:
Yoga (asana) and meditation are pieces of a larger puzzle. They
*alone* don’t address and heal the root cause of the dysregulation
that are causing the burnout, exhaustion and anxious mind in the
first place.
When looking at deep, lasting healing,
there are 3 main areas of focus when it
comes to anxiety and stress:
1. Mind - emotions, thoughts, feelings
2. Body - food, movement, physiological functioning
3. Spirit - subtle energy, purpose, faith

Most people when thinking about stress and anxiety tend to focus
more on the mind and emotions, but neglect or don’t even realize
the very critical role of our body, physical health and even subtle
energy. Which is interesting because when we look at many of the
root causes of stress and anxiety, we can see a hugely biological
component!

Here are some of the underlying causes of

anxiety and stress?:
Nutrient deficiency (not getting enough nourishment via food)
Digestive issues
Adrenal fatigue (high stress leading to burn out of the adrenal
glands which are responsible for supporting us during high
stress situations)
Inflammation in the body (high stress + toxic build up from
poor food choices, personal care products etc create
inflammation in the body)
Trauma
Nervous system dysregulation (high stress or trauma leading
to an altered state of the nervous system)
Hormone imbalance
Dosha imbalance
When we experience chronic high levels of stress, of course it
affects the mind, but it also creates a cascade of changes and
imbalances within the physical body that create the fertile soil for
anxiety, and exhaustion to emerge on a cellular level.

So while meditation and yoga asana are amazing practices that I

recommend to all my clients/students, they do not specifically
heal these root cause imbalances, and are part of a broader
system of healing that is much more integrative.

So what *does* heal these root causes then?

Well, you see, it’s not *one thing*. Your body, mind and spirit are
highly interconnected, like an ecosystem.

Optimizing the state of your physical body is one of the most

critical factors for healing anxiety and chronic stress at the root -
and is often the first step. Your digestion + the food you eat is one
of the most important things you can begin to shift because these
directly support our nourishment, and as a result heal the systems
of the body.

The healing journey is an evolving practice, and to get you started

I put together my top 5 tips that you can literally start
implementing as soon as you finish reading this, that are going to
have a global effect on many of those areas, so you can start
feeling calm and energized throughout the day. Sound good?!
Let's go:
5 Simple Practices From Ayurveda
To Regulate the Nervous System.
Practice 1: Create a morning + evening
routine

The first thing I do with all my clients is help them create a

morning + evening routine. Your morning and evening routine
set the container for the day, provide much needer stability
and certainty for the body and mind, and they are so
important in the process of healing stress + anxiety.

Start simple, wake up at the same time daily, and pick 1 new
thing to incorporate into your day. As you build consistency,
add in additional practices if you’d like, but slow and steady
wins the race.

Here's where to start:

Pick a wake-up time and be consistent
Brush teeth + scrape tongue
Warm water
5 minute meditation

PRO TIP: Commit to the ritual, not the result. I will *always*
do these practices without fail, even if the meditation is 1
minute. And the bonus is, these are already 2 of your daily
habits DONE first thing.
Practice 2: Drink Warm Water + have warm
foods
One of the simplest ways to support your digestion, and which has
a cascading effect on all the systems of your body including stress
pathways, hormones, and the resulting anxiety, is drinking warm
water first thing in the morning + throughout the day.

Start your day (before eating anything else) with a glass of warm
water. This flushes the system of toxins first thing, invites in warmth,
which is grounding and calming and sets you up for a calm, clear
day by balancing Vata Dosha and clearing your digestive tract
first thing.

Additionally, consuming warm foods has a similar effect on the

body; it helps to support digestion and keep Vata Dosha - the
Ayurvedic root cause of dysregulation - at bay.

Practice 3: Brahmari Pranayama

This is one of my favourite Yogic practices for soothing the nervous
system. You can find a tutorial over on my instagram HERE.

What’s so powerful about this practice is not only are we

connecting to our breath which helps us drop into a
parasympathetic (rest and digest) state of our nervous system, we
are activating the vagus nerve as we hum on the exhale.

It is my go-to pranayama for calming the nervous system.

Practice 4: Move your body

Movement is a powerful tool for supporting the nervous system;

this is where asana shines! Moving our body has many benefits:

Creates greater mind-body connection

Can help release stored emotions/trauma from the body
Improves neuroplasticity
Supports neurotransmitter production like dopamine and
serotonin

Move your body each day in a way that feels good for YOU. This
could be Yoga, a shaking practice, walking, running, weight
training, swimming - Ayurveda does not recommend *only* asana.
Tune into your body and see what feels good!

Practice 5: Connect with nature

Nature is an underrated hero for supporting the nervous system.
When we connect with nature, not only is there a profound impact
on this like mitochondrial functioning (aka the powerhouse of the
cell) which supports energy production, there is a subtle energetic
shift as well.

Nature is abundant in prana - life force - and nature therapy has

been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda for healing the mind.

Get outside every day and connect to the earth with your bare
feet, connect to a tree with your bare hands, and/or get sun on
your skin for at least 10 minutes. Watch the shift in your nervous
system as you do this practice.
So, What's Next?
If you want to learn more about how Ayurveda and Yoga can
support you in regulating your nervous system, I would love to
invite you to a free virtual class - “The Chaos to Calm
Masterclass” where I’m going even deeper into this and sharing
the 3+1 pillars from Ayurveda, Yoga + modern science to help you
heal stress and anxiety at the root, create more energy in your
body and mind, and align with your mind-body blueprint so you
can start living your purpose.

You can sign up HERE.

Also, don’t forget to join us on Instagram for daily tips, support

and hilariousness on this journey!

If you know you are ready to go deeper, and start making

changes, you can always check out our a la carte courses
HERE, or reach out to melissa@yogifuel.com discuss 1:1
counselling options.

Sending you lots + self-healing,

Mel
Daily Self-Regulation
Checklist
Morning + evening routine
Warm water + Food
Brahmari Pranayama
Move your body
Connect with nature

@yogifuel / www.yogifuel.com