Courses & Books Course
Asana & the Nervous System
Eight weeks of physical practice taught alongside what each posture does to the body. Each week takes one family of postures from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, reads what the text says about it, and then looks at what physiology and neuroscience can actually show, before you practise it and measure how you respond.
- 8 weeks, about an hour of video a week
- Beginner, no experience needed
- Sources for every claim
Four voiced video lessons, one idea
A · The Text · 12–14 min
The Pradipika's verses for the week, where they come from, and how they have been read, including one teacher's esoteric interpretation, clearly labelled as interpretation.
B · The Science · 13–15 min
What this family of postures does to nerves, heart, breath and brain. Every claim carries an on-screen grade: established physiology, good evidence, early evidence or contested.
C · The Practice · 13–15 min
A guided, follow-along session with props, easier options, timed holds and the reasons to skip a posture.
D · The Integration · 12–13 min
A breath or rest practice and a simple home measurement, such as breath rate, pulse or a body map, so you can see your own changes over eight weeks.
The eight weeks
Verse numbers follow the Iyangar translation of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (1893, revised by the Adyar Library in 1972), so you can read along.
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Week 1
Steadiness: the seat and a map of the nervous system
Why the text teaches asana first and promises steadiness, health and lightness (1.17); why its best postures are all seats (1.19, 1.33–35); Shavasana (1.32). Then the map: central and peripheral, somatic and autonomic, the sympathetic–parasympathetic dial, the vagus nerve and interoception.
Practice: building a seat you can stay in, and a four-minute Shavasana. Measure: your baseline breath rate, pulse and body map.
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Week 2
Breath: the bridge between voluntary and automatic
"When the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady" (2.2); taming the breath gradually (2.15–18); Ujjayi (2.51–53) and Bhramari (2.68). The science of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, the baroreflex and slow breathing near six breaths a minute, and why fast breathing does the opposite.
Practice: Ujjayi, humming breath and paced slow breathing. Measure: mood and breath rate before and after.
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Week 3
Forward folds: stretch, sensation and the exhale
Paschimottanasana, "the most excellent of asanas" (1.28–29). Muscle spindles and the stretch reflex, and why most flexibility gains are changes in stretch tolerance rather than longer muscles.
Practice: a back-body sequence with straps, folding on the out-breath. Measure: a 0–10 sensation scale.
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Week 4
Twists: the gut–brain axis
Matsyendrasana and the "gastric fire" (1.26–27). The enteric nervous system and the gut's sensory nerves, why twists don't "wring out toxins", and what trials of yoga for irritable bowel syndrome do and don't show.
Practice: breath-led spinal rotation, with options for back and pregnancy. Measure: gut check-ins.
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Week 5
Backbends: turning the dial up
Dhanurasana (1.25) and Simhasana (1.50–52). Why sympathetic activation is healthy, how upright posture affects mood under stress, and how to come back down afterwards.
Practice: an energising extension sequence with lion's breath. Measure: alertness before and after.
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Week 6
Inversions: gravity, blood pressure and the baroreflex
Viparita Karani (3.77–82) and the chin lock (3.70–73). Venous return, baroreceptors, and the measured rise in eye pressure in head-down poses, with clear reasons to skip inversions.
Practice: supported inversions only, such as legs up the wall, with no headstand. Measure: pulse before and after.
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Week 7
Bandhas and balance: the inner sense
The three locks (3.55–76) and the arm balances of chapter one. How the diaphragm and pelvic floor work together, balance and the cerebellum, and the insula's role in body awareness.
Practice: balance and core work with gentle bandha awareness. Measure: an eyes-closed balance test.
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Week 8
Rest and integration: what the evidence says
Shavasana (1.32), the salt-in-water image of absorption (4.5) and listening to the inner sound (4.65–95). Yoga and brain GABA, the meta-analysis of stress markers, Yoga Nidra trials, and what we still don't know.
Practice: the full Foundation sequence and an 11-minute Yoga Nidra. Measure: retest your Week 1 baseline.
Who it's for
- Beginners who want a steady home practice and to understand what it does
- Yoga teachers who want to explain postures accurately, without pseudo-science
- Anyone curious how a 15th-century text compares with modern physiology
Who it isn't for
- If you are looking for treatment. This is education, not medical care
- If you want advanced postures such as headstand. Inversions are kept supported on purpose
- If you want the text's promises of cures taken literally. The course shows which claims hold up and which don't
Aditi
Doctoral fellow in neuroscience and meditation, Delhi Technological University
Aditi teaches the Hatha Yoga Pradipika the way this course is built: each verse read closely, each claim graded against the research, and each posture taught so you can feel what it does.
- Neuromatch Impact Scholar
- 8 years working in yoga science and meditation
Before you enrol
When does it start, and how are sessions run?
Use the enrol form and you will get a reply with the next start date, how the sessions run and how to pay.
What do I need?
A mat or rug, a firm cushion or folded blanket, a blanket for rest, and a notebook. A block and a strap help from Week 3. A heart-rate app or watch is optional.
How much time does it take?
About an hour of video a week across four lessons, and four or five short practices of 10–15 minutes.
Do I need to read the Hatha Yoga Pradipika?
No. Each week quotes and explains the verses it uses. The verse numbers are there if you want to read along.
Is it safe?
Everything is taught with easier options, and inversions are supported only. If you have glaucoma, high blood pressure, a heart condition, recent surgery, a spinal or joint injury, or are pregnant, check with your clinician first. Skip any posture that causes sharp pain, numbness, dizziness or breathlessness.
Can I get a refund?
No. All sales are final, so you get the start date, format and price before you pay, and you can ask us anything first. See how ordering works.
Can I try something first?
Yes. The Quiet Mind is a free film course on what breathing and meditation do to the brain.
Asana & the Nervous System
8 weeks · Beginner · ₹3,400