Yoga and Somatics for Immune and Respiratory Health

by Charlotte Watts

Overview

Our respiratory and immune systems are intrinsically linked to how we relate to the world around us. Engaging with our vitality through the movement we were designed to express equips us with an invaluable ability to support the optimal functioning of our internal systems.
This book explains how movement, embodied awareness, and self-compassion can be incorporated into yoga practice to support respiratory and immune health. It delves into how stress, trauma, breath, movement, and posture can impact the quality of these systems and how yoga teachers can integrate a range of practises focussing on movement, meditation, and breath to help improve them.
Through an exploration of our boundaries, our breath, and our bodies, this book will help yoga teachers develop a more integrated and nuanced approach to their teaching

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781839970887
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	10/21/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Charlotte has been teaching yoga since 2009, and runs courses for yoga teachers on somatics, as well as specialised trauma-informed courses for various health aspects. She also teaches on the Yoga Therapy courses run by both Yogacampus and The Minded Institute. Charlotte is also an award-winning nutritional therapist, practising since 2000. Her other books include Yoga Therapy for Digestive Health, Good Mood Food and The De-Stress Effect.

Table of Contents

Foreword Joanne Avison 8

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction 15

1 Healthy Defences 23

Physical Practice: Somatic and Loosening Sequence 51

Subtle Practices: Mindfulness of Breathing 69

2 Stress and Inflammation 77

Physical Practice: Undulating and Twisting 112

Subtle Practices: Breathing for Regulation 131

3 Fluid Adaptation 139

Physical Practice: Primal Motions - Lunging, Stepping and Squatting 171

Subtle Practices: Heart Focus 188

4 Mindful Boundaries 193

Physical Practice: Standing into Full Breathing and Protective Support 231

Subtle Practices: Internal Soothing 248

5 Embodied Awareness 257

Physical Practice: Rest and Recovery 296

Subtle Practices: Traditional Pranayama 307

6 Good Vibrations 325

Physical Practice: Bringing It All Together - Movement with Optional Sound 357

Subtle Practices: Simple Sounding and Mantra 369

Glossary of Sanskrit Terms 375

Subject Index 378

Author Index 386

Editorial Reviews

Charlotte speaks to the reader with informed and accessible language, addressing some of today's most widespread challenges to human health and longevity, while offering intelligent and effective solutions for every body. An essential and timely resource awakening our innate capacity for self-understanding, knowledge, self-healing, and optimum well-being.

Simon Low

This book is an enjoyable blend of scientific information and mindful practice. It is a resource for yoga teachers and serious practitioners who are ready to bring their curiosity to the inner world of movement and breath. Charlotte balances the complex subject matter with scholarly clarity while also encouraging the exploration of awareness. A welcome contribution to the study of yoga!

Dr Kristen MacPherson

Charlotte Watt's knowledge is born out of deep, sustained curiosity to understand the interrelated systems of the human biome and our shared environment. She consumes, digests, and puts into practice vast amounts of information that she offers to her readers in a clear, integrated format ready to be put into practice in our own lives. This book is the result of Charlotte's determination to truly understand the respiratory system spurred on by the Covid pandemic, and the desire to help others through it. It is the body owner's manual we all need to understand how our vital systems work, and how to work with them.

Lisa Kaley-Isley PhD

Charlotte Watts's book is an absolute must for all movement and manual therapists. Knowing Charlotte in her early days as a practitioner at my centre, along with learning from our fascia and movement programmes over 20 years ago, I have seen that her understanding of health, nutrition and movement somatics have proven valuable for all that learn from her. She is a master of understanding the breath and fascial rhythms and how these relates to health - in a way that no one has entertained; it is necessary reading.

Gary Carter

Yoga and Somatics for Immune and Respiratory Health is a deep read, rich with valuable information that will inform and transform the understanding of every yoga therapist. Watts and Taylor have created a beautiful weave between yoga's philosophical underpinnings and the gentle movement practice of somatics while offering a short course on physiology and the fascial matrix. Rarely have I encountered such a generous offering of scientific information contextualized specifically for those in the field of yoga therapy. This book will definitely be a required read for my yoga therapy training program going forward!

Robin Rothenberg

A beautifully written book of heart that should be on every yoga teacher's shelf. I have learnt loads from it. Moving forward from these post-pandemic times, if we wish to maintain good health it's sensible to have a clear understanding of how the respiration and immune systems dance together. If you want to significantly improve both your own wellbeing and that of the people you work with, then this book is highly recommended.

Fiona Agombar

Charlotte reviews a unique tapestry of concepts not found elsewhere, providing the reader with a broad overview of the self from the inside out. Weaving together a description of mind, the immune system, fascia, the respiratory and nervous system, she connects the dots in ways not done before and buttresses this with practical tools and tips for the profound development of well-being.

Heather Mason