Courtney Miller Morris

Time: 5:15 PM – 6:00 PM; Room#007C

Breath is a simple, but powerful tool. Stress is major health crisis in society today, and the simple tool of breathing consciously can have a major impact on building stress resilience. We will explore the anatomy + physiology of the nervous system and how this applies to stress management. We will look at the action of the “fight or flight” response and the “rest and digest” response and the role our breath has in balancing them. We don’t have direct control over these responses, but we do have an effect. When we breathe deeply we are stimulating the vagus nerve which has a cascade effect on the nervous system and helps to bring us out of the nervous fight-or-flight response and into rest-and-digest aka reducing stress and building stress resilience.

About Courtney Miller

Courtney Miller Morris, co-founder of the Hamsa School of Yoga and Ayurveda, is a M.S. Holistic Nutritionist and Ashtanga Yoga Teacher. She received her Masters of Science from the American College of Healthcare Sciences, and is currently pursuing her studies to become an Ayurvedic Health Counselor and Pancha Karma Therapist. Yoga played a major role in Courtney’s life as she struggled with an eating disorder in her early teens and twenties. She began to practice yoga when she was in college and found that the practice helped her to become more aware of the mean inner dialogue that was constantly streaming through her mind. By continuing to practice she found the ability to slowly chip away at the self-hatred, eventually finding a glimpse of self-awareness she hadn’t experienced before. Yoga compels you to tune into your body, take notice of where there’s discomfort, and use your breath to relax into it. Courtney is registered with Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT 500.