Not All Yoga Is Medicine: Nervous System-Centered Yoga Therapy with Liz Albanis

Send us Fan MailToday I'm sitting down with Liz Albanis — a senior yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and personal trainer based in Canberra, Australia, who has spent over 14 years exploring one of the most important questions in the wellness space: when does yoga help, and when does it actually harm?Liz works with people who don't feel supported in traditional yoga environments — people with injuries, trauma, nervous system dysregulation, or who have simply walked out of a yoga class feeling worse than when they walked in. She brings something rare to this work: a deep understanding of both the science and the ancient wisdom, combined with her own lived experience of complex PTSD, surviving two house fires, and discovering that a practice designed specifically for her nervous system changed everything.What we cover:Who traditional yoga leaves behind — why the modern Western yoga class, however well-intentioned, can be inaccessible, overwhelming, or actively harmful for a large portion of the population — and why this is not the student's faultThe penicillin analogy — why yoga poses, breathwork, and even meditation are not universally safe, with specific examples including fast-paced breathwork and yoga nidra, and who needs to be especially carefulWhat actually creates safety in the body — why candles, incense, and soft music don't automatically create a safe space, and what grounding, the ocular cardiac reflex, and eye movement actually do to the nervous systemTrauma stored in the fascia — the concept of psychosomatic posturing and how a skilled yoga therapist reads the body from the moment someone walks through the door — blink rate, breath pattern, nostril dominance, posture, skin color, nail bedsLiz's personal story — how Bikram yoga helped her quit a 14-year smoking habit in three months, how two house fires 20 years apart shook her nervous system to its foundation, and how yoga therapy brought her backWhat a trauma-informed assessment actually looks like — the intake process, discovery call, Ayurvedic questionnaires, contraindication screening, and the two-way street of building a treatment plan with a clientBottom-up vs. top-down healing — why talk therapy and medication alone are not enough for trauma and chronic pain, and why working with the body is essentialThe bee breath (Bhramari pranayama) — Liz's go-to practice for nervous system regulation, including the Hasta Mudra, the ocular cardiac reflex, and why she does it in trafficThe beautiful resonances between yoga therapy, Ayurveda, and marma points — including the connection between pressing on the eyes and vagus nerve stimulationFree resources from Liz:Bee breath video and freebie: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/freebiesRelax & Restore freebie: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/freebiesPrograms mentioned:Release, Relax, Restore — three-signature program combining yoga, mindset, fitness, and nutritionLife Force Yoga — accessible yoga for mental healthSleep programWellness Designed for You — one-on-one personalized programTeachers & traditions mentioned:Jo Phee — Liz's yoga teacher, Singapore-based yin yoga and yoga therapy educatorTom Myers — fascia and myofascial releaseAmy Weintraub — LifeForce Yoga for mental healthEMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)Bhramari pranayama (bee breath)Connect with Liz:Website: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizalbaniswellnessau/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lizalbaniswellnessauResources:Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause PortalAyurvedic Dosha Quick Reference GuideAbhyanga Self Massage GuideWeekend Nervous System ResetNourished For Resilience Workbook Find me at www.nourishednervoussystem.comand @nourishednervoussytem on Instagram