Sleep as
Sacred Practice
Ancient somatic wisdom & contemporary neuroscience for deep, restorative rest
Enroll at OLLI Berkeley → Learn More"Sleep is far more than rest for the body. It is a nightly invitation to enter a space of deep healing, regeneration, and wholeness."— Course Vision
A different path
to restorative sleep
In these turbulent times, anxiety, worry, and the relentless pace of modern life rob us of this sacred gateway — and with it, our energy, clarity, and inner peace.
Drawing on ancient somatic wisdom traditions and illuminated by contemporary neuroscience, this course guides you to prepare body, mind, and spirit for truly restorative sleep — and to carry that peace into your waking life, your relationships, and your community.
This is above all an experiential course. From the very first session, you will be practicing. Each week builds progressively on the last, guiding you toward a stable, embodied daily practice that is yours to keep. No prior experience is needed.
Three Core Somatic Practices
Ancient techniques to use every night before sleep and throughout the day to release tension and invite healing.
Heart–Brain–Vagus Connection
How bringing peace to the heart signals safety to the brain, releasing hormones of healing throughout the whole organism.
Cellular Vitality
How consistent practice protects your telomeres — the markers of cellular aging — supporting longer health and vitality.
Anxiety Release
Noticing where anxiety lives in the body — and how to gently, skillfully release it through embodied somatic practice.
Community Healing
How your inner peace ripples outward into your family and community, contributing to collective well-being.
Neuroscience Context
Selected peer-reviewed findings on sleep, cardiovascular health, aging, and neuroplasticity as living context for practice.
Four weeks.
28 nights of practice.
Week One
Opening the Gateway
- Sleep as sacred space — beginning your 28-day practice
- What robs us of sleep: the nervous system under continuous stress
- First somatic practice: grounding and releasing the day
- Creating your personal pre-sleep ritual — beginning tonight
- Brief science: what happens in the brain during deep, restorative sleep
Week Two
The Body Knows
- Locating where anxiety, tension, and worry live in the body
- Second somatic practice: embodied release and letting go
- The heart–brain–vagus nerve connection: peace in the heart signals safety to the brain
- Deepening your daily practice — days 8 through 14
- Brief science: heart rate variability, the vagus nerve, and healing hormones
Week Three
The Heart of Practice
- Third somatic practice: breathing in and out from the heart
- Weaving all three practices into one flowing nightly sequence
- Noticing what is already shifting — in sleep, in energy, in daily life
- Deepening and continuing — days 15 through 21
- Brief science: telomeres, cellular aging, and the power of consistent practice
Week Four
Rippling Outward
- Reflecting on 28 days: what has shifted in body, mind, and spirit?
- How your inner peace radiates to family, friends, and community
- Sleep as a sacred act of care for yourself and for the world
- Making this practice yours for life
- Brief science: sleep, longevity, immune health, and collective well-being
Begin your journey tonight
While you wait for the course — or to share with a friend — these free guided practices from Amelia's YouTube channel are yours to explore any time.
Cómo Volver a Dormir Cuando te Despiertas a la Noche
Effective ancient technique for returning to sleep when you wake in the night.
The Power of Your Nervous System for Healthy Relationships
A dialogue with Dr. Stephen Porges on safety, healing, and the vagus nerve.
Meditación y Auto-Aceptación
Easy techniques to learn to meditate and cultivate deep self-acceptance.
Amelia has an amazing ability to weave together healing practices developed over thousands of years with scientific insights, while guiding us into connecting with our deep source of inner peace and of love for ourselves and for each other. Being in Amelia's presence and following her wise and kind guidance is deeply healing.
Dr. Amelia Barili
Amelia has guided thousands of students over many years through courses in Meditation, Positive Neuroplasticity, Volunteering, and Resetting Your Nervous System at OLLI and UC Berkeley. Her teaching weaves ancient wisdom with neuroscience in a warm, embodied, and accessible way.
An award-winning faculty member at UC Berkeley and the Polyvagal Institute, and recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Public Service, Amelia brings decades of experience in community healing, somatic education, and contemplative practice to everything she teaches.
Begin your 28 nights.
In 28 days, you can transform your relationship with sleep — and with yourself.
Enroll at OLLI Berkeley →