What is Restorative Yoga?

Restorative Yoga is a wonderful branch of yoga that doesn't require flexibility or physical exertion to join; all you need is the ability to get up and down from the floor and be comfortable covering your eyes. This practice involves no movement, as it is done lying down with the help of props like bolsters, cushions, and blankets that provide support and comfort.

In a nutshell - it is yoga of deep relaxation. Once the body is supported in a position of comfort and ease then the antidote to our fight-or-flight response—the relaxation response— is activated. This enables even those of us who find it difficult to relax to experience the therapeutic benefits of this gentle yet powerful practice, including:

• Blood pressure reduction

• Muscle pain reduction

• Better sleep quality

• Lowering feelings of anxiety and overwhelm

• Benefit to digestive and immune system function

Location

What to expect

Rest is a natural ability we have from birth, but life's challenges can make it hard to access this inner sense of peace. For those of us who have faced trauma, the nervous system may remain in a state of heightened alertness, complicating the process of relaxation further.

In our course sessions, you can look forward to being part of a welcoming and understanding group of up to six fellow students, in a safe, nurturing environment with expert instruction to help you move through any barriers you may be facing.

In individual sessions, you can anticipate the same benefits as above, but with added time and space to focus on your unique needs and to work together therapeutically.

Every session will follow a similar structure:

• we will always begin with a trauma-informed practice to calm the nervous system, either standing or sitting

• we then practice our first Restorative Yoga position which may include working with the breath. In some weeks in Relearning Rest we also work with some gentle, accessible movement, either sitting on a chair or lying down

• we always finish with a guided Yoga Nidra* relaxation in our final Restorative Yoga position

*Yoga Nidra is the name of a guided relaxation practice which takes the brain into a state in between waking and sleeping, and has profoundly positive effects on the brain’s ability to calm itself and on quality of sleep.

Your teacher

Fran Saint is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and trainee Yoga Therapist with a passion for making yoga classes more accessible to people struggling with their mental health. She has experienced the transformative healing that engaging with life through yoga can bring and draws on her personal experience of anxiety disorders and trauma in her teaching.

She is a certified Relax & Renew® yoga teacher having trained with Judith Hansen Lasater, and has completed foundational training in Trauma Informed Yoga developed by David Emerson and Bessel Van de Kolk. She believes in the empowering nature of individualised yoga practice, and draws influence and inspiration from the world of Polyvagal Theory.  Fran feels incredibly privileged and honoured to create safe spaces in her classes in which people can just 'be', taking steps at their own pace to regulate their nervous system and care for their whole being.

Alternatively, you can express interest in a current or future course using the form below.