restorative yoga
sunday afternoon workshops in restorative yoga and yoga nidra make their focus being more than doing, and allow time to immerse ourselves in the nourishment of these practices.
the movement practice making up the the first half of sunday afternoon workshops is designed to gently settle, soften and refresh, preparing the body to drop into the stillness of either restorative yoga, or yoga nidra. on sundays, i often give a bit of context with a brief introduction to an aspect of the practice. numbers are kept small to allow for a pleasant sufficiency of space, props, and help from me.
"Restorative yoga is a receptive practice, to taste and trust where you are right now."
Judith Hanson Lasater
"The memory of the creation of our own body, we carry in our cells."
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen
"Go to the comfort of your cells."
Marcia Monroe
i began practising yoga in galashiels as a student there. i connected deeply with the practice from my very first class and immediately started practising in my wee room in my student flat. in that first term of yoga, the teacher told me i would be a yoga teacher. (what did she know? i was going to be a textile artist!). when i returned to edinburgh, i cleaned the yoga centre there in exchange for classes. every week after cleaning, in the glorious quiet of a newly clean studio all to myself, i took out some blankets and bolsters and rested in a restorative pose. that instinct to dive into the nourishment of restorative yoga has remained with me. i love and need to move. and the balance of moving into stillness feels so desperately necessary too.
if we intend it, all yoga practice can be an act of self-compassion. restorative yoga in particular, emphasises being over doing. we receive. we sensitively place ourselves in entirely supported environments that allow us to shift out of all holding, manipulating the nervous system skilfully to shift into deep healing and repair. we yield, we climb down into the fluid patterns, into the cells. when cellular breathing is free and full, the cells are vital and healthy. and when awareness is in the cells we are in the physical location of meditation. how enormously refreshing and nourishing to rest here, to step out of the grasp of the thinking mind.
every spiritual tradition contains the idea of sabbath; a day of rest. a recognition that without a pause to enter stillness, we can’t maintain our connection to our deepest wisdom and the guidance of our hearts. restorative yoga can help us develop an inner reference point for how it feels to be truly still, allowing us to be more supported, effective and joyful in our actions in the world, more connected with our innate creativity and inner wisdom.
restorative yoga is always part of my weekly classes. i teach restorative yoga in “wee threes”, (small groups in my home studio), workshops and one-to-ones. i am trained to advanced level in the practice by judith hanson lasater, world leader in this field. (and you were right isa andrews, first yoga teacher and senior citizen sage in a baggy pink track suit, i did become a yoga teacher!)