Yoga Nidra
iRest is a simple and accessible form of guided meditation designed for modern day living.
You rest in a comfortable position and are guided into an effortless state of relaxation.
iRest/ Yoga Nidra is a transformative meditation practice which enables self-inquiry through relaxation. Reconnecting to one’s True Nature. That which has never been injured or lost, that which is infinitely present in Pure Awareness.
Relaxing the body and mind helps access a part of the Self which often doesn’t get centre stage because we are all so busy and identified with our day to day actions, thoughts and emotions.
The practice starts with a somatic sensing, guiding around the body to open to sensation, therefore opening more into our own experience. The practice is effortless and welcoming, including body, senses, emotions/feelings and mind – thoughts and beliefs. From a place of welcoming, we see ourselves from the part of ourselves that is loving and accepting. Finding who and what we are when free of psychological, cultural and philosophical conditioning.
iRest is a contemporary adaptation of yoga nidra, bringing in modern day psychological and scientific principles. This practice is designed to be trauma-sensitive, and to offer as much space and pace for healing and growth. This is a practice of Being.
Nothing mysterious simply a beautiful ‘navigation system’ to consciously reconnect with Pure Being as it already is, coming home to Self. A process of Remembering.
Since 2015 I have completed Level 1 and Level 2 iRest training and am almost about to complete my certification at the end of 2021.
“iRest Certification is a comprehensive process by which students who have attended iRest Level 1 Training or higher undergo an in-depth process of study and practice of the iRest teachings with the guidance and supervision of an iRest Mentor. Upon completion of all requirements—including attending an iRest Level 2 Training, a short retreat, and a long retreat—graduates earn the title of Certified iRest Teacher. This title conveys to the public that the teacher possesses a thorough understanding of the principles and teachings that underlie iRest and has accomplished the highest level of teacher training iRest Institute provides.” https://www.irest.org/programs/trainingscert
iRest meditation can help:
Cope with daily stresses
Resolve trauma
Decrease depression and anxiety
Relieve chronic pain
Improve sleep
Awaken to your true nature
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Restorative Yoga
Essentially lying around in a comfy nest with bolsters and blankets and allowing yourself to fully and deeply relax.
A relaxation practice to support conscious deep rest. Revelling in stillness.
A deeply restorative practice, always appreciated by the body and a great support in the fluctuations of life.
Restorative yoga is the practice of supporting the body with various props to facilitate relaxation and health.
In our world today the sympathetic nervous system is almost constantly stimulated and people often don’t rest until they are asleep and some don’t manage that!
Taking time to rest and be present with oneself, without TV or the internet is often a really challenging thing for people to do, not just because of circumstances but also because it can be uncomfortable, or more accurately unfamiliar, to be introspective and still.
The practice of restorative yoga helps the waters calm by manipulating the nervous system into is reflective, digestive, assimilative side – the para sympathetic nervous system, using props, guidance and other principles to achieve this.
Most of the problems one sees medication advertised for, e.g., heartburn, insomnia, digestive issues are due to us not regularly being in the para sympathetic side of the nervous system.
I qualified as a certified Relax & Renew teacher in 2010 and completed the Advanced Teacher Training for Stress and Anxiety in 2012. I have been teaching Restorative yoga for over 10 years and it make up a big part of my personal practice. I have seen remarkable things happen with regular time spent practicing yoga and truly think it’s the most wonderful gift I can share.
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Somatic Yoga
Rather than being a puppet, making and copying shapes, Soma Yoga, (Soma meaning 'Living body' or short for Somatic which means 'experiencing the body from within') helps us get in touch with a deeper dimension of our body - inside! Using developmental movement and universal patterns such a naval radiation and gravity, we learn and remember bodily movement patterns that help the yoga poses unfold from the inside out, rather than outside in! Dropping from our heads and into our bodies. Hanging out in one’s body is a beautiful thing to learn. We often distract ourselves at the expense of learning how to just "be". Soma Yoga is deep, gentle, intuitive yoga.
The focus is on interoception and embodiment of the practice in supporting health, vitality and integration.
I recently attended Lisa Petersen’s (amazing somatics teacher) Somatic Immersion Series course and I hope to attend a teacher training with her in the next few years.
I started practicing yoga when I was 24 and completed my first Somatic Hatha Teacher Training in 2009 and the following year in 2010 attended Donna Farhi’s advanced teacher training in New Zealand for a month.