The Art of Rest - Yin and Restorative Yoga with Live Sound
- sjholisticyoga
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
If you have ever practised with me, you will know that rest is never an afterthought. I teach rest as a spiritual practice. It is woven through everything I teach. In the pauses between movements. In the way we arrive. In the way we end our practise. But there is something different about dedicating an entire evening to it.
Long before I trained to be a yoga teacher, I was a very stressed and exhausted mother of two small children. My mum was suffering from many strokes and had developed vascular dementia. I was running a small business with my husband, keeping house, not sleeping. Life was loud, demanding and exhausting. My nervous system was in a constant state of alert. Even when there was a rare moment to sit down, I would not have known how to soften. Rest felt unfamiliar. Elusive.
It was during that season of my life that I attended a Yin and Sound session with the wonderful Kanti Freeman. I remember lying in those long, quiet shapes while sound moved softly through the room. I had been a lifelong yoga practitioner, but this was my first experience of yin, and something in me recognised it immediately. I felt held in a different way. There was nothing dramatic about the session. Nothing overwhelming or intense. Just a gentle, steady presence that seemed to give my body permission to settle.
I was forever changed and deeply inspired.
The Art of Rest is, in many ways, the flowering of that early experience - shaped now by years of teaching and studying, by my understanding of trauma, somatic theory and the nervous system, and by the kind of spaces I care about holding.
This two-hour session weaves together gentle somatic practices, long-held yin postures, and fully supported restorative shapes, accompanied by live sound from Chrystelle Beesley. It is not yoga as you might imagine it to be. It is not about pushing, deepening, or achieving. It is about resting, softening.
We'll begin with gentle breathwork - leading into small, intuitive somatic movements to help the body arrive. Subtle shifts. Slow unwinding. An invitation to notice sensation without trying to change it.
From there, postures will be few and intentionally unhurried, with spacious pauses between them. Transitions simple and slow. Bolsters, blankets and props used generously so the body can release without effort or strain.
Chrystelle’s sound will be woven gently throughout, offering a calm and steady presence. This will not be a dramatic or overwhelming sound experience. The intention is not intensity or crescendo, but quiet support - tones and texture that sit underneath the practice and help the nervous system feel safe enough to soften.
The gentle tones of instruments such as crystal bowls and chimes can help the body settle into the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest”, state. When the nervous system begins to soften in this way, muscles can release their holding patterns, and the mind often becomes quieter. Sound has a way of guiding attention inward, supporting a meditative state that feels simple and accessible, even for those who do not consider themselves natural meditators.
We will end with a Yoga Nidra meditation, accompanied by the soothing sounds, allowing the body and mind to drop a little further into rest.
Many of us live slightly elevated, slightly vigilant, slightly switched on. Over time, that subtle hum of alertness becomes normal. We forget what it feels like to truly downshift.
Practices like this remind the body that it is safe to soften. They remind the mind that it does not need to solve anything. They create a container where stillness is not empty, but nourishing.
If you feel tired, overstimulated, or quietly longing for a softer landing, this evening is for you. No experience of yoga or sound therapy is needed. You do not need to be flexible. You do not need to know how to meditate. You simply need to come as you are.
I am so looking forward to holding this. It feels like something I have been waiting for - for a long time.
Vicki
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