Deeside Yoga Institute

The autonomic nervous system has three states.

Most students arrive at class in one of them.

Knowing the difference is the foundation of nervous-system-aware teaching. Here are eight slides for class planning.

Rest as resistance to the pressure cooker that is modern life.

We live in a culture that has framed rest as the absence of work, and work as the source of our value. So when we rest, we often feel guilty. As if we’ve stopped producing the thing that makes us worthy.

I think yoga, when taught carefully, can begin to slowly undo this.

Not by adding rest to the day as another task to complete, or as a reward after work, but by teaching the body that rest is not the absence of something. It is a state in itself. Whole. Complete.

Restorative practice does this. Yin does this. So does sitting on the grass and observing life without needing to use our phones to document everything or achieve Rest as resistance to the pressure cooker that is modern life.
Rest as resistance.

We live in a culture that has framed rest as the absence of work, and work as the source of our value. So when we rest, we often feel guilty. As if we’ve stopped producing the thing that makes us worthy.

I think yoga, when taught carefully, can begin to slowly undo this conditioning.

Not by adding rest to the day as another task to complete, or as a reward after exhaustion, but by teaching the body that rest is not the absence of something. It is a state in itself. Whole. Complete.

Restorative practice does this. Yin does this. So does sitting on the grass and observing life without needing to optimise, document, or achieve anything from the moment. No phone. No distractions. Just you, by yourself, with yourself, for yourself.

If you’re tired and don’t know how to rest, perhaps this is the practice for a little while. To simply stay.

I’ll be exploring this, alongside the science behind it, in a free 90-minute lecture on Tuesday 16th June. Link here if you would like to join: https://deesideyogainstitute.com/nervous-system-launch-lecture

The practice that asks us to stay.

Over my years of teaching yoga, I’ve noticed how easily we can associate depth with movement. Moving through vinyasas, transitioning between poses, flowing constantly. The body stays busy, the mind stays occupied, and because it feels active, we often assume we are going deeper into the practice.

But honestly, some of the most transformative experiences I have had, both personally and with students, have come through the practices that ask us to do less. To simply stay.

This is why yin and restorative continue to humble me as both a teacher and practitioner. The long holds can reveal so much, physically, mentally and emotionally, but I also think it’s important to acknowledge that stillness does not feel safe or supportive for everybody.

I see this with students and have experienced it myself for quite a while, back in 2022. The moment movement slows, there can be an urge to fidget, adjust, distract, or leave the pose altogether, both physically or mentally. Not because someone is doing the practice “wrong”, but because slowing down can sometimes bring us into closer contact with tension, overwhelm, emotion, or discomfort that has been easier to avoid while we keep ourselves busy.

This is why I believe these practices need to be approached gently, with choice, autonomy and compassion. Staying does not mean forcing the pose; stillness definitely does not mean enduring it either. Sometimes the most skilful practice is recognising when the body needs support, movement, grounding, or rest instead.

For me, it is about creating safety in class where students can begin listening to themselves honestly.

A wee thank you to the February Group of Yin Yoga Graduates.

Earlier this year, a lovely group of yoga teachers joined me for the online Yin Yoga Foundations training. I'd been a little nervous about running training again after a wee break while looking after my dad with dementia, and they gave me the warmest possible welcome back into my work, and to be honest, one of my deepest passions: Yin

They asked good questions. They were generous with each other. They kept the conversation going long after the live sessions ended.

A few words from them on how the training resonated, in their own words.

The next live Yin Yoga Foundations training runs 8–12 February 2027. If you'd like to be on the early notice list, drop me a message; applications open in the autumn. Please note that I only take 8 in a group online and live xx

With thanks to everyone in the February group:

Johanne , Nicola , Wendy .yoga.uk , Samy Steph, Keely, Bela, Pasha

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A wee note after a bit of a quiet stretch.

I’ve been practising, studying IAYT work, and a lot of slow planning for what comes next. I wanted to wait and let it settle inside myself first, you know that wee intuitive voice that says yes to this and no to that, well, I wanted to wait until the work I’m offering this year actually settled into that quiet yes before saying anything.

Here's what's coming from June

~ A self-paced Nervous System & Yoga course launching Tuesday 16 June, with a free 90-minute live lecture that evening. Six modules, slowly released across the summer.
~ a 5-day live group training in Nervous System & Yoga in October for anyone who wants to deepen the work in a group. (so good to work as a group, especially after such a fab Yin Yoga Training session in Feb this year - more on that later)
~ A monthly mentorship for working yoga teachers, opening for enrollment in September.
~ The free library that just keeps on growing, with over 65 ad-free classes now.
~ And yoga therapy case study sessions continue, as I work toward C-IAYT certification.

Slowly is the key word. Small, intentional, built to last and easy on my own nervous system.

Link in bio if anything sparks interest. And always no pressure :-)

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I’ve wanted to write this piece for a long time, but these things always take me weeks!

It starts in a hot room in Los Angeles, where I spent nine weeks memorising a yoga dialogue I hated. It moves through a student's injury, fourteen classes I never got paid for, and years of feeling like I was failing and starting over, again and again.

But at its core, it’s about something deeper. There’s a gap between the language we’re taught to use as yoga teachers and what actually happens in real bodies. That gap isn't about individual teachers doing something wrong. It runs through the way yoga training itself has been designed.

If any of this resonates with your own experience of teaching, have a read. It may offer a little ease that you are not getting it wrong.

You can find the full piece here:

The gap nobody talks about in yoga teacher training On dialogue, obedience, and what gets built when everything around you asks you to compromise what you know.