On a cold, cold weekend in January, my furnace died. Thankfully, I had already booked an Air BnB as a weekend retreat for a virtual restorative yoga teacher training. So I cozied up in piles of pillows and blankets and logged onto Zoom to lay around and learn for a few days.

Guided by my rest mentor Chanti Tacoronte-Perez, the training was a refresher with a focus on how to teach restorative yoga virtually. Yes, I said "rest mentor." Chanti, an artist in the truest sense, explores self through creativity, movement, yoga, dreams, and rest. From her, I've learned :

• the importance of slowing down.
• how to explore quiet and stillness.
• how to build a rest nest.
• rest rituals to improve my sleep.
• self-soothing techniques to relieve anxiety.
• how to create a safe and supportive environment.

It's taken some time — and a coach — to help me rest well. I used to go go go until I dropped. In fact, looking back, I don't think I even knew how to rest.

If you collapse at the end of the day, if you can't let go of the day's stress, if you have a hard time unplugging, I'd be happy to share what I've learned. It might help you like it's helped me.

It's all part of my Tuesday evening Flow & Restore yoga class. In this class we move with some gentle yoga flows to unwind, then we create a rest nest of pillows and blankets, a cozy spot to help settle into supported yoga postures. We finish with Yoga Nidra, a guided relaxation that helps you find a liminal state before sleep.

Chanti has also introduced me to some other incredible teachers, including Octavia Raheem, author of Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change. I had the honor of attending a virtual author talk and guided rest session with Octavia. She talked about the immense need for finding stillness and quiet to encourage recovery and growth. She talked about beginnings and endings and the inevitability of change. She shared prompts to help guide the inner explorations that are fostered by rest.

It was just what I needed, when I didn’t even know that’s what I was l looking for.

You're invited give rest a try (you might like it!) on Tuesday evenings when I'm holding virtual space for you to unwind and restore.

Rest well,

Heidi