The wisdom that our bodies hold, continuously amazes me.
Unfortunately the fast pace in which we are accustomed to living our modern, busy lives, often means that we ignore or override the messages and signals our body is communicating.
As an antidote to this, I’m curious about what can happen when we allow ourselves to really slow down, to rest. What happens when we do less? When we let go of needing to achieve or progress or evolve or improve. What happens when we allow ourselves to simply be?
I guide simple, restful practices that invite you to meet yourself exactly where you’re at in this moment, welcoming the entire spectrum of our beautiful yet often wild and messy human experience. I believe that through intentionally slowing down and tuning in, we can begin to let the innate wisdom of the body be heard and from there, we can tend to ourselves in really beautiful ways.
Below are some of the practices I guide, perhaps you’ll feel called to join me.
Love, Polly
SLOW FLOW YOGA
Deep breaths, slow movement and mindful stretches inviting you to tune in to what your body needs most. Less focus on alignment and more on the exploration of moving in a way that allows a little more spaciousness to be found in the body. Guided meditation and breath allows for this practice to be one of tuning in, listening and feeling. This practice (as with all the others) is open to all, no experience (or flexibility!) necessary.
YOGA NIDRA
Yoga nidra or ‘yogic sleep’ is a meditation guiding you toward connection with the body. It requires little concentration, trusting that even if you fall asleep (which we often do!) that the subconscious is still listening and doing the work. Four times more restorative than sleep (yes you read that right!) it’s a practice for mind, body and spirit rejuvenation. Get uber comfy and cosy and be guided into a dream space.
RESTORATIVE YOGA
Restorative yoga focuses almost entirely on nervous system health. It’s a beautifully still, nourishing practice with an emphasis on comfort. The goal of the practice is to facilitate a gradual release of tension in the body and encourage a fullness of breath. We use a variety of props which support relaxation and allow the body to feel held. - Although restorative yoga also has an emphasis on stillness, slowness and softness this practice differs from Yin in that Yin encourages space and stretch to the connective tissues and joints. Restorative yoga isn’t about stretch, it’s about bringing the nervous system into a state of calm.
YIN YOGA
Yin yoga is a very still, cooling and passive practice where we hold each pose for up to 5 minutes. Within this stillness, the goal is to be muscularly soft so that the (good!) stress of the pose is directed toward our connective tissue, joints and bones. In order to this the practice needs to one of giving up effort- we use lots of props in order to facilitate the feeling of letting go. Here, we are practicing observing the body in stillness.
MEDITATION
I think there is often a misconception that meditation is a practice of completely emptying the mind. That isn’t true! It’s a practice of learning to observe the mind in action, getting curious about the comings and goings of thought and using anchors such as our surroundings, our senses or our breath as a home base to ground us back in the now. We can transfer this skill out into the realness of life, as a way to come back to the moment when things feel a little wild.
I’m currently teaching online via zoom, to join me in practice, click below to see upcoming classes and workshops.
