Rest, Recover, Repeat: The Natural High of Restorative Yoga

Following our conversation on nervous system regulation and pranayama breathing, we're taking the next step and exploring the role of recovery.

Clodagh shares her personal journey from being someone who thrived on busyness, long hours and constant productivity to discovering the power of intentional rest through restorative yoga and her training in India. Along the way, we discuss why so many people struggle to switch off, the growing global demand for digital detox retreats, and what the science tells us about recovery, stress and performance. 

This Week's Natural High

✨ Restorative Yoga

This week's invitation is simple:

Try a restorative yoga class.

It can be online, in-person, yours, mine or someone else's.

Approach it with curiosity and notice:

•  How you feel afterwards 
•  How you sleep that night 
•  How you show up the following day 

Resources Mentioned

- Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times - Judith Hanson Lasater

- B.K.S. Iyengar's teachings on supported yoga practice

- Research on yoga, stress reduction and nervous system regulation

- Episode 5: Regulation for the Win – Understanding the Nervous System & Pranayama

🎥 Free 30-Minute Restorative Yoga Class with Clodagh on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/b-9qSTH7WX8?si=vyujDca4ZnU7XFwz 

Key Takeaway

Rest is not the opposite of performance.It is the prerequisite to performance.

Connect With Us

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who might need permission to slow down.

And if you have ideas for future Natural Highs you'd like us to explore in Season 2, we'd love to hear from you. ✨

This is an exclusive discount for our Natural High Lifer Listeners. Doctrine Skincare have offered this across season 1 - 15% discount across all full priced and full sized products. 

Transcript

Aisling 0:04

Hi, I'm Ashley and I'm Cloda and we are two wait. Cloda are we girls or are we women? Uh we're a bit of both. Ah yeah, we are. Okay, look, we're two gibbons. Or whirls. I like that. Who, having both kicked the booze out the back door, are always on the search for our own natural habits. The things that make us feel amazing, not just at the time, but long afterwards too. I, Ashling, am a mob and a movement and a meditation teacher. And I, Cloda, I'm the founder of a tech company and well-being solution called Cree. I am a health and wellness coach and a yoga teacher too. And together we will trial and test many different natural hives and share with you the good, the bad, and the ugly. And we invite you, our natural high lifers, to come along for the ride.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Expect honest, real, raw, rich conversation, many laughs, and many, many tangents.

Aisling 0:58

Because progress is never a straight line. Woohoo!

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Ashley Cloud.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Oh no. I actually have a good singing voice. Do you know what? No, you put me under pressure there and I didn't know where to go with it. We kind of sound like the witches from Hocus Pocus. We say that's what we were going for.

Aisling 1:26

I that movie scared the shit out of me when I was. Oh, I thought that was very scary. I mean, Sarah Jessica Bark is kind of scary. Anyway. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I love her. Although I should stop not really give out about her because I don't think I look like her. She's stunning. I'm not saying I look like her. But there's a kind of a, and I mean this in a nice way, that kind of long face I have, dare I say horsey. And I think you know what I mean? I think we should need to stick together, us women that have the kind of long faces. Beautiful long face. Fine long face. And uh you'd be great as her for Halloween. And actually, I always wanted to go as the three sisters, so I would. I'll do I'll do her. Yeah, brilliant. I'll do the long face. Me and Dara will do it. Boy, the long face. Um great. So how are you? I and me and my long face are brilliant. I have to put in there for you. I'm so great. I'm genuinely, I really am. So, do you know what? I really realised this morning I'm such a I'm such a simple person in what will make me in great form. But also I'm kind of so anchored to them that if I don't get them, and I look, there's a TMI card. I'm gonna gallop up to it. I'm just gonna say it. I get up in the morning, if I am af anything plus 18, the sleep score, anything over seven hours unbroken. I know that sounds pathetic for those of us getting nine and ten hours, but that's just not my life. But I I last night, 80 something, 88, maybe as a sleep score, seven and a bit hours sleep, all continuous, loads of deep, beautiful. If I get up, I do that, I have a good, healthy breakfast, the kids get off with any drama, and I go to the toilet and do a number two. Look, I'm I know I know I said I know, I know we're not ready for me to talk about my numbers twos. But you know what I was just thinking today? If I have a good breakfast, a bowel movement, some time alone, I I'm the happiest, I'm the happiest person in the world. So you had good bowel movements. I just did, and I think if we I think we should I need I think we should really need to start taking the uh the sting out of poo. I think we should talk about it way more openly. But you know what? You'd feel a million bucks. I had a great poo, I had a great sleep. I'm just feeling brilliant. Yeah, brilliant. I'm so delighted for you and good for you for sharing. No, honestly, like we do need to normalize these conversations more because it is important to check in on yourself, and one of the key ways to do that is by looking at your bowel movements and being more aware of them. Just feel really good. Good. My gut's great, I'm great, I slept great. It's a pity now we don't have video on us because you're looking great too. Yeah, I just Chloe. Chloe, yeah. I feel really good. I feel like, yeah, I'm just I'm not sick. I've no oh yeah, I just anyway. How many more times and how many more ways can I say it? I feel great. How am I? Well, I'll just ask myself then. Will I? Um get you on anyway, how are you? How are you?

SPEAKER_01 4:18

I'm also feeling good today.

Aisling 4:19

I don't know. Maybe it's just getting to see you, my dear. Um, but very good. I also, I wanted TMI, I was gonna anyway, but like I am just I'd say day one of my periods just about arriving. And you know, in the lead up to it, you can feel really kind of just little, small, little maybe anxious pieces or just feeling a bit tired. Sleep isn't great. And so I think that's broken because I think it's kind of just arriving. So I think that helps me to feel good. Also, interestingly, what you said there about sleep, I've never ever checked my sleep score. It's not that I don't want to, I just don't really know how to, but um, that's a really good segue into poor old Stephen Bartlett, who is getting a huge doing on the Tinternet uh for our sober hot topic. Because yeah, very interesting around data optimization. I actually seldom have to do this now, but I I was getting so activated. I actually deleted the graph because I was like for over the weekend for a few hours, I was like, I'm being sent on this. Okay, so firstly, all the man did was share his experience. At no point did he say, You must also feel this way. So, why the big activation and triggered response from all the the the the drinkers are biting back. Look, there's sick shit of us telling them how unhealthy drink is. And you know what? I don't blame them because it's we're flat out telling them. So there was a bit of a bite back of like it ruined his life. He said it ruined his life for three days, and I and is there no poetic license allowed anymore? Like, of course, he meant he was just aw for three days. And God, are we gonna pin someone to the wall for being a bit dramatic in their in their way of speaking? Do you know what I mean? And also I was now, I was absolutely fascinated by it, and I did kind of go down a rabbit hole, which is unlike me. I normally don't kind of hop on, you know, I'm not normally really invested in the kind of trend bits online, but the how defensive people got about what he said, I did find fascinating, which obviously no one cares if Stephen Bartlett's having three glasses of wine or he's not having three glasses of wine. Nobody actually cares about that. But what I did find fascinating was the reaction. Totally. I didn't hugely take too much notice. I saw a few things, and when I did because I am trying also not to be on the gram too much, but when I did see it, um I thought one of the bits that people were annoyed the most at was about him talking about data optimization, checking his scores and his numbers because it's three glasses of wine and how it had upset his numbers and people kind of being like, we're not robots, like we don't have to, you know, do well on our tests every single day. Now that was kind of my very high level like was that thing that was annoying people? Yeah, sure. But I think there was a bit of cherry picking and editing going with that. Like, I think he was just using that as some actual tangible evidence of it wasn't all in his head. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? And also, like the man was literally just sharing his experience. At no point did he say, and I wouldn't, I don't think anyone else should drink three glasses of wine or do a podcast after they drink wine. He was literally just sharing his experience, which are how are we gone? Are we not allowed to do that anymore? No, we're not. Do you not know? Freedom of voice is not a thing. Do you know what I mean? If we say the wrong thing, yeah, and like that's his jam, you know. Like he's he's obviously a data guy to say he is yeah, and and the other thing I will say, and I and I and I know this sounds quite serious, but like I actually think as well, loads of people taking the piss out of one person online, that's bullying. Loads of people ganging up on one person, and I'm just never down for that anyway. Yeah, I know what you're saying. So like there was a mass movement kind of to take the piss out of him, and that's all that's online bullying, and I don't care that he's a grown-up, that's online bullying. I think there's some people who have an underlying uh chip on their shoulder against him, regardless of this comment, and I think it was their time to jump in the bandwagon and give out about him. Totally, and let's be let's be real. Like the man is absolutely ripped and he's loaded. So do you know what I mean? Maybe there's a bit of gel bags going on. There could be, and also I think like what you said to your point, some people don't want to hear it. They don't want to know. They're like, all right, like you're no fun, you're giving out about having three glasses of wine, like three glasses of wine is nothing. But he's saying the science and the data is showing that it will disturb many of your like your mental and physical functions. And I think actually, Chloe, what he said was it did his. Yeah. He didn't say expect this or this will happen, all of you. He literally shared his experience. I think he just shines a light on things that people want to try and push under the carpet and it's like he's clearly a dad, a person. Like he's obviously interested in numbers, and that's kind of like his jam, do you know? Yeah. Yeah, I thought it was unfair to take him to the cleaners and unnecessary. But and and I also think I can't believe the defensiveness around him talking about alcohol. God, he's so watery talking about booze compared to some people. Have you heard of Jane Swans? What's your man's name? James Swansick or something. That Aussie guy. Um he is lethal talking about drink, and he is he he uh takes no prisoners when he's speaking about drinking. He's he's very to the point, and it's quite even as a non-drinker, I find him kind of not abrasive, is the wrong word, but like Stephen Bartlett is is so pastel. He was so pastel talking about booze. How he's been pinned to the wall, I kind of can't get it. That's an interesting point, but maybe that's because the people who are extremely clearly on the bandwagon of like against the booze, they've already lost or never had the followers in the first place. They have the people on their side. Someone like a Stephen Bartlett who's kind of in between, and it's fight, he's not fighting the good fight of not drinking, that's never really been his bag. He probably had quite a lot of a listenership that weren't seeing that side of the yeah. That is actually such a good point. The people who followed James, I'd love to think of his name. I'll link him in the show notes. Um, I I actually love him. I think he gets it a bit of God, exactly. But his following and his whole business is based upon uh letting go of alcohol out of your life. So of course his following aren't surprised when he comes out with that. But yeah, that's a really good point where yeah, he had every Stephen Stephen had everyone, right? But you know, on that point as well, like the the fact of like bringing or shining a bit of awareness and how you feel after drink, right? I don't have the metrics, I don't have the I do wear a wearable, but I don't use it to track things like that. However, I was at a 40th at the weekend and obviously not drinking, going to these kind of things. It was down in West Cork, so it's a bit of a trek away. So it's like I'll drive down, drive back. Um, part of me, of course, still has the bits of FOMO of like, am I gonna miss out on something that's kind of later into the night because I knew I was getting on the road at like half 10 11. But at this stage, I'm like, no, like it's gonna be glorious waking up in my own bed. It's gonna be glorious not being hungover. And I must say, it was one of those experiences where I really felt I had the best of both worlds. I went down, I had a crack, I was fully present, I remember everything. I even remember one stage her birthday cake came out, and like I know quite a few of people were in at the bar, let's say, and they missed it. It's kind of like a wedding, you know, when you miss things because of the haze or browning out or you're at the bar, whatever. But like they were like I was able to fully be there, and I was like, Oh my god, there's so many times I've missed these crucial moments because I've been drunk or drinking or consumed by being at the bar or whatever, and it was so nice. But the next morning I woke up and I was like, I was going hiking, because I go hiking every weekend, and we went off and did our longest hike yet. It was like 16 kilometres, it was unreal. Nicest hike ever. I actually should link that in the show notes. It was so savage, and not being smug, it wasn't that I felt smug while I did a little, but I also was like, Oh, this is so amazing to be able to have the best of both worlds. I literally, I've so many posts on the gram like when I kind of started when I started my kind of loud and proud sobriety journey, where I was like, sobriety is the opposite of deprivation. It is literally for greedy bitches who want it all. Yeah, like and like Misha, you know what I mean? Like I want to, Misha Fresh, and like I want to go out, I want to have an absolute roiler, I want to eat the yummiest food, I want to chat to everyone, I want to like get all the deets, get all the gossip, what's happening, all the chatties, and then get into my car, drive myself home to my big cozy bed and wake up in the morning and have a gorgy breath. Like I want it all. Like sobriety's for greedy bitches who want it all. Absolutely. But you know what? I just think as well, like if the worst that Stephen Bartlett's comment has done is to absolutely open people's, I guess, minds and eyes to the fact that like alcohol can have a longer-term effect on our health and can have an effect on our physical and mental health deeper than what we think. Well, not we because we know, but like maybe it'll just be food for thought for people, and maybe that's why they're rubbed up the wrong way. But like, I think it's a good thing to shine a light on. Totally. And the activation and the triggered and the defensiveness of all the people who cook, and there were so many people that made like really mocking videos of him. It that just says it all. Because no one actually cares if that man is having three glasses of wine. You nobody actually cares about his sleep score. Do you know what I mean? No, the topic in it in and of itself. So instead of pointing your activation at Stephen Bartlett, why not say, Why am I feeling so defensive and activated and triggered? You know what I mean? And like I don't mean to sound patronizing because obviously, as a normal human in the universe, I'm often activated and triggered, but at least I have the awareness to go, why is that getting under my skin now? Yeah. And I'm pissed off and activated by things all the time. But I won't say, Oh, Bob said something, so I'm gonna really put all my energy now into attacking Bob and mocking Bob. I will actually stop and be like, What can I learn now here? Yeah, why am I getting why am I getting so worked up? Yeah. And I'm getting worked up about them getting worked up. So when I and when I did when I dig deep into that, I feel like it's misplaced defensiveness. And I think that's what kind of annoys me about it. He was literally just sharing his experience. And I think we have to live in a world where people are allowed to speak freely. I think that's what kind of bugs me the most. Well, if anyone listening has like got any strong feelings similar or completely opposite to what we're saying, do let us know because I actually would love to hear people's thoughts on this. Because then yeah, it is. But again, we don't really want to be fueling the fire anyway. But and also, all good jokes are based in a bit of truth, but there was no truth in any of their jokes because what are you getting so upset about? It does fuck your sleep score. Do you know what I mean? Like they're like, oh, I I what my optim But it it does though. I mean, tell me someone who has a lash of drinks in there and they sleep brilliantly, they don't exist. So what are we getting so upset about? Like the man was just speaking the truth.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

He was speaking the truth. Well, look, we've got a Steve Bartlett fan over here anyway. I actually do, I actually do really like him.

Aisling 15:54

And I think he's I think he's clever and I think he's very um I what I actually really like about him as a person is I don't think he pretends to know everything. And if you listen to his interviews, he asks questions sometimes that are just plain silly. Uh do you know he doesn't expect he's not I don't think he has a massive ego at all, actually. So I kind of felt like he's I don't think like I don't think I think he's a good person doing good work, so I really didn't enjoy the mocking of him. But you're looking no press is bad press, as they say.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Only one thing worth have been talked about. If anybody starts mocking us now, I'd be very upset. No, it's just Stephen. I didn't realise that either. No, you loved Stephen.

Aisling 16:32

I didn't and I didn't realize, and I suppose it opened my eyes too. I didn't realize that I actually feel his strong enough. This random Englishman, but I do, I really, I really do.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

And I've just gotten this small tattoo of his face to remind me of the unjust world we live in, SB.

Aisling 16:54

Actually, Simon Brown is my husband, has the same initials, so I might just get Simon's initials. We all know so Premier on uh all of that, love it. I also big up to Stephen Barlett. I think he's doing great work.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Um also if he wants to sponsor a podcast, you know, to kind of podcast sponsored as a podcast. Like a kind of a like a kind of a hen sponsoring a chicken.

unknown 17:21

Cluck.

Aisling 17:22

Hen sponsoring an egg. Um so how did you get on with your invitation to um show up for your strength feelings this week? I actually, and I think it was probably at the end of that, it was one of the less clear. We were like, why don't you join us on this? And normally when we're asking you to join us on something, it's something a lot more kind of clear-cut. But because it's impossible to know everyone's baseline of where they're starting with strength, I thought that was kind of a good invitation. Whatever strength work you're doing, can you actually be fully present and lean into those little moments that will really move the needle on your strength, lean into that discomfort instead of shying away from it? And only you know if you're kind of like really squeezing that last drop of juice. So I actually, to that end, did do that because obviously I do strength work a lot. So, you know, the more we do something, we can get a little bit autopilot with it. So this week I actually got new weights as well, just to invigorate myself even further. And what do you want to do? I got I no, just I actually had big gaps in my dumbbells. So we'll say I went for out of five and then a 10 and then a 15. So I actually got 7.5 and 12.5s. So that was really nice because sometimes my form is really bad when I go too heavier. I'm not being challenged on a lighter one. And because I love building strength in a plate sense just as much as weights, and I actually couldn't decide between the two. And the more I learn, in fact, I realize that actually those more reps with lighter weights, like we do in my class, are actually excellent for type one fibres, and the heavier weights are excellent for type two. And there's an argument to be made that as far as hypertrophy and as far as our longevity piece and our skeletal muscle, the blend of the two is actually the most powerful way to kind of maintain that strength. So, anyway, all to say, I got new weights, I got new resistance bands, and I in both my Pilates, which I do focus on strength when I'm in my Pilates, and and mobility too, but a lot of strength work and in weights, I really brought my A game and I was listening to podcasts when I was doing it, but I stopped doing that, and I just put on music this week. So I'd have the visual and a pod running in the background. So my brain was kind of a little bit scattered. So to add a kind of a to really help myself be present, I changed that up to music, and I just made that conscious decision to give myself the gift of my own attention too. And I did that definitely, still not 100%, but definitely better than what I was last week. Brilliant! Yeah, I love it. I actually loved your invite to kind of allow the individual to decide how to lean into it because I think you're so right. Like when it comes to something like strength, it's very hard to have a specific invite for everyone, everyone's in very different spaces. So that worked really well. I actually I thought that invite for me, so I was going to two of your Pilates classes a week anyway, which I absolutely love. And of course, I went to them last week. I'm going to one again this evening. So I just tried to really show up and push myself a little bit more in those classes or just be more present. Um exactly. So you're ever thinking, do those two girls ever get sick of each other?

SPEAKER_01 20:33

No, we don't. And then I call to you and then you call back to me. And then we do this together, and then we do this together.

Aisling 20:40

Uh, no, it's great. And actually, sometimes when you give me a shout-out in the class, I'm like, oh, stop. Like, well done, Chloe. I can see you digging deeper. So I'm like, yes. Delighted with myself. So that was brilliant. And it also encouraged me back onto my strength training with Fit Positive Girly. Nice. Um, because I had taken a break there because of injury for a week or two. Sometimes when you take a break, it's hard to get back into it. So really, really needed that invitation from you. So I got back into that and I'm so excited because I'm flying off to Dubai there uh shortly in two days, and I will be visiting my sister, and she's got a fabulous gym. And to your point, you're in the weights. I've kind of got a shite selection of weight. I need to buy some more ones, as you say, like to be able to push yourself. So I'm really excited now to get back into her classes two or three a week and make sure I'm lifting and pushing myself like to a comfortable range, but you know, going a bit harder. Yeah, fantastic. What am I gonna do without your Pilates classes? Oh, probably shrivel. I know I've got some online and creed, but like it's not the same as being in your presence. Maybe we'll just have to do a little online like the one thing I do adore, and I I love lifting weights, and I think any movement teacher that starts really bashing other modalities for movement, I'd be really cautious around those people because actually there's room for us all, and there is benefits to all of them. And I really do believe that the beauty's in the blend. But I will give matte work a shout out for its simplicity and its travel friendliness, and no matter where you are, and and also if money-wise, if people are really struggling, like a resistance band that I use a lot in my classes, they're like 250. Yeah, you know what I mean? And if you if you've a mat and you're lucky enough to be able-bodied and you have a resistance band, you can get an incredible workout. You know what I mean? Yeah, so like I definitely think, yeah, shout out to mat work for if for it it over like it if you have geographical and financial um we'll say limitations, it can really like blast us, doesn't it? Yeah, it's amazing. But I will say as well, from doing the online, especially when you're digging deep. I think your class requires people to dig deep, which is a reason why I love it so much. I think there's nothing like the energy in the room and the energy where you kind of keep us going, which is unreal. So I will really miss it, but I'm gonna have to just do your online classes for a few weeks and suck it up. Ah, you know, if you if you ring me and you're like, I just I just need to be you talk, I need to fly over. Dial me into the classes. I miss you all. Okay, wonderful. So I think uh Yeah, I guess maybe the main thing for me when you were speaking again about strength, you've taught me about this a lot anyway, outside of the podcast. I think for the summer I'm gonna really focus in on just being able to lift a little bit heavier and have that blend as well. I'm really excited about that. Like it's not an overnight, I know with breathing, let's say, for example, or even meditating, like it's things that we can incorporate in very, very quickly and easily. This takes showing up to classes or doing a bit of time, doing a bit of work. Um totally excited to do that. And that's why I'm always so like oh I have the absolute ache off. Anyone coming at me with a 12-week, six-week that is the opposite of the mindset that we want around our strength and around around our health and around our mobility. This is a lifelong project that will end on our last breath. Like there's no six weeks, and there is no wagon, that mentality or that quote unquote I'm being good. That's nonsense. This is a lifelong project that is that is seeped in self-respect and the thought that it's on or it's off or it's six weeks, or it's no no no no no no no no no. This is something that we're gonna consistently show up again and again and again and again because we're deserving of that. Yeah. Love it. Yeah. I actually, when I was really on top of my strength training, I had a friend I was giving her a hug goodbye, and she brushed off my guns and she was like, Whoa, your muscles. And I was like, sorry, I've never felt so proud of myself. I was like, Yeah, I'm lifting. I love it. And I also feel very fortunate. I know we can give out a lot about the times we're living in in, and obviously, they're as far as a global context, it's just so um crazy, scary, and hectic. But as a woman, I am really pleased to be living in this era where I feel like we've finally let go of the cardio bunny starvation mindset of living on Diet Coke and treadmills. And I love how how strength is having its moment, and it needs not to be a moment, that's the whole thing. But you know, the messaging of the smaller the better. I mean, on that, you know, that kind of fashion that we grew up with in the 90s of the smaller the better, the smaller the better. Yeah, we'll let's see how the smaller the better mentality works out in our 80s and 90s, because that will not serve us. It's also like there's no such uh like such a good feeling. Then when you work out, let's say or do strength training or whatever walk or whatever it is, some kind of movement, and then you come back and you have a really like high protein fueling meal, and there's no guilt because I we grew up in that era where I there was a lot of guilt uh tied to food at a lot of stages in my teenage years, my early 20s, not a very healthy relationship. Nowadays that's so changed, especially like the education around how important protein is, and of course, fibre, and of course, like you know, how we balance our macros and how we balance our meals, and like there's no better feeling when you're hungry and you get to eat a huge meal and there's no g guilt, obviously. Beautiful, and it's and there's not alone no guilt, there's a joy, and there's uh your your at you know, when your your mind is adamant on that build, it's a different mindset. You're thinking build, and to build muscle, we we need substrate. I mean, that's just obvious. Yeah, so I never God, guilt doesn't even enter my heart, head, or heart. And I'm also like I was born in the 80s, raised, you know, I was a teenager in the 90s. Trust me, I know everything. I know all that feeling of feeling like you should be able to eat like a bird, and nearly saying you're hungry was nearly kind of off-butting to know, like it was so effed up, yeah, the messaging. And I don't know what it's like to be a man. I'm sure it was equally challenging in in in other areas, but I I only know this world. I only have experienced this as a woman. And growing up in that era of really like that Cape Mass and starvation era, it was so, so toxic for us. And I'm just I'm really pleased to see this cultural shift into we really revere strength now, and it's it's beautiful. And I can't wait to see us um, our generation in the next chapter, in the chapter after this, when we've changed that trajectory that unfortunately the generation before us haven't, and still kind of were, you know. Actually, when we were in Spain, I saw this beautiful looking woman, uh, an older lady, she was probably in her um sixties, but she was so thin and she was stunning. Her face was beautiful and her hair was beautiful, and she just was a gorgeous looking woman, but she was so thin up in a treadmill. And I thought, oh my god, if I could just sit you down and talk to you about you, you're like she just looked to me like someone who was eating like a bird, and considering she's a grown adult woman, the bird eating didn't serve us all on account of us not being birds. Do you know what I mean? Like we need to eat whole large meals, put a log on the fire and then go about our business rather than trying to throw scraps of paper on the fire all day. You know what I mean? And I think it's a domino effect. Like we always talk about these domino effects when you do one thing that kind of feels good or feels right for you, like it kind of slips into place. And it is like with the strength training, I think it just has opened the door for me to really look at food as fuel and look at food and all its glory. It's so like we're so lucky to have so much abundance of food around us, gorgeous, fresh fruit and vegetables and everything at our fingertips. And no longer will I ever or never again will I look at food in any way of like uh I can't a restriction or I can't have it. I everything in moderation, like it's there to be enjoyed. Totally. And the be and the beautiful thing about building skeletal muscle as well. And and also just to say, I think there's a bit of um oh, I don't toxic. Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna say I think there's a kind of a toxic thing of like longevity versus vanity, and like it's only kind of, you know, you have to be just interested in living long. Well, like I'm gonna just say it out. I'm up I'm I'm interested in both. I'm I'm interested mostly in how I feel and feeling good for the rest of my life, but I would be lying if I didn't say that there's a vanity piece in there too. That would be a lie. I care about both. I can't I'm not gonna pick because I'm because I don't want to, and it would be a lie. The vast majority of my focus on my strength and my health is about living a long and healthy life so I can continue to serve and love the people that I love. That's like number one clear-cut why. But on that list is also have I look. Now, which is great news because they both point to this to the same behavior. Ideal. And the beautiful thing for me is I eat like a horse, like you've been around me. Do I or do I not do I not eat like a horse? Second time you reference a horse now today. Yeah, I know. I'm just like, you know, I eat like a horse, I'm I'm hay, hay, and then the apple out of a big bucket of water. I have a few oats, an apple, and a carrot, and then a little bit of hay and a sleep. Um, no. Okay, but my point being, when you build your skeletal muscle, the beauty is skeletal muscle is actually incredibly metabolically greedy. So I eat a ton. Do you know what I mean? And I like to stay, I don't really mind about up a little bit, down a little bit, but I like to stay in or around the size I am now, give or take, with life's fluctuations, right? Perfect, grand. And that, but you once you build your skeletal muscle, it is so greedy, metabolically speaking, that you can I I remember, God, it's so depressing to say it, but it's just true. I remember in my early running days in my twenties, I think I was eating something like 12,000 calories a day. It just depresses me when I think back, oh, I was so horrifically teeny amount of food, you know. Like I'm five, six, five, seven. That was just ridiculous. And that's not, and I'm not even the worst one I've heard. Yeah. You know, it just depresses me. Times have changed, I think, anyway, especially for our generation. I guess we're speaking from our generation, but I hope it's the same for the younger generations where it's just more of an encouragement to fuel and eat well and eat often and eat, you know, and food is a support rather than an emotional stick to beat yourself with. Yeah, and I guess everything's very much connected, really, isn't it? Like, I mean, this is going to take me now into my segue to the natural high of this week. But like when it comes to strength, that's highly connected with how we fuel ourselves and eat. And then with how we fuel ourselves and eat is highly connected then to how we sleep and how we, you know, perform. And all of that then That was a very smooth segue, no one's not fair. But it is all really connected. All these natural highs that we've been talking about every week, they all have a domino effect. Jeez, I'm obsessed as it's domino effect. No, with it true, it is absolutely true. Our muscles are not built in the gym. Let's be very clear. If they're not built on our mat, that is when we tear the fibers, they rebuild in rest. Ah, thank you. Now, this is a smooth, smooth segue. You've helped me out here. Our natural high of this week is our best one yet. What? I've just got the end of this long. The natural high is rest and recovery through restorative yoga. It's a mouthful.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

No, it's beautiful. All the oars.

Aisling 32:15

All the oars. So two weeks ago in episode five, I'm gonna say, we I talked a lot about the nervous system, our stress and regulation, and also looked at pranayama. So spoke about how many of us are operating from a state of constant activation without even realizing it. And we explored the difference between the sympathetic nervous system, which is our stress response system, and then the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest, digest, and restore system. So we also shone a spotlight on pranayama, which is the yogic practice of conscious breath regulation as a powerful tool to help us shift from survival mode into a more regulated and balanced state. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, I would encourage you to go back and give it a listen because today's conversation now is really, I guess, in my opinion, the next chapter of that story. Because once we understand the nervous system, then the next question will become: how do we actually support it? And over the last few years, I've become so, so interested in learning about this. And I guess in learning about the topic of rest and recovery and something that just doesn't get nearly as much attention as productivity, performance, achievement, like all of these get a place in every room and every conversation. But rest and recovery isn't spoken about or I guess encouraged enough or at all. It really isn't because we're all living in this productivity bias. Yeah, 100%. And it's not, you know, when I say rest and recovery, I'm not talking about sleep. I'm not talking about collapsing on the couch, exhausted at the end of the day. I'm not talking about scrolling on social media while watching Netflix and answering emails. I am talking about real rest and intentional recovery. So, really, I guess, even asking yourself, when was the last time that you factored real rest and recovery into your day just for 20 minutes? Like with no phone, no podcast, no multitasking, no productivity, just being still and just resting. And I think that idea can feel really uncomfortable for a lot of people because we are living in a world, as you just mentioned, um, that is all about production and it celebrates doing more, you know, working harder, being busy, and achieving more in a faster amount of time, especially now with the acceleration of AI, like it's just non-stop. Very few people teach us actually how to rest and recover. And recovery, to your point, and your lovely segue into this, is where so much of the magic happens. So if you had met me 10 years ago, girl, you wouldn't even recognise me. I I would. I would. You wouldn't? I I definitely would. I'd know that cheeky grin anywhere. But nonetheless, yeah. Well, I was a different person. I was very different in that like I was so very comfortable. Well, actually, you probably will recognize this me in the this in me still, but I was very comfortable being very busy and long hours at work didn't bother me. In fact, I kind of craved them. I would work at weekends sometimes. I had such a packed schedule, which often for me was a sign that things were going well, especially when I was busy in the workplace. And it was to the point where I kind of actually used to dread the weekends if there was nothing on a specific weekend, and instead then I'd go for like a 16 kilometre run. Now, nowadays, if I see a weekend open up before me and there's not much on, I'm like, oh my god, unreal. This is unreal. I can kind of do what I want, as I want, when I want, and I can factor in a whole lot of rest and downtime. But isn't there a total thing? And I definitely have felt this in the past where I feel safer when I'm busier. Oh, 100%. Because if I'm busy doing things, I don't have to get to the act of feeling things. Girl, exactly. So the feeling of being comfortable with being busy, and I know I'm not alone here, especially because you even just mentioned it, a lot of people may not recognise their why behind continuing to push through and stay busy. And from my experience of working with clients in coaching and just from speaking to people in, you know, when it comes to well-being, and from my own personal experience, I've often found that being busy is another form of escapism from reality and from addressing how we really feel and what's actually really going on within us, like just what you said. And I think that's, you know, I was thinking about it when I was when I was kind of seeing how I'd talk about rest and recovery today. I really do think this is why I liked drinking a lot at the weekends too, because it took up space and it numbed out what was really going on within me, and it removed me from being able to just sit with my own thoughts and my own reality. And I know we've touched on that before. So true. And it's I've definitely been there as well. And it's just that feeling of when the building's on fire, you're not going to get down to the cleaning of the basement. You're just you're just putting out those fires, and that you you can busy yourself around that, you know what I mean? Meeting people and drinking and going to in a hangover and da-da-da. You know what I mean? But when all is still and quiet in the house, you really have no excuse why you can't go and sort all that shit that needs sorting and get to that, you know, uh mold in the basement kind of. You know what I mean? From this house analogy. It's not, I guess, you know, it's something that is kind of built into a lot of us because society awards and rewards busyness. Like many of us grow up believing that success comes from pushing harder and doing more and staying busy. Like it's a badge of honor in a lot of workplaces to be busy, to stay after hours. And also it's an excuse as to why maybe people can't show up in a way that is genuinely true to themselves. Maybe why people aren't able to kind of fulfill their life's purpose or they're too busy, you know. But actually, we need that time to be able to reflect and to slow down and to be able to, I guess, understand ourselves and understand what we need and what we want. And we tell ourselves, you know, I'll slow down. Once work settles down, it's a busy period, or once the project is finished, or once the children are older, or once life becomes a little less hectic. And for years I really did think that rest was something that would happen once everything else had been taken care of. You know, once work was quieter, once I got to a certain position in my role, once a project was finished, once I felt more on top of things. And the problem is life just doesn't really work like that. Like there's always something waiting for our attention. Whether, you know, that's work, it's family, it's finances, it's a goal we'd like to achieve, it's maybe simply the endless list of things we tell ourselves we'll get around to. You know, if we're waiting for the perfect moment to slow down and recover, there is such a good chance that that actually never arrives. So we have to make the decision to create the space for ourselves. It has to be something that we factor in. I completely agree. Do you know where I think it gets confusing for people is to your point, at work, you know, this busyness is really revered. But of course, that suits the powers that be at work, right? But it's when we take that ethos into our personal life and when those when that belief system bleeds into our personal life, of course, in your professional life, of course, the you of course your boss or whoever you work for is going to is is going to is known is going to say, Do you know what? For these eight hours, let's rest. Of course, productivity is the they're the most important thing to them. Though I would also argue, you know, there should be still an emphasis on it because if people don't rest, they can't work. But nonetheless, it is that kind of ethos bleeding into our personal life. And I can even find myself back, particularly when I was working like full-time, having that same, yeah, that same want to achieve and tick off the that belief system going into my free time, you know, because it's so kind of inbuilt in us in our school life and then work life, you know. Yeah. For our whole, for our whole lives, we're told that you know, a lot of our worth is based around what we can achieve. Yeah. So to kind of flip that script when we're left on our own at the weekends, it's very challenging. Yeah, it is really hard to turn that off. Yeah. Um, a hundred percent. And I think, you know, from that and from you know, work can be busy, life can be so busy, um, expectations are high on us, uh, there's just so much that we are being bombarded with on a constant daily basis when it comes to information and we're always contactable and all of that. I just think people are exhausted from it all. And actually, I thought this was kind of fascinating. So in South Korea, there's this wellness retreat that's called Prison Inside Me or Prison Within Me. It translates from Korean to that, and it's exactly what it sounds like. People voluntarily check themselves into small cells for a stay for 24 hours or 48 hours, right? And send me. Do you know what? I actually want to go do it. So I think it costs around 90, yeah. I think it costs around $90 a night. They hand over their phones, there's no internet, no social media, no emails, no outside communication, just a simple room, a notebook, tea, and their thoughts. And since they opened, I think in 2013, there's been thousands of people attended and stayed there. And the question is a bit scary. No, so I guess it looks like like individual rooms. I'd say they still have a comfort of, I'm not sure if they sleep on the ground. That would be quite quite normal in Korea anyway. Right. Um, they'll have heat and it's it's not exactly like a prison cell, it's not going to be that uh drastic. But I suppose it's that kind of mentality of like, I guess they're being forced to slow down and they're being forced to disconnect. And because there's such a huge issue with phone addictions nowadays, sometimes you have to be forced to do it to actually do it, to actually commit to it. But obviously, uh a question that immediately came to my mind when I read about this and found this was what does it say about modern life when people are paying to be locked away? So, like the founder of it is a former prosecutor who reportedly worked 100 plus hours a week. Now, that wouldn't be crazy in South Korea either. So I lived in South Korea for three and a half years, so I know like what it's kind of like the work ethic over there. He created the retreat after experiencing firsthand the pressures of modern working life. And I know it does sound extreme, but I think it is highlighting something many of us can relate to, and it is that piece that we cannot switch off sometimes on our own. And and like there's so much built into our worlds these days, they have been designed to make us, you know, be captured, our attention be captured in them. Like workplaces have been designed to keep us busy, our phones have been designed to keep us busy. Like it's non-stop, busy, busy, busy, and so it's not really our fault, but it is a huge, huge issue. Um, and I know like this story in South Korea sounds kind of extreme, but I think it kind of, you know, highlights something that a lot of us can relate to. Like, I meet a lot of people through, let's say, coaching, workshops, retreats, they're carrying an enormous amount of mental load. Like people are managing careers, families, finances, relationships. Some people are caring for loved ones. There's this constant stream of information coming through them, through to them from their phones and devices. And it's it's not necessarily that we're doing more than ever before. It's just that our very little of our attention really gets a chance to rest and turn off and switch off. You know, even when we're sitting on the couch in the evening, we're often scrolling or we're thinking about replying to a message or we're watching something, listening to something, or thinking about what tomorrow looks like all at once. So true. It's so true. So, like, I guess, you know, I yeah, I do want to, I would love to visit this um retreat, we call it that, just because I'm very intrigued by it, but I just want any excuse to go back to Korea to be honest. It was honestly one of my favourite places I've ever been in my life. But whether, you know, we're in Seoul or in Cork, many of us struggle with the same thing, and there's very little downtime anymore for people. And we're very good at doing and we've forgotten how to rest. I I think that's fair to say. And that's exactly why practices now like restorative yoga, yoga nidra, non-sleep, deep rest practices, they are becoming more popular, popular, thankfully, because they offer something that has become quite rare in our life, and that is that space to slow down and to find stillness and just to reconnect with ourselves. And I also think, as well, Joe, there that one of the reasons why we all feel so beneficial from moving community is we don't have a choice but put our phone away. Uh, and that um how would you say not that they're children, not that we're children when we go in there, but that rule, for the want of a better word, I think we all kind of deep down really want someone to tell us to put your phone away now. Yeah, you know, because when I'm practicing at home, my phone is next to me on my mat. Yeah. A hundred percent. And like when at some of the when I'm practicing at home, there'll either be the phone near me for the music or if I'm watching a video. Um, and it is gorgeous when there's a ban on phones. And I I love when you go into certain restaurants or coffee shops and phones are not welcome. Yeah, you know, even there's some pubs in Cork where phones are like banned, you're not allowed to use them.

SPEAKER_02 44:47

Yeah.

Aisling 44:48

Connect with the people you're with or connect with yourself if you're there on your own. I think you made a very good point though. Society hasn't changed per se in that people who are being squeezed, particularly in their 40s and 50s, they might have small children and be caring for elderly parents. That squeeze is so hard. Yeah, and then also normally. In that timeline, they're at the height of their career, you know, they've earned their stripes at that point. So normally they're like at the height of their career and then squeezed from both generations, both out both below and and and above. And as you were saying, so that that's unfortunately always been the way. But it's like that's those small little pockets of time that you could have for those all that difficulty to kind of percolate and dissipate. Instead, that's been phone time. Yes. It's been hijacking. Exactly. And the people that are the people that are behind us getting addicted to our phones are so that that is all so powerful and it's so insidious. And and we're just a lot of us, myself included, are total victims to that genius, you know? Yeah, absolutely. And actually, like in last year, silent travel and camcations became some of the fastest growing trends in the wellness space. So they're called Cam Cations. So travel brands and resorts are marketing disconnection as a luxury. Spa retreats where guests surrender their phones, eat in silence, and spend their days simply being in nature. And it's dubbed or named luxury cam travel. And actually, this year in 2026, I thought this name was so ridiculous. Hospitality. Um, it's like a new trend that we're seeing. So it's with travelers looking for destinations and experiences that will dial down life's distractions. According to Hilton's Global Research, respondents' number one motivation to travel for leisure in 2026 is to rest and recharge. Like, so it's not just that we think it's needed, people are seeking it out actively. They are paying thousands, not to add more to their lives, but to reduce them. They are paying for simplicity, silence, and the chance to unplug from the constant noise. And there are also like off-grid digital detox retreats around the UK where guests literally lock their phones in a box. And some of these are in Ireland now as well, and they live analog for days, you know, no Wi-Fi, no screens, no distractions. And people are even paying to be forced into doing activities that we already know make us feel good, but we somehow cannot find time for them anymore. So literary tourism is growing. And there is a prediction that it will be a $3.3 billion industry by 2024. So that's things like book pilgrimages, travel, traveling to literary literary festivals, and also reading retreats are hugely on the rise. Yeah. So you go to these beautiful manor escapes where you maybe will probably do some yoga and stuff, but it's mainly to read. Oh, yeah. But I love it too. But it's also kind of mad because I bet Yell, some of the people going, like, you know, kind of need to be forced into being having that time to read when we can just pick up a book when we're on our commute, if we're not driving, when we're sitting at home. But again, these spaces have been filled with phones. Well, we could say that about anything, couldn't we? We'd be like, you could do yoga at home. You know what I mean? When we I think a beautiful awareness that humans often have is I need help. I I may the argument whether they should or shouldn't, like, like I I could do with some help getting off my phone. No, but I guess the difference, what I'm saying, is like, so yeah, you could do yoga at home, but like you normally would have a teacher to teach you how to do yoga or movement. But we're reading, like, no one else can get involved. I know. It's just you and the proper reading is really in the rearview mirror. Shout out to Mrs. Conroy, but I uh gotcha. Yeah. Well, I guess it's just that like some of the things that we want to do now are the things that used to slot into our lives a lot easier. Yeah, yeah. That's true. And the, you know, the I guess the wider well-being travel industry is absolutely booming as well, from healing and silent retreats to nature immersion, digital detox escapes. I mean, these all sound so dreamy, don't they? Like I want them all. Same. But we're all craving what technology has taken away. It's that stillness, focus, and presence. So I am one of the people who has spent a little bit of a ridiculous amount of money on an experience just like these. So a few months ago I went to India. Now, this is kind of different because it was a training. So I did my yin and restorative yoga teacher training, and it was amazing. It was beautiful. The teachers were so fantastic, so knowledgeable. And I went and stayed in an ashram. So that's tradition, a traditional um spiritual community centered around yoga, meditation, learning, and very simple living. But I remember delivering a talk the day I was flying out to India and I was telling them about the Prison Inside Me project, and I was also saying, or a retreat, and I was also saying, like, I've paid quite a lot of money to go to an ashram tomorrow where you like the schedule is fairly grueling. Like you're up at 5 a.m. It was meditation, yoga meditation again, fire puja, chanting, breakfast. Like it was very, very intense. And life there followed a very different rhythm to what most of us were used to. So it was very simple and very basic and very little technology. And really, it was absolutely amazing. I travelled halfway around the world. I paid a lot of money for an experience that, I guess, when I think about it, centered around things that should be probably more available to us. The silence, the space, and the opportunity to slow down. Now, the way it's set up in an ashram, it's kind of like a cocoon. Like everything does is designed there to help to restore us, like down to the food, you know, there's no coffee, there's no stimulants, there's very early nights, there's lights out by nine o'clock, there's early mornings up at 5 a.m. for meditation. You kind of float out of your bed, you go down to the room, everything's there, ready for you. And there's so much silence there. It's amazing. Like so much silence. I'm on that timeline, but there's no silence. Yeah, like, yeah, exactly. Like there's actually like you're not allowed to speak until after breakfast every single morning, and then three or four nights a week, it's a silent dinner. So you can't converse through a dinner either, and then you go to bed in silence. And a lot of people are like to me, when I've done things, I thought, that's so weird. And actually, don't knock until you try it, because there's something so freeing about knowing that you don't have to make small talk or conversation with anyone. Or also, weirdly, the first time I ever did this in India 2013 and there was so much silence. The one thing that struck me, I was like, Oh, I know that no one could be kind of like laughing at my silly like socks and sandal combo or something because I knew they couldn't talk to each other. It's just weird. I was like, I'm not being judged. Or if I am, no one can judge me together.

SPEAKER_02 51:03

Stephen should have gone over there.

Aisling 51:06

Poor babe. Now, to be honest, poor Stephen, I really was itching to work initially. I had meetings set up and everything, like how silly I was to think that I'd be able to jump on my laptop, but I realized very quickly that was not possible. And then also what I realized was I feel so comfortable when I'm on my laptop. When I'm working with technology, when I'm working with my mind, but there's a cost to my body because a lot of us live up in our minds, especially if you do a corporate role or job or work on your laptop a lot like a lot like I do. We kind of nearly are like headless floating creatures for like nine or ten hours a day, where we could, if we allow ourselves to get deep into the work and completely forget about our bodies, not move, not stretch, not go outside for fresh air. Um, so that's a bit scary to know I lived like that before. Anyway, all to be said, with the with the the slowing down, the shutting off, it was such an a kind of impactful experience for me that I really kind of stepped away just feeling so much more space and being able to see that I could embrace recovery. And when I would do that, the more capac capable I was becoming in other areas of my life. So by stepping away and slowing down, I actually wasn't losing momentum and I wasn't becoming less productive. And of course, when I left India, then I brought the magic of that learning with me. You can't continue an ashram scenario in a normal Western world, but you can bring pop pockets of stillness, rest, and recovery with you. I started teaching restorative yoga too, and those classes for me, as I teach, are so beautifully slow and still in certain moments. And then, of course, I practice it as well. And so over time, since I started bringing in more rest and recovery into my life, I started noticing changes. So I feel clearer in my thinking. I'm 100% more creative, I'm more patient, I'm less reactive, I'm more present in conversations, I have so much more energy for things that I care about and for the people I care about. And I swear I think I've become more productive. And I know that sounds impossible. Counterintuitive. Yeah. And it's not because I was working harder, but it's because now I work with more focus and intention. And I do more with my life now than I did when I was constantly pushing through my own exhaustion. So, like, just to kind of, I suppose, hit the point home. I run my own tech company and I have a wellness business. I coach clients, I teach yoga weekly, I run retreats monthly, and I host this beautiful podcast with you. And then I also have a lot of hobbies outside of work. So I'm in a choir, I sing with a friend weekly, I walk, I run, I hike, I teach classes, I go to classes, I do all these beautiful butcher, baker, candlestick maker, you name it. You betcha girl. I connect with people. I recently started learning how to DJ. I I don't know if that's a long-term thing, but I loved it. There's so much more space, I guess, now is what I'm trying to say. So I know on paper that looks busy. I don't feel half as busy as I used to feel, but I do so many more things. Would it be safe to say that it's more to do with a sense of urgency being gone versus actual activities? Yes, and also busy fool. I was definitely a busy fool before because I was keeping myself busy. Now I've learned that there's no need to be as busy all the time. Yeah. And actually, when you do that, I think you see ways of like navigating situations in a much more efficient way. And you can reduce the workload on yourself. Um, by creating more space, it allows more, I think, capabilities to get things done in a better way. And I remember back in the day when I was that busy fool, like if I did slow down at all, I kind of crashed and burned. So I could have been on the couch for hours at the weekend. I wouldn't even brush my hair, I'd be in my dressing gown, I wouldn't have the energy to get dressed because I was so on during the week at work, I left no time for anything else. But I guess at that point, since I slowed down, I do feel like my business is more successful with less hours being given to it. And I feel healthier and fitter and more energized. And I I guess it's just if we can find a way to reframe what is beneficial to us, if we can maybe try to slow down a little bit, we can do more and we can show up show up with more clarity and focus, and then the world opens up a bit more for time for you know fun and play and connecting with others and learning how to rest and recover is really why I think all of that has happened. So I will just say this rest is not the opposite of performance, and this is something that I've learned in recent months. Rest and recovery is the prerequisite for performance, and I think that is so, so important for us to know. And there's a lot of science out there that will talk about how rest is a necessary biological and mental foundation required for excellence and not a reward for hard work. But neuroscience shows that when you disconnect and recover, your brain consolidates learning, it regulates stress hormones and activates the default mode network to solve complex problems. So we have a cognitive reset, creative and emotional breaks, then also help us to have, you know, ability to process experiences and handle challenges and generate new ideas. And then when we look at physical recovery, as you said, Ashton earlier, our muscles repair and grow and the nervous system resets, which helps to lower our resting heart rate and stabilize cortisol levels. So I'm going to quickly, before we finish up this episode, actually talk about restorative yoga. Now, restorative yoga is a practice that is all about rest and recovery. So I did want to obviously highlight the importance of rest and recovery and then bring it to like a practice or ritual that we can invite you to participate with us in for the week ahead. And it's something really close to my heart. I practice it daily, I teach it weekly. Rather than stretching deeper or building strength, with restorative yoga, the focus is on creating an environment where the body can completely let go. So in restorative yoga, we're bringing the earth up to meet our bodies so that we can fully surrender. Now, how do we do that? We use props. So we use things like bolsters and blankets and cushions, loads of blocks and eye pillows. And the real key with a restorative yoga is creating a space where we can fully surrender and we can actually allow ourselves to fall into a deep conscious restful state. And the practice itself is about finding how you can get into your most comfortable position. So it's kind of like luxury comfort is what we're aiming for when we're moving into our restorative postures. And one of the things that I love most about restorative yoga is that it completely shifts the focus away from achievement. It's not about achievement, it's not about stretching further or holding the most advanced posture to improve flexibility. It's about creating that place where the body feels supported enough. And a lot of people would say that other types of yoga, I guess, if you want to look at the physical aspect, could be more advanced. But I think restorative yoga would be definitely when it comes to the mental practice of it, it's quite an advanced practice. Physically, it's very, very inclusive and accessible for all. So we use the props to support us, and then people will notice that they'll start to move into that parasympathetic state. So sometimes like your digestion digestive system will start to make noises. I often have grumbles in my tummy, yawning. Sometimes people fall asleep. So you're moving into that rest and digest state. And while the roots of restorative practices can be found throughout traditional yoga, the modern restorative yoga is largely credited to BKS Iyenger. And Iyenger recognized that props could be used to support the body and make yoga accessible to more people, which is so, so important. And then one of his students, Judith Hansen Lasseter, expanded these teachings and is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of modern restorative yoga. And I will link her book in the show notes. It's a book that I absolutely love. I come back to time and time again. Lots of photos and illustrations of how you can get yourself into restorative postures from the comfort of your own home. So one of the things I really love is that we're starting to see scientific research about what practitioners and teachers have observed for years. It's the benefits to restorative yoga. So it can help but reduce, it can help to reduce perceived stress. It can help to improve sleep quality and reduce fatigue. It helps to reduce anxiety and improve mood. It supports emotional regulation, improves quality of life. And some studies are also showing that it also supports weight loss. Studies have shown benefits in populations, including people experiencing chronic stress, healthcare workers in particular, cancer survivors is new research that has come out recently that is showing that it helps cancer survivors in terms of being able to rest and recover, and then individuals living with chronic pain. So it also shows that there is changes associated with increased parasympathetic activity during these practices. And again, in episode five, if you listened, we spoke about the parasympathetic nervous system as our rest, digest, and restore state. And then restorative yoga and the practices of yin yoga appear to help support that shift. So in 2013, a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine found restorative yoga significantly reduced physiological distress and improved well-being in women experiencing metabolic syndrome. And there's a lot more research that's coming out now as well because it's gaining popularity. You don't need fancy equipment. You can literally use your props that you have at home. Instead of a bolster, roll up a duvet, use couch cushions, stack pillows. Instead of a yoga blocks, use books. Instead of an eye pillow, you can fold a scarf or a small towel. A yoga studio can be wonderful if you can find a place to practice. And in our gorgeous cork lotus yoga studio where I teach, we have heaters, and when you come in, all the props are set up for you. But you don't need that. You can find a quiet space in your house and you can light some candles and use what you already have at home to be able to set yourself up for a beautiful practice. So this week's Natural High is restorative yoga, and I'm going to invite you to practice a class or try a class of restorative yoga and to help support you with this, I've created a 30-minute video of restorative yoga practice that I'm going to share and link in the show notes. You'll access it via YouTube. Now you don't have to do my class. You can find another teacher online on YouTube or wherever you get your yoga, or of course, you could try to find a restorative yoga class in a yoga studio near you. But my invitation is simple, just to try it and to see how it feels and to approach it with curiosity and see if you can slow down and I guess welcome in the stillness that the class really is designed around. Notice what happens. How do you feel after it? How do you sleep that night? And how do you show up the following day? Because often the real benefits aren't during the practice itself. They're actually felt in how we kind of move through the days afterwards, too. So I guess just to kind of close it and bring it all together, one of the biggest lessons that India taught me wasn't, you know, another way of teaching yoga or a yoga pastor to get into. It was really that reminder that rest and recovery is so important in our lives. And it's not something that we have to earn once everything else is finished. It's something we need if we want to show up well in our lives and our work and our relationships. And I think we've been so the idea that success comes from just doing more and pushing harder and squeezing every last drop out of every single day. But the experience I've had has been the opposite. And the more that we can prioritize recovery, the more energy focused creativity, and joy is available to us and to bring to the things that matter most in our lives. So if there's one thing I hope you take away from what we've spoken about in our episode this today, it's really about that rest isn't, you know, time lost. It's really that investment into everything that comes afterwards. And perhaps that's why restorative yoga has become such an important practice in my own life. It's not because it helps me escape from life, but it really helps me to show up more fully for it. So please do join me to try restorative yoga. And if you have tried it, practice it again for this week coming up. I love that you did that. Thank you so much for that class. I'm gonna 100% I'm gonna do I'm gonna 100% do it. Brilliant. And I think, you know, there's a small child in all of us kind of half waiting for permission to relax, you know. Like we, you know, and but that what are we waiting for? Who no one's gonna, no one's ever going to well, we are to ye, but other than us to e, like no one in your day-to-day life is gonna say, you need to take a rest now for 30 minutes. Very seldom, you know, does that actually come as an invitation? You've to both give yourself the you've to give and take that permission, you to you, right? And it can feel uncomfortable originally, and you might feel a bit weird taking the rest and being in silence and not working, and not and the mind could be busy at the start, but just lean into it, just give it a shot, see how it feels, because very quickly we adapt and you might feel a lot of benefits from it. With the class that you have done, Chloe, what are the props, home props that we can have ready to go? Yeah, so I think I actually even give a little bit of time at the start of the class and say what they are. But you just need like cushions, if you have some books that we can use instead of blocks, definitely blankets. You can use a yoga mat or I do it on the carpet, and then I would definitely recommend um a quiet space and make making a bit special if you can, maybe lighting a bit of incense or just having a nice um diffuser on and just allowing it to be warm. And if it's not a warm space, lots of blankets. It's really about comfort and whatever is comfortable for you. Cozy clothes, comfort is key. That's what we're aiming for. I love that, and I love that it's landing this time of year because I think we're really good at getting the woolly socks on and the soup and that kind of vibe coming into the winter. And I know myself, I find it more challenging to rest at this time of year. Yeah, and we probably need it more because there's so much going on, isn't there? Oh, man. No, I will go to the prison. No, I won't. The prison, the prison hotel. If I'm gonna go to prison for the night, I want to have had the fun doing the crime. That's my only problem.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:34

Do you know what I mean? Because I can think of a few crimes, I wouldn't mind committing. You're doing the time, but you're not doing the crime.

Aisling 1:04:39

Like, I'll do the time, but like let me work through a couple of crimes that I'd like to commit to. Do you know what I mean? And then I'd be like, definitely take my phones. Best I don't have it now. Don't want to see the reaction. Exactly. And when they try and pinpoint where I am in the map, let it be in your pocket. Thanks. I'd be very called first. Perfect crime. Perfect crime. Well, Kamir, it's been an absolute pleasure. It is the last episode of this first season, but we will be back with a bang. And if anyone has any ideas for season two, if you'd like to see some guests joining us, if you're sick of our voices, or if you have any ideas of natural highs you'd like us to cover, we'll be coming back again in a few weeks and we love to hear from you. We absolutely would. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed that the video that Claude has done. I know I'm gonna really I'm gonna lean into that. I'm this is probably the challenge I'm the most excited about because rest is the piece that I find the most challenging.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:32

Oh, yay. Well, I'm delighted now. So I'll be right there with you. Yes, I'm so excited for that. Well, yeah. Okay, Sloty Bay, and thank you so much for listening to us.