Class at Well Bath

Yin and Restorative Yoga

The evening settling-down

Sunday evening. The week is done. You settle into the first long shape and stay there for as long as it takes. Yin and Restorative Yoga is Lauren's slower class, held on Sunday evenings. Long, supported postures for the body that has done enough for one day, one week, one stretch of a life.

The class blends two traditions. Yin works into the connective tissue with long, floor-based holds. Restorative uses bolsters, blankets and props so the body can settle into shapes without effort. Lauren threads them together carefully — she is qualified in Hatha, Restorative, and Peri- and Postnatal Yoga, which shows in the pacing and the propping. Peri- and postnatal students are specifically welcomed.

It is a good pairing with Wake Up and Flow at the other end of the schedule, or on its own for anyone recovering from illness, exertion, or a hard week. Regulars often mention her steady, soothing voice as much as the sequencing itself. Many use the class as the last practice of the weekend, ahead of the week to come.

Duration

75 minutes

Price

See the booking page for current pricing.

What people bring

Presentations commonly worked with

The class sits at the very quiet end of the schedule. What people arrive with is often a version of the same thing — a body that has been running on effort and needs a place to stop.

Long-held tightness in hips, low back and inner thighs
Nervous-system unsteadiness after a busy week
Sleep that has become shallow or slow to arrive
Chronic pain patterns where a stronger practice is too much
Grief, or the flat weight that follows it
Recovery from illness, surgery or a long medical stretch
Wanting to close the weekend well

This is a restorative class, not a therapeutic yoga session. If you are working with a specific injury or diagnosis, mention it on arrival so Lauren can guide the propping.

What a session is like

From arrival to the last breath in the room

The class runs seventy-five minutes on Sunday evenings. This is the shape of it.

01

Arrival and settling

Come through the front door, tea from the Welsh dresser if you want it, into the studio. Bolsters, blankets and props already laid out.
02

Opening

Seated centring on the mat or on a bolster. A few unhurried breaths. Nothing is asked yet.
03

First held shapes

Two or three yin-leaning shapes worked on the floor. Postures held for three to five minutes each, propped where useful. Lauren cues the entry and then holds the silence.
04

Deeper restorative work

The middle of the class moves into fully supported postures — legs up the wall, supported bridge, supported forward folds. Effort drops out of the shape. Blankets on hand.
05

The longest hold

One deeply supported posture held for eight to ten minutes. This is where the body often finally lets go.
06

Rest and close

A generous propped savasana with everything you want piled on top. Lauren brings you back gently. No rush to sit up. Most people leave in a different register than they arrived in.

Weighing it up

Yin & Restorative versus Joe's Yin

Two Yin-adjacent classes on the schedule. They sound similar and feel different. If you are choosing between them, here is what changes.

	Yin & Restorative (Lauren)	Yin (Joe)
When	Sunday evening, six.	Wednesday morning, nine-thirty.
Emphasis	Restorative — heavily propped, effort drops out.	Yin — floor postures, edges met, less propping.
Register	Evening settling-down. Softer.	Midweek reset. Slightly more attentive.
Best if you	Want to be undone at the end of the weekend.	Want to work with your edges quietly.

Some people come to both across a week. They meet different registers of the same intention.

What the evidence says

Research and clinical literature

Restorative and Yin styles of yoga have measurable effects on the parasympathetic nervous system, sleep, and mood.

Slow, held yoga practices produce measurable increases in parasympathetic activity and reductions in cortisol across multiple randomised studies.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · Zaccaro et al. · 2018
Restorative yoga programmes are associated with clinically meaningful improvements in sleep quality and reductions in insomnia symptoms.

Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine · Buffart et al. · 2019
Long-held connective-tissue-focused yoga improves hip and lower-spine mobility in adults over forty across controlled trials.

International Journal of Yoga Therapy · reviews · 2020

Questions people ask

Before you book

Do I need yoga experience? +

No. Lauren teaches every shape from the beginning and no posture asks anything acrobatic of you.

I have never done Yin. What is it like? +

Slow. You take a shape, prop yourself into it, and stay there for several minutes while the body settles. Most of the work is being met by the pose rather than doing the pose.

Will I fall asleep? +

Sometimes. That is welcome. Lauren will bring you back at the close whether you dozed or not.

What should I wear? +

Soft, warm layers. The body cools when it stops moving, so bring a bit more than you think you need. A blanket is provided.

I am pregnant. Can I come? +

Second and third trimester often fine with adjustments to the propping. First trimester is a case-by-case conversation. Message Lauren before booking.

I have low back pain. +

Yin and Restorative are often exactly what a low back that has been braced needs. Tell Lauren on arrival so she can offer the propping that suits.

Can I use my class pass? +

Yes. This class is on the standard class-pass rate.

Held by

Practitioner

Wake Up and Flow, Yin and Restorative

Lauren

Two sides of the yoga schedule: the early morning flow and the softer restorative evenings.

Other work by the same hands

Also with these practitioners

Yin Yoga

Ground-level, long-held postures. Restorative rather than active.

Wake Up and Flow

Diane's morning flow. Currently held by Lauren at 7:30am; returns to 8am when Diane is back.

If you are arriving from