Deep Rest & Nervous System Reset at Heist House Studios
Restorative Yoga Classes in Warwick
A deeply supportive, prop-based practice designed to calm the nervous system, release tension, and guide the body into genuine rest. Restorative Yoga at Heist House Studios in Warwick is slow, spacious, and intentionally quiet - helping you recover from stress, overwhelm and burnout.
What Is Restorative Yoga?
Restorative Yoga is a slow, prop-supported practice designed to calm the nervous system and promote deep rest. At Heist House Studios in Warwick, our Restorative Yoga classes use bolsters, blankets, and blocks to fully support the body in longer-held postures (5-15 minutes), allowing tension to release without effort.
This gentle yoga style activates the body’s rest-and-repair response, helping to reduce stress, improve sleep, and support recovery from burnout.
If you’re looking for a calming yoga class in Warwick or nearby Leamington Spa, Restorative offers structured stillness in a quiet, supportive studio setting.
Lineages & Influences
Restorative Yoga at Heist House Studios is shaped by a lineage of teachers who approached practice as a pathway to healing, regulation, and deep rest. Rooted in classical yoga philosophy and informed by modern research into the nervous system, trauma sensitivity, and stress recovery, this approach prioritises safety, support, and sustainability over intensity or stretch.
Lineages & Influences
Restorative Yoga draws on therapeutic traditions within yoga to create a fully supported practice designed for recovery, regulation, and deep rest.
BKS Iyengar
Pioneered the therapeutic use of props, showing how bolsters, blankets, blocks, and straps can support the body to release without effort while maintaining structural integrity and safety.
Judith Hanson Lasater
Developed Restorative Yoga as a distinct practice, emphasising deep relaxation, parasympathetic activation, and the power of conscious rest in modern life.
Nervous System & Trauma-Informed Awareness
Contemporary understanding of stress physiology, vagal tone, and regulation informs our pacing, cueing, and environment — helping students feel supported, grounded, and never overwhelmed.
Rather than working toward sensation or stretch, Restorative Yoga creates conditions for the body to shift into genuine rest. Time is spacious. Movement is minimal. The focus is not on doing more, but on allowing enough.
These influences shape a practice that is deeply traditional in philosophy yet quietly modern in application - offering space for recovery, reflection, and meaningful nervous system reset.
Restorative Yoga at Heist House Studios offers a deeply supportive, rest-focused practice designed to calm the nervous system and encourage full-body relaxation. Through carefully propped, longer-held postures, Restorative Yoga creates space for softness, ease, and quiet renewal - allowing the body to settle, the breath to slow, and the mind to gently unwind.
Support as the Foundation
Restorative Yoga is one of the few practices where support itself becomes the teacher.
Restorative Yoga in Warwick offers something many of us rarely experience: being fully held. Through carefully placed bolsters, blankets and blocks, each posture is designed to remove effort from the body. Rather than stretching or strengthening, the practice allows muscles to release completely, the breath to soften, and the nervous system to settle.
Instead of striving, Restorative invites surrender - creating space for deep rest, emotional recalibration, and quiet recovery.
Who is Restorative Yoga for and what are the benefits?
Restorative Yoga in Warwick is an invitation to pause. To soften. To step out of the noise and into a quieter rhythm.
At Heist House Studios, Restorative is a deeply supportive, prop-led practice designed to encourage true rest. Bolsters, blankets and gentle guidance allow the body to fully release, without effort or striving. Postures are held comfortably for longer periods, creating space for the nervous system to settle and the breath to deepen naturally.
If you’re navigating stress, burnout, disrupted sleep, or simply feeling depleted, Restorative Yoga offers a calm, nurturing environment where recovery can unfold gently. Suitable for all levels, this is not about intensity - it’s about restoration, regulation, and returning to yourself
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Restorative Yoga is designed to gently activate the parasympathetic nervous system - the body’s “rest and repair” mode. Through fully supported postures, slow breathing, and extended stillness, the body is given permission to soften. Over time, this helps reduce chronic stress patterns and supports nervous system balance, particularly for those experiencing burnout, overwhelm, or fatigue.
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Longer-held poses gently target connective tissues, supporting joint health, mobility, and functional flexibility without force or strain.
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Using bolsters, blocks, blankets, and thoughtful positioning, each pose is fully supported so the body can release without strain. This makes Restorative Yoga ideal for tight shoulders, lower back discomfort, or accumulated tension from busy lifestyles. Rather than stretching deeply, the focus is on ease and sustainable release.
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Restorative Yoga creates space to pause. In a culture that values productivity and movement, this practice invites stillness and quiet reflection. Many students notice reduced anxiety, improved emotional resilience, and a greater sense of calm that extends well beyond the studio.
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Restorative Yoga in Warwick at Heist House Studios is accessible to all levels - including complete beginners. No flexibility or prior experience is required. Each class is intentionally paced, inclusive, and supported with props so you can feel safe, comfortable, and fully held throughout the practice.
Restorative Yoga & The Nervous System
In a world that moves quickly, this practice slows everything down. Supported by bolsters, blankets, and considered stillness, the body is given time to soften — not stretch, not strive - simply soften.
With minimal effort and reduced sensory input, the nervous system begins to shift naturally toward regulation. The breath steadies. Muscles release. The constant hum of alertness quietens.
Over time, regular Restorative Yoga may support:
a calmer baseline nervous system response
more restorative, uninterrupted sleep
reduced stress and emotional fatigue
greater resilience during periods of overwhelm
This is not about doing more, it is about allowing enough.
We explore the relationship between deep rest and nervous system recovery further in our journal piece on Burnout, Stress & the Nervous System: How Gentle Yoga Supports Recovery.
“Restorative Yoga is the use of props to create positions of ease and comfort that facilitate relaxation and health.”
-Judith Hanson Lasater
What To Expect at Restorative Yoga in Warwick
Expect a quiet, cocooned environment where the body is fully supported and the nervous system is gently invited to soften. Restorative Yoga in Warwick is designed for deep rest, recovery, and regulation - creating the conditions for true relaxation to unfold.
Classes move slowly and intentionally, with longer-held, prop-supported postures that allow you to settle without effort. Bolsters, blankets, and blocks are used generously so the body can feel safe, steady, and at ease.
There is no rush and no performance. Instead, the focus is on comfort, breath, and subtle awareness - allowing tension to dissolve and the mind to grow quiet.
Restorative Yoga offers space to pause, reset, and return to yourself.
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Restorative Yoga begins with slowing down. You’ll be invited to land gently on your mat, supported by bolsters, blankets, and blocks, allowing the body to feel held from the very beginning.
There is no urgency here. Instead, the focus is on softening your breath, settling your attention inward, and creating a sense of safety in the nervous system. For many, this transition alone is profoundly regulating.
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Unlike more dynamic styles, Restorative Yoga in Warwick centres on fully supported postures held for longer periods of time. Each shape is designed for comfort rather than stretch, encouraging the body to release without effort.
With thoughtful guidance and careful use of props, muscles are able to soften and the deeper systems of the body begin to recalibrate. This is stillness with intention - gentle, spacious, and deeply therapeutic.
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Restorative Yoga works directly with the parasympathetic nervous system - the body’s rest-and-repair response. By reducing sensory input and physical demand, the practice creates the conditions for regulation to occur naturally.
Over time, regular practice may support improved sleep, reduced stress reactivity, and a steadier emotional baseline. Rather than forcing relaxation, the body is simply given permission to remember how to rest.
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Each class closes with space to absorb the effects of the practice. This integration period allows physical release and mental quiet to settle more deeply.
Students often describe leaving feeling lighter, clearer, and more grounded - as though something has gently shifted without needing to push. Restorative Yoga offers not just relaxation, but renewal.
Yin Yoga vs Restorative Yoga
Both Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga are slow, floor-based practices - but their intention is different. Yin creates space. Restorative creates rest. Many students in Warwick practise both - choosing Yin for mindful depth, and Restorative when the body needs to reset.
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Yin Yoga
Uses longer-held postures to gently stimulate connective tissues, supporting joint health, mobility, and nervous system balance.
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Restorative Yoga
Fully supported with props, allowing the body to completely soften and shift into deep rest and recovery.
Poses You May Explore in Restorative Yoga
Is Restorative Yoga Right For You?
Restorative Yoga in Warwick is ideal if you’re feeling overstimulated, exhausted, or simply in need of structured rest. This practice is particularly supportive during periods of stress, burnout, disrupted sleep, or emotional fatigue.
If stronger or faster-paced classes feel overwhelming right now, Restorative offers a gentler alternative - one that prioritises nervous system balance over intensity. There is no pressure to stretch deeply or keep up. Instead, you’re guided into fully supported postures that allow the body to soften at its own pace.
Restorative Yoga is suitable for beginners, experienced practitioners, and anyone seeking a calm, grounding yoga class in Warwick. If what you need most is space to slow down and reset, this may be the practice for you.
Meet the Team of Instructors
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![Yoga instructor smiling in Baby Cobra pose during a Vinyasa flow at Heist House Studios]()
KATE
CO-FOUNDER & OWNER
A seasoned yoga practitioner with 18 years of experience, Kate’s teaching style is rooted in traditional hatha, blending strength, mindfulness, breath, and movement to help students connect with themselves and their surroundings. In 2024, Kate expanded her expertise, becoming qualified in Mandala Vinyasa yoga.
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![Yoga instructor practicing Revolved Side Angle pose with a block during a Vinyasa class at Heist House Studios]()
VISHAL
YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Vishal started as one of the founding members at Heist House Studios. He is a passionate instructor dedicated to guiding you through a transformative Hatha/Vinyasa Flow style class: With a focus on movement, breath work, and meditation, Vishal creates a nurturing environment where students can deepen their practice.
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![Yoga instructor balancing in Dancer Pose during a flowing Vinyasa practice at Heist House Studios]()
CHARLIE
YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Charlie trained in Greece and London, completing her 200hr yoga teacher training with Kindred Yoga, specialising in Vinyasa and Ashtanga. Charlie’s flows are dynamic, fiery and energetic. Charlie encourages you to explore your prana, the universal energy that flows within and among us, connecting us together.
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![Yoga instructor Sam P practicing Tree Pose at Heist House Studios]()
SAM
YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Sam gravitated towards yoga fifteen years ago and decided to train in both Ashtanga Vinyasa and Well-Woman Yoga Therapy (also known as womb yoga) after many years of self-practice. She loves to teach heart-led, embodied flows that invite you to turn your gaze inwards and explore the inner landscape of your being.
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![Yoga instructor Lauren transitioning into a Wild Thing variation during a Vinyasa practice at Heist House Studios]()
LAUREN
YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Lauren trained in Costa Rica, completing her 200hr certification at Blue Osa. She teaches a dynamic vinyasa flow and enjoys incorporating inversions into her classes. She also teaches slower vinyasa, Yin, and Restorative Yoga and brings in meditation and breathing techniques to deepen the mind-body connection.
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![Yoga instructor Erin holding a handstand in front of a colourful mural at a Yoga retreat]()
ERIN
YOGA INSTRUCTOR
In 2024, Erin completed her 300-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training at Vikasa and returned in 2025 to assist on the same program. Rooted in a Vinyasa-based style, emphasising strength, mobility, and flow, paired with mindful movement. Erin’s approach encourages resilience, fluidity, and connection.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Restorative Yoga is a deeply supportive, slow-paced practice designed to encourage true rest. At Heist House Studios in Warwick, each class uses bolsters, blankets and considered stillness to help the body soften and the nervous system settle - without effort or strain.
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Yes. Restorative Yoga in Warwick is accessible to all levels, including complete beginners. No flexibility is required. Each posture is fully supported, allowing you to relax into the practice rather than push toward it.
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While both are slower styles of yoga, Yin introduces gentle sensation to create space within the body. Restorative Yoga, by contrast, removes effort entirely. The focus is comfort, support, and nervous system regulation rather than stretch.
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Restorative Yoga is particularly supportive during periods of stress, overwhelm, or fatigue. By encouraging the body’s rest-and-repair response, the practice creates space for recovery to unfold gradually and sustainably.
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Many students find that regular Restorative Yoga classes support deeper, more settled sleep. When the nervous system feels safe and regulated, rest becomes easier to access - both on and off the mat.
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No. Restorative Yoga is not designed to stretch deeply. Postures are carefully supported so the body can release without intensity. The emphasis is ease, not edge.
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For many, attending Restorative Yoga in Warwick once a week provides balance alongside busier schedules or stronger practices. During periods of stress or depletion, more regular rest can feel especially nourishing.
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All props are provided at Heist House Studios. We recommend wearing soft, comfortable layers to stay warm during longer-held postures. Beyond that, simply bring yourself - and a willingness to slow down.
Finding a regular rhythm with your practice can make all the difference. Our memberships are designed to support consistency, connection and long-term wellbeing - with flexible options that fit the way you like to move.
Thoughtful Guidance for Your Yoga Journey
Yin Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga may look completely different, but both offer powerful ways to support the body, mind, and nervous system. In this journal, we explore the key differences, benefits, and how to choose the right style for you.