Restorative Yoga Teacher Training
Nervous System Reset • Deep Rest • Embodied Awareness
50-hour Restorative Yoga Teacher Training
22nd February 2027 - Online section of the training will commence
4th | 5th | 11th | 12th September 2027 - In-Person section of the training in East Lothian.
About the Training
This 50-hour Restorative Yoga Teacher Training is designed for those who want to understand restorative yoga beyond props, shapes, and surface-level relaxation.
At a time when stress, burnout, chronic fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, hormonal disruption, and nervous system overload have become deeply embedded into modern life, restorative yoga is no longer a luxury or occasional extra. It is a necessary and highly relevant practice.
This training explores restorative yoga as a discipline of regulation, recovery, observation, and intelligent space-holding. It is rooted in both yogic understanding and modern nervous system awareness, and is designed to help teachers, practitioners, and facilitators work with rest in a more precise, informed, and embodied way.
This is not simply about learning how to teach a few supported poses.
It is about learning how to understand the conditions that allow the body and mind to soften, regulate, restore, and recover.
Why Restorative Yoga Matters Now
We are living in a culture that rewards speed, output, stimulation, and constant engagement. Even within yoga spaces, effort is often praised more easily than stillness, and visible intensity is often mistaken for depth.
But the body does not heal through pressure alone.
The nervous system does not regulate through force.
And many students who appear functional from the outside are carrying significant fatigue, emotional overload, sleep disruption, adrenal strain, muscular holding patterns, and chronic internal activation.
Restorative yoga offers a different doorway.
It supports:
-
parasympathetic regulation
-
physical and mental recovery
-
improved sleep quality
-
nervous system down-regulation
-
breath awareness
-
emotional steadiness
-
sustainable teaching and practice
For this reason, restorative yoga is becoming increasingly important not only in yoga studios, but also in therapeutic settings, trauma-aware spaces, retreats, mental health support environments, and private teaching contexts.
What Makes This Training Different
Many restorative trainings focus heavily on props, sequencing templates, or pose libraries. Those are useful, but they are not enough.
This training places equal emphasis on:
-
the physiology of stress and rest
-
the mechanics of support
-
the psychology of slowing down
-
the role of breath in regulation
-
the skill of holding safe and non-performative space
-
the deeper challenge of allowing rest
This means you will not only learn what to teach, but also why it works, when it is appropriate, and how to guide it with maturity and sensitivity.
You will study restorative yoga as a field of practice that includes:
-
structural support
-
breath and energy awareness
-
meditation and attention
-
nervous system literacy
-
teaching methodology
-
Yoga Nidra
-
practical application for modern students
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Training Format
30 Hours Online + 20 Hours In Person
This hybrid format allows you to study in a way that is both flexible and rigorous.
30 Hours Online
The online component gives you space to build conceptual understanding through guided study. This portion includes pre-recorded lectures, educational resources, theory modules, guided practices, and reflective work.
It allows you to learn at your own pace while engaging deeply with the foundations of restorative yoga before coming into the live in-person immersion.
20 Hours In-Person in Scotland
The in-person training is where the work becomes embodied.
This is where you refine:
-
the use of props
-
observational skill
-
touch and non-touch support
-
the art of pacing
-
language and tone
-
class design
-
presence in the room
-
real-time teaching and feedback
The in-person immersion is not an afterthought. It is a core part of the learning process, where theory becomes practice and understanding becomes teachable.
Who This Training Is For
This training is suitable for:
-
yoga teachers wanting to expand their teaching in an intelligent and relevant way
-
trainees currently completing a wider yoga education
-
practitioners interested in nervous system regulation and recovery
-
therapists, bodyworkers, and facilitators who want to integrate restorative principles
-
students experiencing burnout, exhaustion, overstimulation, sleep issues, or chronic stress
-
those who want a serious, grounded study of rest
You do not need to be highly flexible or highly advanced in asana.
But you do need to be willing to slow down, pay attention, and engage sincerely with the material.
What You Will Study?
1. Foundations of Restorative Yoga You will study the principles, purpose, and function of restorative yoga, including what distinguishes it from Yin Yoga, gentle yoga, sleep practices, or general relaxation methods. We will explore why supported stillness can be profoundly effective, and why many practitioners find it deceptively challenging.
6. Meditation and Attention We will explore grounding meditation practices that support observation, inwardness, and presence. These are not taught as performance-based concentration techniques, but as ways to cultivate steadiness and reduce internal fragmentation.
2. The Science of Stress and Rest You will explore the autonomic nervous system, including sympathetic activation and parasympathetic recovery states. We will examine how chronic stress affects the body, mind, breath, digestion, sleep, immunity, mood, and muscular tone, and how restorative yoga can support regulation in a meaningful way.
7. Props, Support, and Physical Set-Up You will learn how to use bolsters, blankets, blocks, straps, walls, and chairs intelligently. This includes understanding how support changes the nervous system response, why comfort is not the same as collapse, and how to adapt poses for different bodies and needs.
3. The Vagus Nerve and Nervous System Regulation You will be introduced to the role of the vagus nerve, vagal tone, and the broader physiological mechanisms involved in safety, settling, and restoration. This section helps frame restorative yoga not as passive stretching, but as a practice that can influence systemic recovery.
8. Restorative Postures and Variations You will study a range of restorative postures and their variations, including supported backbends, forward folds, side-lying forms, inversions, hip openers, and supine shapes. Rather than memorising a list, you will learn how to understand the intention behind each set-up.
4. Breath, Pranayama, and Regulation You will study foundational pranayama and breath awareness practices relevant to restorative yoga. This includes understanding when breath can be used to support regulation, how to avoid over-efforting, and how breath influences mental and emotional states.
9. Sequencing and Class Design You will learn how to sequence restorative yoga classes with intelligence and coherence. This includes class pacing, posture selection, transitions, theming, energetic direction, and how to work with different populations and nervous system states.
5. Yoga Nidra and Guided Rest This training includes an introduction to Yoga Nidra as an essential companion practice to restorative yoga. You will explore states of awareness, guided relaxation, and how deeply supported rest can affect the nervous system, cognition, and emotional processing.
10. Teaching Language and the Art of Holding Space The way restorative yoga is taught matters. Tone, pace, silence, instructions, phrasing, and the capacity to observe without over-intervening all shape the learning environment. You will develop the skill of guiding without performing, holding without controlling, and teaching with grounded presence.
What You Will Receive
As part of your training, you will receive:
-
30 hours of structured online study
-
20 hours of in-person training in Scotland
-
a detailed course manual
-
guided educational resources
-
practical teaching support
-
access to restorative practices and theory content
-
assessment and feedback process
-
certification upon successful completion
Assessment and Certification
To receive your certification, you will be required to complete the online study component, attend the in-person immersion, and submit the required assessment materials.
These may include:
-
short reflective or written responses
-
a simple sequencing task or class outline
-
a practical teaching component
Upon successful completion, you will receive a 50-hour Restorative Yoga Teacher Training certification.
This training may also support your continuing education and professional development pathway, depending on your wider training background and accreditation route.
What You Will Need
For the online portion, you will need:
-
a device with internet access
-
access to Zoom or the selected course platform
-
a quiet space to practice and study
For the practical work, you are encouraged to have access to:
-
1-2 bolsters or firm cushions
-
2-4 blocks
-
2-4 blankets
-
a yoga strap
-
optional supports such as an eye pillow, towel, chair, or wall space
Adaptations will be offered, and perfection is not expected.
Training Outcomes
By the end of this training, you will be able to:
-
understand the foundational principles of restorative yoga
-
explain how restorative yoga supports nervous system regulation
-
guide restorative practices with greater clarity and confidence
-
integrate Yoga Nidra, breathwork, and meditation appropriately
-
sequence and teach restorative classes for different needs
-
create safer and more grounded environments for rest
-
teach with more steadiness, sensitivity, and precision
Course Fee
-
Early Bird: £690 (limited spaces) until 30th September 2026
-
Full Investment: £890
*2.5% service fee applicable to the total at checkout.
Spaces are intentionally limited to ensure depth and individual attention.
Alternate Payment Methods:- PayPal - madhurabhagwat6@gmail.com Bank Transfer Madhura Bhagwat Sort Code - 832543 Account No. - 15856419 Bank - RBS * If using PayPal or Bank Transfer, kindly make sure to email connect@theyoganerds immediately after making the transfer. Your spot will only be confirmed once we send you an email of successfully receiving your payment.
Sat 12 SeptThe Bruiser House, Steading, Longniddry EH32 0QJ, UK
Sun 21 FebThe Bruiser House, Steading, Longniddry EH32 0QJ, UK
About Madhura
Director of The Yoga Nerds & Move with Madhura
E-RYT 500, YACEP | Yoga Therapist | Ayurveda Consultant
Madhura Bhagwat is a yoga educator, teacher trainer, and founder of The Yoga Nerds, known for her nuanced and uncompromising approach to teaching yoga beyond the physical. With nearly two decades of experience and roots in a traditional yogic lineage, her work bridges classical philosophy with modern understanding of movement, anatomy, and the nervous system, alongside an academic background in politics, law, and business studies.
Her teaching is not about performance or aesthetics, but about awareness, integrity, and depth. Drawing from yoga philosophy, embodied wisdom arts, and subtle teachings rooted in traditions such as the Dasha Mahāvidyā, alongside fascia-informed movement, breathwork, and restorative practices, she guides students and teachers towards a more intelligent, embodied, and sustainable way of practising and teaching.
Madhura teaches internationally and is committed to preserving the essence of yoga while making it relevant to the realities of modern life, allowing space for both linear learning and non-linear, lived experience to unfold.
