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SETTLE INTO REST program

 


The next group series begins 12 October 2025.


Settle Into Rest is an eight-week Trauma Sensitive Yoga group series designed for those who experience PTSD related sleep disturbance and insomnia.


PTSD can result in a sustained neurobiological response, with physiological hyperarousal, increased adrenalin and cortisol, higher levels of alertness and flashbacks or nightmares. Settle into Rest is a therapeutic yoga therapy program combining trauma sensitive facilitation (TCTSY) & yoga therapy forms + practices to re-train and re-balance the nervous system, elicit the parasympathetic response & develop self-efficacy & empowerment in the body.

Settle into Rest includes gentle, functional and regulating yoga forms, breathing and trauma-informed guided relaxation to manage the flow of thoughts, help unwind and prepare for rest. Throughout the program, you will cultivate an inner resource of safety, practice bilateral tapping, grounding, progressive muscle relaxation and body scan in order to re-train the nervous system towards rest & resource.

“After a lifetime of extremely poor sleeping I finally see some steady improvement.”
— Settle Into Rest participant

In the field of trauma healing, body-oriented treatment options are becoming a valuable part of treatment. Key trauma theorists including Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine and Judith Herman have explored how we can use somatic or felt experiences - including trauma sensitive yoga - as part of our healing process.

Settle into Rest specifically targets PTSD related sleep disturbance and insomnia. Each session includes 45 minutes of floor based yoga therapy forms specifically designed to elicit the parasympathetic response and wind down the nervous system, in addition to 15 minutes of trauma-informed mindfulness & breathing to restore inner rest and balance.

Over 8 weeks, participants will practice cultivating an inner resource of safety (safe / calm place) along with learning how to read the nervous system for cues of safety essential for rest. As such, deepening a felt sense of safety (ventral vagal response) and ability to shift nervous system states. Each session of the series will offer a gradual building of interoceptive awareness through a consistent & predictable sequence of yoga forms and practices essential to re-training the nervous system. A video or audio recording of the session will be available for home practice.

These classes are not therapy, nor a replacement for therapy you might currently be receiving.

You’re welcome to contact me via jen.holmes-beamer@nelsonclinic.nz to learn more or to register.


 

sample practice

Sample Settle Into Rest class. Each session of the series gradually builds inner safety through interoceptive awareness. No mat required. Just a soft place to land.

You’re welcome to come along and experience how yoga might support your journey.

For more information and resources about TC-TSY click here.

Participant Feedback

  • “Jen has such a calming and welcoming presence which is reflected in the way she runs the session. At times when I was nervous or in physical pain and unsure whether I would attend the class, I was able to put nerves at ease by listening to Jen and letting her guide the session. To my surprise and immense relief through engaging with the yoga I was actually able to shift pain”.

  • “I really appreciate how there are always options given with poses and depending on what is right for you and your body, you can choose what feels right for you. Jen’s language that she uses is extremely empowering and enables me choice and autonomy about movement that is right for me. As someone that struggles to identify what is happening for me in my body due to dissociation, being able to connect to my body in a way that feels safe, and empowering has been so healing!”

  • “After a lifetime of extremely poor sleeping I finally see some steady improvement”.

  • “I have found the yoga sessions so helpful - at the start I often fell asleep or got distracted during class but now I am regularly experiencing deep rest for the first time in a long time. I’ve also been regularly doing a little of the movement practice we’ve learned prior to going to bed”.

  • “general wellbeing is very much improved. I am feeling deep rest during and after the classes - the first few classes I could hardly relax! I have never stuck with a yoga class before this one.”

  • “I’ve noticed a lot of improvement! My sleep has improved greatly and I am able to unwind and switch my mind off before heading to sleep much easier!”

Details

When: Weekly on Mondays 6:15 - 7:15 PM.

Where: Online.

Who: The practices are available to all, with options to practice from a chair, the ground, on a yoga mat, or a combination of both. This group is suitable for individuals with mild to moderate mental health issues including PTSD with an approved ACC SCS claim and are currently engaged in SCS therapy.

To make a referral or register interest:

Jen Holmes Beamer ~ jen.holmes-beamer@nelsonclinic.nz 

To Request a PO from ACC, Please Include:

Supplier: The Nelson Clinic (VAH127)
Providers: Jen Holmes Beamer PAQ875 & Aurelie Chambers PAN892

Codes: 8 hours x SCSGT and 1 hour x SCSGTT
PO Start Date – 6 October 2025 - 1 December 2025 (extra week to account for any missed or rescheduled classes)

Feel free to get in touch to explore options.