From Burnout to Balance: How Yoga & Creativity Transformed My Life
Hi, I'm Susanna Edwards, Director and Founder of the School of Creative Wellness. For years, I wore many hats: a single parent, a caregiver for my ailing father, and a full-time university programme leader with long, demanding hours. This relentless pace eventually took its toll, leading to a couple of years of significant mental ill-being when I hit peri-menopause. I had lost my way, losing touch with the very things that once brought me joy and balance. My sense of self had simply evaporated.
My Journey Back to Joy
During a period of deep introspection, encouraged by my cognitive behavioural therapist and life coach, a crucial question arose: could I, should I, return to the passions that once brought me clarity, balance, and joy? My mind went back to my twenties in London, working as a graphic artist and educator, where I'd discovered the intricate beauty of letterpress at Central Saint Martins, and the profound calm of yoga.
As I slowly reconnected with these forgotten parts of myself, something incredible happened. My family and friends began to notice a shift. "What's changed?" they'd ask, "What's your secret?" Sharing my journey, they urged me to share it with others at a similar crossroads—women seeking to reclaim joy and balance in their own lives. I realised I'd met these women countless times: on dog walks, in coffee shops, at the school gates.
This realisation sparked a new path. I re-trained as a yoga teacher, embarking on a deep reconnection with my body, mind, the environment, and the people around me. Simultaneously, I rekindled my love for printing words, setting up a small letterpress studio at home. This dual process of physical and creative reconnection brought me immense strength and clarity, both inside and out. It marked the beginning of a new chapter built on empathy, compassion, self-care, creativity, and play.
My newfound joy proved infectious, and I found myself bringing others along with me. With this confidence, I’m thrilled to share my experiences and offerings through the School of Creative Wellness. Creativity, teaching, and learning are truly in my DNA. By combining my past experiences and skills with yoga and breathwork, I've created a unique business where disciplines merge, and we explore ways of noticing, seeing, and understanding ourselves in a holistic sense, with genuine empathy, care, and compassion.
The Holistic Power of Yin Yoga
In my teaching, I lean heavily into styles of yoga that offer profound restoration and introspection. Yin Yoga is a cornerstone of this approach. Unlike dynamic "yang" styles that focus on muscular strength, Yin is slow and deeply meditative. We hold poses for extended periods—typically 3 to 5 minutes, sometimes longer—with the muscles relaxed. The aim is to gently stress the body's connective tissues: the fascia, ligaments, tendons, and joints, especially in the hips, pelvis, inner thighs, and lower spine. These tissues are "yin" in nature—less elastic and more plastic—and respond best to slow, gentle stretching.
Yin for Yogamatters, photo by yogamatters
Physical Benefits of Yin Yoga:
Increased Flexibility and Joint Mobility: The sustained pressure gently elongates and hydrates connective tissues, improving range of motion and releasing stiffness.
Nourishes Connective Tissues: Long holds increase circulation to these often-neglected tissues, keeping them healthy and resilient.
Releases Fascial Restrictions: Yin helps release tightness in the fascial web, allowing for greater freedom of movement.
Improves Joint and Bone Health: Gentle stress can help maintain bone density and joint health.
Balances Energy Flow (Qi/Prana): According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Yin Yoga stimulates meridians, removing blockages and balancing life force energy in line with the seasons.
Mental and Emotional Benefits of Yin Yoga:
Profound Stress Reduction: It actively engages the parasympathetic nervous system (our "rest and digest" response), reducing stress hormones and calming the heart rate.
Cultivates Mindfulness and Inner Stillness: Extended holds invite introspection, allowing you to observe thoughts and sensations without judgment, building patience and clarity.
Enhances Emotional Balance: Deep stretches can create space for stored emotional and physical tension to release, fostering healing and a sense of lightness.
Improves Sleep Quality: By calming the nervous system and reducing mental chatter, it can significantly improve sleep patterns.
Develops Patience and Resilience: Breathing through discomfort in long holds builds mental strength, perseverance, and emotional resilience.
Fosters Self-Compassion: The practice encourages listening to your body and finding your "edge," promoting self-awareness and kindness.
The Sanctuary of Restorative Yoga
Another vital pillar in my holistic approach is Restorative Yoga. This practice is a true sanctuary, offering a profound opportunity to do less and receive more. It's about consciously inviting deep rest, allowing the body to truly relax and the mind to unwind.
Restorative Yoga Self-Practice
What is Restorative Yoga?
Restorative Yoga is a practice of passive support and deep relaxation. We use an abundance of props – bolsters, blankets, blocks, eye pillows, sandbags – to fully support the body in gentle poses, holding them for 5 to 20 minutes or longer. The goal is complete comfort and support, so the body can truly let go of all tension.
Physical Benefits of Restorative Yoga:
Activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): This is key. By down-regulating the "fight or flight" response, it allows the body's natural healing mechanisms to kick in, leading to reduced heart rate, improved digestion, enhanced immune function, and deep muscle release.
Reduces Stress Hormones: It lowers cortisol and adrenaline, combating their harmful effects on the body.
Supports Healing and Recovery: By promoting deep rest, it creates an optimal environment for the body to heal from illness, injury, or chronic conditions.
Improves Sleep Quality: Calming the nervous system is an excellent antidote to insomnia, helping to regulate natural sleep cycles.
Gentle Stretching and Increased Proprioception: While subtle, the supported holds can improve circulation and enhance bodily awareness.
Mental and Emotional Benefits of Restorative Yoga:
Profound Stress and Anxiety Reduction: It offers a safe space for the mind to release worries and racing thoughts, directly combating chronic stress.
Cultivates Mindfulness and Inner Peace: Extended holds foster present-moment awareness, allowing you to observe thoughts without judgment and find inner stillness.
Enhances Emotional Resilience: The practice of surrender and non-striving builds a greater capacity to navigate emotional challenges.
Boosts Mood and Reduces Symptoms of Depression: The deep relaxation and nervous system balance can alleviate anxiety and depression, offering a much-needed mental break.
Develops Self-Compassion and Nurturing: It's an act of deep self-care, fostering self-kindness by giving yourself permission to slow down and truly rest.
"Unwinding" the Vagus Nerve: Gentle stimulation of this key nerve further enhances relaxation and improves vagal tone, benefiting overall well-being.
The Transformative Power of Creative Processing
While yoga provides an incredible foundation for self-discovery, I've found that pairing it with creative processing makes the journey truly holistic and deeply impactful. After a powerful yoga class, meditation, counselling, or coaching session, I turn to my own personal process: writing, drawing, collecting imagery, and creating expansive mood boards on Miro. This is how I truly "make sense" of the inner work.
Mood Board - Processing after a somatic workshop
Why Creative Processing is So Effective:
Bridging Non-Verbal and Verbal: Deep self-exploration often taps into emotions and sensations that are difficult to articulate. Drawing, imagery, and mood boards provide rich, non-linear ways to express these nuanced feelings, which I can then process further through writing.
Deepening Emotional Integration: Actively creating helps to integrate insights gained during introspection. It’s not just about thinking about what you’ve learned, but actively doing something with it, solidifying understanding and allowing for fuller emotional release.
Revealing Hidden Connections: My expansive mood boards are phenomenal for uncovering subconscious patterns. By bringing together seemingly disparate elements, new themes and narratives emerge, offering profound clarity and fresh perspectives.
Sustaining the "Work" Beyond the Session: My creative process acts as a bridge, allowing the exploration and processing to continue independently, strengthening the impact of initial sessions.
Personalised Sense-Making: Everyone processes differently. For me, visual and expressive methods are key to making sense, respecting my unique learning style and embedding insights more deeply.
Play and Exploration: Approaching self-discovery with curiosity and playfulness reduces pressure, allowing for more authentic expression and unexpected insights. It makes the process enjoyable and sustainable.
My Holistic Approach: Your Path to Wellness
My journey has taught me that true well-being comes from a multifaceted approach. It's about finding stillness and deep release through practices like Yin and Restorative Yoga, and then allowing that profound internal shift to be processed and understood through creative expression. This trans-disciplinary method offers a truly holistic path to self-care.
If my story resonates with you, I invite you to explore how these practices can bring greater joy, balance, and clarity into your life. What aspect of this holistic approach are you most curious to explore first? Reach out…
