What We Do
What happens during an iRest session and on a course
An iRest session can be done in a few minutes, in short sessions of 5–10 minutes, or, for a full practice, in 20–35 minutes.
There is no physical requirement to practice iRest. Participants can lie down, or sit on the floor or on a chair — whichever is most comfortable.
The iRest instructor will ask participants to close their eyes and then will guide them through the different steps of iRest. This includes helping them to develop a ‘Safe Zone’ (a feeling drawn from a memory or an imagined safe place, using the senses, where they can start to feel safe), an Intention, and a Deep Wish for life
Next, the instructor will name parts of the body and ask participants to simply pay attention to what they feel in the body. Finally, participants will be asked to notice their breathing, thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Read about how iRest can help people who have experienced trauma or difficult life circumstances.
Groups are structured in a way that is digestible for residents and supportive of people working a 12 step programme. We have a weekly group with an initial discussion on one of the 10 steps of iRest, this is to see where it applies to them in daily life situations before we do a practice based on one of those steps.
How iRest can help
Meditation
iRest meditation is a natural antidote for managing the thoughts and feelings that drive violent and destructive behaviour.
Management
Instead of avoiding or ‘stuffing down’ feelings such as anger and resentment — which can lead to addictive behaviours — iRest provides a set of tools for managing and mastering difficult emotions and thoughts.
Meaning
iRest invites people to find meaning and purpose and to take responsibility for their lives. The practice also challenges deep-rooted beliefs that can perpetuate offending behaviour and addiction, locking people into a cycle of crime and destructive patterns.
We Deliver courses on the mindfulness-based practice, iRest meditation, to HMPPS residents and staff in UK Prisons.
iRest Yoga Nidra is approved by the US military as a complementary approach for dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is an evidence-informed approach, tested in more than 30 studies, most of which were experimental trials with a wide range of populations. Read more about research on iRest. Our Lead Instructor, Paul Collins, has more than nine years’ experience working with prison populations, delivering meditation and trauma-sensitive yoga and providing one-to-one sessions with residentss and staff.
Read more about how iRest can help both inmates and staff.
Find out what to expect from an iRest session.
iRest Research
Rest meditation is an evidence-informed approach
Research has shown iRest to be acceptable to and efficacious with a range of vulnerable or challenged populations. This includes
ex-service personnel (particularly those who have experienced combat), people who abuse drugs and alcohol, and people who are homeless.
At the core of the practice is guidance that teaches skills for being still and at ease and dealing with difficult or frustrating emotions, which participants can practice on their own outside of class.
Read more about research on iRest.
Read more about how iRest can help both inmates and staff.
Thrive Inside teachers are trained and certified by the Integrative Restoration Insitute (IRI). Based in the United States, IRI is an educational non-profit with the mission of helping people resolve their pain and suffering, and experience deep healing and peace. Visit www.irest.us.
