What if better sleep could actually help rewire your brain?
In this energising and insightful episode, I chat with Dr. Laura Bojarskaité, a neuroscientist and sleep researcher whose work explores how rest and sleep shape our brains — and how they’re essential for memory, creativity, and simply feeling like ourselves.
Laura shares what actually happens in the brain while we sleep, why rest is about more than just clocking 8 hours, and how everyone can improve their sleep — even in the midst of a busy life. We also talk about the connection between rest, emotional well-being, and the brain’s incredible ability to change.
Whether you’re a night owl, burnout survivor, or just curious about how to feel more rested and alive — this one’s for you.
✨ Connect with Dr. Laura Bojarskaité:
📸 Instagram: @laurabojarskaite
🔗 LinkedIn: Laura Bojarskaité
💬 If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow, share, and leave a review — it helps more listeners find us and rest a little easier.
In this first part of our two-part series on sleep, we (Claudia & Rachel) sit down for an open and personal conversation about our own journeys with sleep. From restless nights to deep rest, we share the lessons we’ve learned over the years and how these experiences continue to shape the way we guide others in yoga nidra, sleep, and rest.
This episode is a gentle, real-life look at the ups and downs of sleep, why it matters so much, and how we’ve come to view it with more compassion and curiosity. We’ll explore the ways our personal stories have influenced our approach as teachers and facilitators, and why sleep remains one of the most powerful doorways into restoration and balance.
✨ Stay tuned for part two, where we’ll be joined by a sleep scientist to dive deeper into the research and practical tools.
In this playful and candid conversation, Rachel sits down with Michelle Baker to explore the threads of creativity, mentorship, and holding space through life’s changes. Together, they talk about the honesty and curiosity it takes to navigate transitions, the importance of mentorship in both giving and receiving, and how creativity can become a grounding force in uncertain times.
This episode is full of laughter, reflection, and heartfelt wisdom—a reminder that rest, creativity, and human connection are resources we all share.
Michelle is a talented and well loved, teacher, guide and mentor, want to work with Michelle? check out her offerings here;
https://www.michellebaker.co/
What if rest and movement weren’t opposites — but part of the same conversation with your body?
In this grounding episode, Rachel is joined by Olivia Berggren, physiotherapist and founder of Move With Ease, to explore how our bodies speak to us — and how learning to listen changes everything.
Olivia shares how her background in yoga led her to, physiotherapy, somatic practices, nervous system awareness, and intuitive movement. Together, they talk about the subtle signals our bodies give us, the cultural pressure to “push through,” and how we can begin to respond with more compassion, curiosity, and ease.
This is an episode for anyone navigating the question: Do I need to move — or do I need to soften?
You’ll hear about:
💫 The shift from fixing the body to being with it
💫 How somatic practices help us reconnect and regulate
💫 Ways to explore rest and movement as complementary
💫 What it means to live in rhythm with your nervous system
Whether you’re feeling stuck, wired, or simply tired, this conversation is an invitation to meet your body where it is — and remember how to listen.
🎧 Tune in and let the body lead.
Find out More about Olivia and her work at her website
And find her on Instagram @movewithease
What does it mean to observe ourselves—without fixing, judging, or turning away? In this episode, Rachel is joined by Allie Middleton, medical anthropologist, somatic facilitator, poet, and founder of Limin(allie)ty, whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, embodied practice, and cultural inquiry.
Together, they wander through themes of:
– What it means to be human in a changing world
– Observation as a way of knowing, creating, and relating
– The tension between structure and spontaneity in both body and society
– How cultural and systemic pressures shape our inner and outer experience
– The role of the liminal—that space between endings and beginnings—and how it can offer insight, belonging, and expansion
Allie shares her experience of being both a scholar and a practitioner—someone who studies the human experience while also inviting others into deeper felt-sense and awareness. Expect thoughtful pauses, poetic detours, and an invitation to notice what’s alive in your own life right now.
✨ Learn more about Allie’s work at liminalliety.com
🌿 Explore our offerings and join the community at therestedyou.com
In this episode, Rachel and Claudia sit down together to demystify Yoga Nidra — a practice often called “yogic sleep,” but which offers so much more than just relaxation.
Together, we explore:
🌿 What Yoga Nidra really is (beyond the myths)
🌿 The unique benefits it can bring to body, mind, and nervous system
🌿 Why rest can feel so challenging — and so deeply needed
🌿 Our personal experiences guiding and practicing Yoga Nidra
Whether you're new to the practice or curious to deepen your understanding, this warm and honest conversation invites you to discover why Yoga Nidra can be a powerful tool for living a more rested, connected, and balanced life.
✨ Listen now, share with someone who might need it, and don’t forget to follow for more episodes about rest, self-care, and transformation.
Want to practice for free right now?? get our freebie nowhttps://claudiamenger.myflodesk.com/freenidra?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwL9oVhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp7qF92LvN8Zv4VSbvnBxpZgJnjsiU7fGaSN3mojTtkllc_nHPauh5XQKuctr_aem_kyHVl7_F1gvTOj6vSH4ORA
In this nourishing conversation, Rachel is joined by Susanne Bastviken, author, podcast host, and co-founder of Radical Broccoli. Known for her vulnerability and vision, Susi shares how rest, intuition, and softness became her anchors through burnout and a complete life reset.
Together, they explore the courage it takes to stop running, to truly listen to your body, and to build a life around your own rhythm. From leaving behind the beginnings of a high-pressure career to living a more soul-led life, Susi’s story is a powerful reminder that slowing down isn’t giving up—it’s coming home.
You’ll hear about:
– Susi’s path from burnout to deep rest and radical self-trust
– The spiritual practices and everyday tools that help her stay grounded
– What it really means to follow your intuition
– Her relationship to softness, boundaries, and the nervous system
– How Radical Broccoli became a space for healing and freedom
This episode is for anyone seeking permission to pause, feel deeply, and choose a gentler way of being in the world.
✨ Find Susi @radicalbroccoli and listen to the Radical Broccoli Podcast
🌿 Stay connected with us @therestedyou or join our newsletter at therestedyou.com
In this heartfelt conversation, Rachel is joined by her dear friend and co-creator of The Rested You, Claudia Menger. Together, they reflect on the roots of their work, the deeper call towards rest, and how listening to the body became both a personal and professional revolution.
Claudia shares her journey—from early burnout to becoming a guide for others—and how pregnancy yoga, feminine care, and deep rest shaped her path. This episode is a beautiful unraveling of how The Rested You came to be, the values it’s rooted in, and why rest is so much more than not doing.
You’ll hear about:
Claudia’s personal rest story and her relationship to the nervous system
The role of cyclical wisdom, pregnancy, and feminine care in her teaching
Why The Rested You is more than a business—it’s a movement
How the facilitator training came to life from lived experience and shared passion
This is a tender and honest conversation between two friends who are deeply committed to redefining rest—not as escape, but as remembering.
✨ Follow us @therestedyou on Instagram for more.
💌 Want to go deeper? Join the newsletter or the waitlist for our next Yoga Nidra & Deep Rest Facilitator Training: therestedyou.com
In this first episode of The Rested You Podcast, Rachel Brownbridge invites you into the heart of what rest truly means. Not just naps and breaks—but a deeper, more honest returning to who we really are beneath the noise, the pace, and the pressure.
Rachel shares the story behind creating The Rested You, what rest has looked like in her own life, and why she believes it’s time we reclaim rest as a human right—not a luxury.
You’ll hear reflections on:
Why slowing down is radical in a world that rewards burnout
The small moments that led to big shifts
What to expect from future episodes
And a gentle encouragement for where to begin your own rest journey
Whether you're new to rest or have been walking this path a while, this episode is a warm welcome and reminder: You’re not alone. You’re allowed to soften. And you’re already enough.
✨ Leave us a review, follow the show, and join us @therestedyou on Instagram.
📩 Want more rest in your inbox? Join our newsletter at therestedyou.com