I’ve been a member of a wonderful yoga class and community called Nourish Therapeutic Yoga for over 6 months, so thought I’d share my experience.

First steps into yoga

After being largely housebound for years and having crashed many times through overexertion, I felt that exercise was no longer for me.

As I stabilised and started thinking about restarting gentle exercise, I was introduced to Nourish by a friend who’d attended and enjoyed a few of the quarterly free Zoom classes that are run on behalf of ME Action, a charity.

I was very apprehensive when first joining, in case it was too much for me. Fortunately, from the very first class, it’s been perfectly paced. I’d never done yoga before and I was able to do the whole class whilst lying in bed, without needing any prior knowledge.

Yoga for ME

Nourish is a weekly yoga class, held over Zoom, that’s tailored for people with chronic illness who have limited energy. It’s ran by Shannon, an experienced and empathetic instructor who also has ME. Classes last for 30 minutes, followed by an optional 30 minute community chat.

All instruction is invitational and options are given for different energy and mobility levels. The class moves at a relaxed pace and at any moment you can do less, imagine the movements or simply rest. Being in tune with your body is actively encouraged and you’ll never be cajoled into pushing beyond your limits. Instead, the focus is on meeting your body where it’s at right now, with frequent reminders to check in with yourself.

The aim is to work in partnership with our bodies to bring back movement, building them up in a gentle, sustainable way that acknowledges the reality of our conditions.

All sessions can be done lying down, or seated in a chair. I’ve done every session fully lying in bed and have had no issues.

The class starts with calming breathing and centring, followed by gentle movement and closing with a guided meditation. The meditation brought me to tears the first few times because for the first time since getting ill it felt like my body and my experience had been acknowledged and held.

The community

After each class there’s a 30 minute community chat, where people share their experiences and support each other.

This has been a revelation to me. I’ve never been in a space that nurtures such a level of openness, vulnerability and compassion.

Everyone is kind and caring and it’s a pleasure and a relief to share the reality of ME with people who understand, to hear other people’s experiences and to know that you aren't alone.

There’s a range of people and health conditions in the community, including ME and Long Covid. There’s no pressure to speak, but there’s always time if you would like to, and it really does feel like a safe place.

It’s a deliberately non-political space, with the focus on connection and support. This isn’t to silence people - many other organisations give voice to these topics. Instead, sheltering from the quick heat of debate allows space for openness and vulnerability to flourish and keeps the focus on our shared experiences. For me, this is essential for making it possible to take part, and for making the community such a uniquely supportive environment.

Shannon

The secret sauce that makes Nourish so magical is the instructor, Shannon.

Shannon is a uniquely empathetic person who cares deeply about connecting with and supporting people with chronic conditions. She’s created not only a space that empowers others on their healing journeys to connect holistically with themselves, but a whole community too.

She’s continually learning and brings a stream of new ideas to each session, underpinned by genuine curiosity and care. This harmonises with her extensive experience, including therapeutic yoga and restorative yoga training, and depth of knowledge about related practices such as meditation.

She’s created a community where people feel safe to be vulnerable, share their experiences and support each other, and she continually nurtures this community. This takes a lot of work that, much like ME itself, is often invisible and can be taken for granted. She does all this whilst living with her own ME.

Shannon is someone who uses their candle to light the candles of others and show them the way; one of the highest expressions of love.

Where and when

Classes are held over Zoom on Wednesdays at 1PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), which is 6pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The classes are based in Canada, but people dial in from a range of places across North America and Europe (including the UK, like me).

Shannon also runs quarterly sessions on behalf of ME Action. You can sign up to these free sessions on the ME Action website once each one is announced, such as this post from February 2025.

I wasn’t able to attend one of these so I went straight to the pay-as-you-go sessions. There’s also a monthly membership subscription, which I switched to after I’d had a few sessions and decided it was right for me. This also gives access to a video library of all previous sessions, offering different types of yoga for various energy levels and conditions.

Shannon also runs other sessions, such as a recent 4-week somatic restorative yoga series. The best way to find out about these is to sign up to the email list on the Nourish website.

If you’re on the fence, give it a go for a single session, you won’t regret it. See you there!