Tell us a bit about yourself…

We all face challenges in life whether it be the pressures of work, financial or relational challenges, body and hormonal transformations such as menopause or dealing with mental or physical illness, or with loss or grief.

I have lived with a chronic pelvic condition since the birth of my daughter 13 years ago and I’ve been on a journey of self discovery in mid-life. I have researched, lived and built a robust set of strategies to navigate life with positivity, increased capacity to function and embrace wellness in body and mind and outlook. I now share my learnings with others.

My background is in creative arts, although I have always practiced different forms of yoga; Yin, Iyengar, Vinyasa, Ashtanga. I knew when the systems and structures I operated within were not serving me anymore, that my true path was to pivot and become a yoga teacher, to focus on this as my central practice and to use my past skills and knowledge to enhance this practice. This is when I set up the School of Creative Wellness.

Creativity, teaching and learning are in my DNA. Through combining my past experiences and skills with yoga and breathwork I have created a unique business. Disciplines merge, ways of noticing, seeing and understanding ourselves are explored in a holistic sense.

I use movement, breathwork and image and text/writing based creative methods to observe, process and create, and I help others to do the same. It feels right, a genuine calling in my mid-life.

What does a typical day look like for you?

At the moment I am putting together a new online offering ‘Breathe Easy for Menopause Mums.’ It is based on my experience of menopause, mumming, working and burnout. Burnout can creep up on you. I know so many women who are under such pressure in midlife, juggling careers, parenting, looking after ailing parents and hitting perimenopause all at the same time. I want to share the methods that helped me and share preventative methods to avoid burnout. This offering is a short, easy to digest online breathwork course to help women develop a daily practice of anchoring, breathing and learning to self regulate their nervous systems. There are three daily pranayama video practices to practice when you wake, at lunchtime and before bed. It is hard to take time and space for self with multiple daily demands, it is also hard to create new habits so I am there in a friendly, helpful and bitesized way as a source of learning, of comfort and of developing new methods to live by.

I teach online and in person several days a week Yin, Restorative and more dynamic Hatha/ Vinyasa based classes, I have private clients and a wonderful group of regular women who attend each week, ages range from 12 to 88. I walk everyday with my two Cockapoos Bennie & Pickle and being in nature everyday is super important for me. I also meet up with other artists and wellness practitioners to plan and deliver pop up events and experiences. I may also be running a retreat or volunteering at a local market garden called Worthy Earth. It is also important for me to be present on a daily basis with my family, my daughter, my mum and my partner and to laugh, not take life too seriously.

Today I went for a sauna and swim in a lake on private land in Hampshire at Fallen Willow Sauna (one of my collaborators). I have recently bought a rebounder so the day often starts with a bounce. After I attended the amazing Aryveda series of classes in this Yoga Matters community I discovered my Kapha predominant dosha likes to start the day with bouncing to get everything flowing and to avoid stagnation and sluggishness.

Basically I do what feels good and value things such as time, nature, learning and community having stepped away from the grind culture and feeling like I was never ‘enough’.

How did your yoga journey begin and what inspired you to become a yoga teacher?

I have practiced since my early 20s and I am now 48. My first passion and learning was in Iyengar. I really got into the precision of it and went several times to India on Yoga and Ayuvedic retreats. I felt a real pull to become a yoga teacher in my mid to late 20s but I was growing a vibrant career in arts and design education and developing my own design practice. I dabbled with different types of yoga over the years, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Restorative and Yin. Yin became a huge part of my life in 2018 and over the following two years I would go to a class with my Mum taught by an amazing teacher Daphne. She battled with cancer on and off for years and used Yin to help others with cancer or caring for others with cancer. Sadly she passed away a few years ago but her voice and spirit is etched inside of me. My Dad was diagnosed with Mesothelomia (asbestos related) cancer and Daphne and her classes helped us through a really hard time. After Dad died in 2020 I hit burnout and went on a journey of unravelling and of total recalibration. I worked on rediscovering my joy and reprioritising what I needed, loved and desired in my life. Yoga was a daily must, alongside living more in tune with nature and my creativity and creating space in my life for family. A period of unlearning and relearning happened and is ongoing. So I retrained as a yoga teacher and here I am totally loving what I do and feeling well and rooted and continuing my path and passion of teaching but in new ways, ways that are pertinent to our times and sharing the tools and methods that worked for me. Living authentically and listening to what I need.

What inspired you to specialize in your practice?

Although I trained under Lucas Rockwood at Yoga Body (Barcelona), where the training was scientifically driven, and the style was vinyasa based I have undertaken further training in Yin, Restorative, Yoga Nidra and further applied anatomy & physiology of yoga. I have also trained in the Science of Wellbeing (Yale University) and have attended lots of creative short courses, an Accelerating Women’s Enterprise programme by the School of Social Entrepreneurs. Alongside my own journey of healing with CBT, Trauma and Bereavement counselling. I have worked with alternative therapies such as CST (Cranio Sacral Therapy) which for me found amazing results in releasing buried trauma and my womb. I really look at wellness from a holistic perspective. I suppose I have identified problems that I have faced and that society faces today, disconnected humans, patriarchal systems born out of capitalism that remove us from being connected, societal expectations, pressure, hustle culture, menopause, mid life crisis, loss, trauma… And I have formed a concept and business that helps people to heal, to reconnect, to be human, to find joy,to feel inspired, to create space, to cope.

Therefore the specialist Yoga areas I am really interested in and that seem the most relevant are Yin, Restorative, Nidra but also other methods to process, to unlearn, to explore, to reflect and to create include writing, drawing, printing, narrative exploration using imagery. I am particularly interested in trans-disciplinary collaboration between artists, musicians, psychologists, therapists, yoga teachers. This is what really excites me, this holistic approach to wellness. To create new things, new methods, new ways of exploring who we are and what value we can bring to others and to the world we live in. The world needs creativity right now and it needs healing. This is my calling.

How have you seen your practice benefit your students?

I can feel it and see it. In a class it is palpable both online and in person. People carry in their day, their energy, their experiences. The classes I deliver allow them to shed, to let go, to create space, to heal and most important to listen to their true selves. They shift, there is a metamorphosis. It is beautiful. I can see it in their posture, their tone, their faces, their eyes. It is an individual and a collective experience. We all feel it. It is a certain kind of alchemy. The Yin is amazing because I know have the same group coming over for over 2 years now. I can see how the practice helps them on a weekly basis but also over the seasons – it is really beautiful and cyclical. This gives me such joy.

I suppose it is quite a maternal thing. I have taught since I was 21 and feedback from students was always that I inspired them, I made them feel safe, able to be vulnerable, to share, connect, discover and grow. To find their voice not their style to be their authentic selves. This is a gift. I have only been teaching yoga for 2 years and I know that I am doing the same as I did in an art and design context, I am bringing all that experience with me. I have been so lucky to have such amazing feedback which you can see on our website.

To be a good teacher you need to be humble and to be a good student, to avoid comparison as much as you can in an instagram world and to do what feels right and to never stop learning. I love sharing, laughing, holding, nurturing and creating. This is it. I am a fuller bodied middle aged woman who loves what I do- this is good energy and people are attracted to good energy and it spreads, it is contagious. Come and join me!

What is your favourite quote or life motto?

Honour thy error as a hidden intention.

Brian Eno

I want to rethink ‘surrender’ as an active verb.

Brian Eno

What's coming up for you in 2026?

2026 is a hugely exciting year for me personally and for the School of Creative Wellness. Everything is coming together and flowing out into the world- my past (as a creative practitioner and educator) and my current practice as a yoga teacher (helping women to rest and reset), have united in a big bold beautiful unique synergy. There is nothing like this in the wellness landscape…

In the first quarter I will be finishing off my first book having secured a publishing deal through my literary agent at The Agency of True Places. Due to be published in Spring 2027 this is a big ideas book that sits in the area of women’s wellness. Cited as a modern feminist classic, this work brings together my worlds of yoga and art on a quest to liberate women with transformative new methods to live by. I am creating all of the artwork and writing in a beautiful publication, and manifesto for good.

“In a world defined by hustle culture and relentless demands, The Sanctuary Within presents a revolutionary idea: that radical self-compassion is a powerful act of activism. This is a book for the woman who feels lost, disconnected, and burnt out, not just from her personal life but from a world in crisis. Susanna Edwards, a recognised leader in design thinking and creative wellness, takes a big-picture approach, challenging us to re-evaluate our value systems and dismantle inherited narratives. She introduces a new framework for living that blends the somatic wisdom of yoga with the transformative power of creative expression. This isn't just about personal healing; it's about forming a movement of "soft power" that ripples outwards, creating local and global communities of compassion. It's a philosophical and practical guide to building a life that is regenerative, not just for you, but for everyone around you.”

2026 also offers the continuation of radically fresh online workshop series ‘Journeying Within’ launched in Nov 2025. This unique offering forms part of the basis and methodology for my book. I believe that wellness is a holistic process and I champion transdisciplinary approaches to my offerings.

You are invited to join me, Susanna Edwards, founder of the School of Creative Wellness (yoga teacher and former art & design academic and practitioner) and Alison McNaught (integrative therapist), for a series of transformative online workshops where you’ll learn to tap into your inner sanctuary through the powerful combination of somatic practices and creative expression. This unique collaboration harnesses the workshop facilitators broad based skills sets of psychology, yoga and creativity offering a beautifully holistic experience for participants.

Expect long hold restorative poses creating the foundational conditions for inner exploration. Tune into your body’s non verbal language. Understand how these visceral messages are metaphors and symbols waiting to be decoded leading to release, recalibration and transformation. Use creative enquiry as a healing tool by engaging in spontaneous writing, drawing and painting to integrate your inner experiences, build new narratives and foster deep self compassion. The golden thread running through is an offering of insights and practices that you can integrate into your daily life to cultivate a regular connection to your inner world and down regulate your nervous system. This is EVERYTHING to me. I absolutely love delivering these - they are truly transformative.

2026 also sees my regular ‘The Sanctuary Within’ online Sunday Yin & Restore classes reach more and more women. They are a gorgeous 75 min class of Yin and Restorative Yoga every Sunday from the comfort of your own home 7pm - 8.15pm UK time. My aim is to create a collective movement of women all taking 75 mins every Sunday to recalibrate and reset before the week ahead. All women get a free taster class here.

I am also continuing with my Hampshire based Yin, Cacao and Soundbath Events to mark the Solstices and Equinoxes in 2026, and my sell out Deep Rest Retreats, so if you fancy a wee journey to the beautiful Hampshire countryside I would love to see the YM community. There will also be various speaking events in the lead up to the launch of my book including one at The Om Yoga Show. And my continued work with the absolutely gorgeous community that is Yoga Matters. So things are really beautiful, aligned and flowing. I am very, very happy.

September 2026 sees me taking a couple of weeks out to go on a retreat with the amazing Jean Hall in Italy, it is super important for me to take my own rest and self care as seriously as I do others.

On a personal journey I am also currently working with a chemist/ yoga teacher/ nutritionalist Arianna Ferrari to reduce my inflammation linked to my chronic pelvic condition that I have lived with for the past 14 years since the birth of my daughter. This is a total gut cleanse and nutritional reset. It is also radically transforming my relationship to food and hydration in midlife, so I expect you will see some collaborations between us in 2026 where we can share the methods used to totally transform how I feel and to reduce inflammation and prevent recurring internal infections. The mind body gut is a focus here. Shedding learnt narratives around food and body image- I am loving it! Having used food for comfort for years I am unlearning and creating new methods to really care for my body beyond yoga. It feels amazing! I am shedding weight physical and metaphorical that I have been carrying for years, my eyes and skin are gleaming and my brain is crystal clear. There is more space in my body, I feel soooo good!

I have also recently become single aged 50 and I feel amazing- stepping into my full feminine power. I am looking at people like Henika Patel and Grace Hazel to inspire me on my journey of liberation. Who says women over 50 are invisible? I feel a second book is on the horizon! Watch this space… So that is me, honest and open enough to share my experiences, in the hope my learnings can benefit other women and so, so, so excited about 2026 and beyond.

Find out more about Susanna:

Website: www.schoolofcreativewellness.live

Instagram: @schoolofcreativewellnessltd

Get in touch: info@schoolofcreativewellness.live