Franklin Method® in York: The Embodied Vagus Nerve: Your Window to Wellbeing and Deep Rest
Join me at Stables Yoga in York for an immersive morning dedicated to diving into your body, understanding the mind-body connection, and learning how to influence your nervous system for profound states of ease, calm, and deep rest.
The light-filled studio at Stables Yoga Centre, York - space for embodied movement and deep restoration
A Rare Opportunity for Science-Backed Somatic Rest
"Nervous system regulation, organ dynamics, and vagal tone are truly some of my favorite topics to teach. It has been an absolute honor to share these practices globally as a guest teacher in Eric Franklin’s official Franklin Method® Virtual Studio - delivering specialist classes on both the Heart and the Enteric (Gut) System - both of which have intimate relationships with the vagus nerve. I am so excited to bring this deep, evidence-based somatic work to our local community at Stables Yoga in York."
Sarah Pritchard, ISMETA Master Somatic Therapist & Educator (MSMT/MSME), Level 4 Franklin Method® Educator & SomaSoul® Somatic Therapist.
Our morning is rooted entirely in clinical dynamic neuro-anatomy, accredited biomechanics, and regulated somatic practice. Because teaching the Franklin Method® at this depth requires advanced qualification, this offering is exceptionally rare: only L4 Educators, the highest-level educators globally are permitted to teach this work.
As an ISMETA Registered Master Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator who trained directly with Eric Franklin for over a decade, I bring a precise blend of somatics to Stables Yoga: embodied anatomy, touch, sounding into the body, embodied breath, and therapeutic care to this morning.
When you join this morning, you are also leaning directly into my specialised background as a SomaSoul® Somatic Therapist with extensive training in Polyvagal theory, vagal tone, and the vagus nerve from an applied, embodied perspective.
Join me at the beautiful Stables Yoga to discover an embodied feeling of relaxation, and felt understanding the precise physiological mechanisms behind why your body shifted.
Benefits for You
This morning gives you practical, lifelong tools to support and enhance your own wellbeing - whether you are looking to navigate this busy point in the year, manage personal times of life transition, or simply optimise your current physical health.
By the end of our session, you can expect:
A Deeper, Unrestricted Breath: Releasing physical restrictions around the ribs, diaphragm, and lungs so your breath flows with ease and depth.
Significantly Less Held Tension: Unbinding chronic tightness held deep within your muscles, fascia, and internal organs.
A Grounded, Peaceful State: Shifting your nervous system out of high alert and into an embodied sense of internal stability and calm.
A Deeper Level of Relaxation: Experiencing genuine, neuromuscular release that goes beyond surface-level rest to restore your energy from the inside out.
The vagus nerve - our structural nerve of wellbeing, wandering from the brainstem through the viscera.
Appreciating the Influence of the Vagus Nerve
As our primary nerve of wellbeing, we can see directly from the anatomical diagram how its branches literally wander through the body - stretching from the brainstem down through the neck, chest, and deep into the viscera. This vast structural network connects our mind directly to our internal organs, and when well toned acts as the ultimate biological highway for rest, digestion, and recovery.
Discovering the Vagus Nerve: Our Somatic Body
The vagus nerve - often called the wandering nerve - is a vast structural network extending from the brainstem down through the neck, chest, and abdomen, connecting directly to our organs and senses.
80% Sensory: Approximately 80% of the vagus nerve is sensory (afferent). It acts as a primary communication pathway, constantly sending feedback from our internal organs back to the brain about our internal state.
Vagal Tone & Health: A healthy vagal tone is critical for overall health, stress recovery, and helping our organs down-regulate after high-demand events. We have the capacity to actively influence this structural system through movement, touch, breath, and sound.
Our Organs & Interoception: Our internal organs form our inner physical world. They have their own dynamic movement as we breathe, shaping our posture and alignment from the inside out. Organs are also where we physically process stress. Working with them refines our interoception - our brain's ability to accurately register internal bodily cues and maintain balance.
What You Will Experience
Sarah Pritchard demonstrating embodied somatic listening - connecting the head, heart, and gut brains to regulate vagal tone in using breath, touch and sounding.
Listening to Your Three Brains: Head, Heart, and Gut
True nervous system regulation is an embodied experience. By placing touch on the heart and abdomen, we actively tune into the three intelligence centers of the body: the head, heart, and enteric (gut) brains. Working directly with the vagus nerve in this grounded, experiential way improves vagal tone, helps down-regulate stress, and restores your body's natural capacity for deep, restorative rest.
Our morning together
During this morning session, we will peel back layers of physical and mental tension using the power of Somatic Movement, Franklin Method® processes, and polyvagal-informed therapeutic practice from the wellbeing toolkit of SomaSoul® Somatic Therapy:
Applied Neuro-Anatomy: Explore how the mind-body connection operates mechanically in real time, and how working with organ dynamics releases visceral strain and structural tension.
Targeted Vagal Stimulation: Use movement, precise self-touch, breath patterns, and vocal sound resonance to directly influence vagal tone and produce measurable states of physiological calm.
Deep Rest with Franklin Method® Balls: We will close the morning with a dedicated session using Franklin Method® balls to induce deep neuromuscular release, quiet the nervous system, and leave you feeling restored.
Who This Immersive Is For
My workshops are taught in an intelligent, welcoming, and accessible environment:
Curious Individuals: Anyone looking for practical, evidence-based tools to improve health, manage emotional wellbeing, and relieve chronic tension.
Women in Midlife & Beyond: Women navigating changing hormones, stress, or shifting energy who want grounded, non-depleting practices to support their nervous system and long-term resilience.
Movement Professionals & Therapists: Pilates teachers, yoga instructors, somatic practitioners or even therapists who who want to learn how Franklin Method®, somatics and polyvagal theory apply to movement from a Master-level educator - learn more about me and my lineage in somatics here
No prior somatic experience is required. Practices are gentle, adaptable, and accessible to all bodies.
Please note that this immersive is working in the domain of Somatic Movement Education and is designed as a journey of self-discovery, nervous system education, and personal wellbeing. To keep the space safe, grounded, and contained for all participants, our focus throughout the morning remains strictly on gentle wellbeing and health optimization.
While I will share some wellbeing tools from my work as a somatic therapist working in SomaSoul® Somatic Therapy, this group session is not a therapeutic environment or a space to process personal trauma or deep emotional topics typically explored in 1-on-1 somatic therapy. However the tools are incredible for everyone to use!
What Clients Say
"Under Sarah's guidance it (the central and peripheral nervous system) feels amazing and utterly mind-blowing... You are a wonderful teacher. I can still visualise the brain and spinal cord dance - absolutely magical."
C.B.S., Movement Professional (Franklin Method® Specialist Class - The Nervous System).
"It was fascinating to hear about the vagus nerve and how your well-being can be enhanced with somatic movements. The whole day was relaxing and the theory was fascinating. I recommend Sarah’s retreats to anyone wanting intellectual stimulation, body and mind relaxation, or both."
S.P., Civil Servant (Somatic Seasonal Day Retreat: The Vagus Nerve).
"I experienced your demonstration and was enchanted. Something just 'clicked'. I felt this cloud of trust envelope me and felt a confidence I've not known before."
E.F., (The Franklin Method® International Livestream Participant, Embodying the Senses, The Enteric Nervous System in Movement and Breath).
Venue, Investment & Location Details
Investment: £42.50
Early booking is highly recommended as places are strictly limited to ensure personal guidance and room for individual questions.
I am looking forward to being back at the beautiful, light-filled Stables Yoga Studio and the beautiful City of York! The Stables Yoga Studio has been a special place for my Franklin Method® Pelvic Floor Immersives and is a gorgeous setting for embodied and somatic movement.
Venue Address
The Stables Yoga Centre
10A Nunmill St, York YO23 1NU
The studio is close to York city centre and is accessible by bus, train, or on foot. It is easily accessible for those travelling from Harrogate, Leeds, or North Yorkshire. Parking is very close by.
The peaceful, light-filled loft studio at The Stables Yoga Centre in York - a beautiful setting for embodied somatic movement.
Suggested Parking
Bishopthorpe Rd / Scarcroft Rd Corner: Small car park (3 hours max, pay again for more time, £3 per hour, free after 6 PM) — 2 mins walk
Far end of Scarcroft Rd: Free parking in designated bays (please check signs carefully) — 8 mins walk
Scarcroft Hill, Wentworth Rd & Telford Terrace: Free parking on weekends only — 8 mins walk
Nunnery Lane: Large municipal car park (fees apply) — 10 mins walk
Join Me in York
Join me in York to rediscover the Franklin Method®’s special way of generating healthy movement and breath, feel calmer, and connect back into the wisdom and scientific reality of your unique and special body.
Looking forward to helping you discover you,
Sarah x
Sarah Pritchard
Level 4 Franklin Method® Educator | SomaSoul® Somatic Therapist | ISMETA Registered Master Somatic Movement Therapist / Master Somatic Movement Educator
"I can't wait to welcome you to the Stables Yoga Centre for a restorative, eye-opening morning of somatic movement."
Sarah xx