Hi, I’m Hester

Daring to Rest Coach & Yoga Nidra facilitator in Lincolnville, Maine

  • Introvert, empath and highly-sensitive person

  • Experienced in anxiety:)

  • Formerly sleep-deprived & burned out

  • Happily married to my opposite, who is an endurance athlete & “king of productivity”

Resting isn’t easy, even when we know we need it.

As an introvert, empath, and highly sensitive person, I need a lot of down time to rejuvenate. I’ve learned to love this part of myself and build my lifestyle around supporting her. But it’s not always easy. Our culture is designed around productivity, not rest.

Years ago, I experienced a number of life changes in a short time: Meeting my husband, changing jobs, moving in together, starting my business, getting married, and building a house. It was too much for my sensitive nervous system and I had trouble resting, sleeping, and digesting for 3 years. In that time, I slowly gained 20 pounds & 2 sizes.

In my stressed-out state, a friend suggested I needed rest.  Not sleep, but rest. 

She introduced me to Daring to Rest Yoga Nidra, and I started lying down for an 18 min meditation daily. 

I felt such a big shift. 

My anxiety diminished, my sleep became deeper and I started dreaming every night. Resting helped me make future life decisions with my intuition, from a well-rested place, breaking the cycle of exhaustion.

After committing to a daily Yoga Nidra practice, which nourished my emotional well-being, everything changed.

Yoga Nidra was the key to healing my nervous system which resulted in huge changes in my physical well-being including:

  • rebalancing my blood sugar & hormones

  • losing 20 pounds & 2 pants sizes I had gained due to stress

  • completely transforming my energy level.

  • No longer needing to eat a snack every 90 min to feel energized, and this was a game-changer!

I love guiding and supporting women to step into a more rested life.

After experiencing the power of Yoga Nidra for myself in my personal practice, I became a Daring to Rest Certified Rest Coach and Daring to Rest Certified Yoga Nidra Facilitator trained in The Rested Path™.

When I started health coaching in 2010, I noticed many of the women I was supporting were simply too exhausted to make lifestyle changes.

What they really needed was REST!

Rest is in my lineage.

I come from a long line of rested women.

My grandmother valued being over doing. In a world obsessed with productivity, she valued dreaming and contemplation. Her example gave my mother permission to rest and permission to dream. My grandmother died over 20 years ago, and I still remember what my mother shared at the memorial. She spoke of the many intangible gifts she inherited, including permission to rest. Then, she realized I too inherited this gift.

My mother told a story about an Adirondack chair…

…that had gone missing from the back yard. Then she realized it was me who had moved it to the side garden where I was sitting alone dreaming, at age 16, among the purple asters and black-eyed Susans…taking in the late September sun.

HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP YOU REST

Rest with Me

Are you longing to feel held and experience deep rest?

Get started with a single session or choose a package of 3 or 6 sessions.

6-Week Sisterhood

AWAKENING JOY

April 11-May 16, 2025
Fridays, 3:00-4:30 pm Eastern

From the cozy comfort of home, online.

Rest Shop

Yoga Nidra meditations so that you can rest anywhere with the sound of Hester’s voice. 

Or give the gift of rest to someone you love.

My Education & Training

  • Certified Daring To Rest Yoga Nidra Facilitator

  • Certified Rest Coach trained in The Rested Path ™, Daring to Rest

  • National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach

  • Gut Health, Institute for Integrative Nutrition

  • Integrative Weight Loss, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Massachusetts

  • Weight Loss for Women, Dr. Libby Weaver, New Zealand

  • Licensed Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Coach

  • Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Real Balance Global Wellness
    Group Wellness Coaching, Real Balance Global Wellness

  • Certified Personal Trainer, American College of Sports Medicine

  • Certified Group Exercise Instructor, American College of Sports Medicine

  • Motivational Interviewing, Basic & Advanced, HETI, Portland, Maine

Praise for Resting with Hester

  • "Hester's voice is soothing and nurturing, and the practice created a deep and healing state of rest. I have been noticing a soothing release of tension in my body, mind and spirit. I can’t speak highly enough about the benefits of Yoga Nidra."

    -Nancy

  • "I have listened to Hester's Yoga Nidra a few times while going to sleep and cannot believe its impact! I next need to try this during the day. I fall asleep every time but the quality is deep and restful."

    -Lydia

  • “I’ve done a couple different types of Yoga Nidra, but the Daring to Rest was so wonderful. It made me realize how essential and empowering rest is. ”

    — Melissa

  • “Hester, your Yoga Nidra is profoundly restful, stress relieving and calming. I enjoy it very much.”

    — Anna

  • “Every time I’ve done a Yoga Nidra session with you I feel better. My headache goes away and I have more energy. I want my daughter to experience this too.”

    —Susan

  • “Hester - thank you for a great session today.  Still can't believe my neck & shoulder pain was gone after the Yoga Nidra !”

    — Sarah

  • “Hester's Yoga Nidra sessions have been very helpful in allowing me to rest not just sleep. Most mornings I wake up in pain and feeling exhausted. On days when I had those sessions, I woke up pain-free! ”

    — Julie

  • “Since I started doing Hester's Yoga Nidra recordings daily, I am sleeping much more deeply! When I wake up in the night it's easy to get back to sleep quickly with the short breathing practices I learned from her. ”

    -Christine

  • "I came away from Hester's retreat feeling rested, joyful, optimistic, and a believer in the restorative power of yoga nidra. I am so grateful for this retreat and for Hester’s teaching, it has helped me more than I can express.”

    -Retreat participant

  • “If you are burned out, exhausted, and need to get away to take care of YOU- this is the place to do it! This retreat is deeply nourishing and rejuvenating.”

    -Retreat participant

  • “I learned that I can rest. Yoga Nidra helps you to rest in moments that can be a lot or heavy. It’s something that actually allows you to shut off your mind.”

    -Emily

  • "Hester, thank you from the bottom and top of my heart, mind and soul for your amazing ability to soothe them all."

    -Retreat participant

  • "Hester listens to your requests and accommodates them so well. Rest is such a necessity that we refuse to acknowledge. Hester makes it easy. I’m so glad she shares her gift with us."

    -Casey

  • "This peaceful, pleasurable feeling washes over me regularly since I first started practicing Hester's Yoga Nidra. I'm much less reactive. And becoming more aware of how good I feel. It's like a beautiful sunset."

    -Sally

Let’s Rest.

Get started with a 60-minute rest session.