Restorative Yoga

A restorative yoga sequence typically involves only five or six poses, supported by props that allow you to completely relax and rest. Held for 5 minutes or more, restorative poses include light twists, seated forward folds, and gentle backbends.  Most restorative practices are based on the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar.

As an approach it is designed to creative a more healing and recuperative experience, by frequently relying on the use of props, and the prolonged holding of a few simple poses, to achieve a deep level of relaxation.

Some its benefits are:

Slowing Down; Restorative yoga is an excellent opportunity to disconnect from the frenetic activity of daily life and let your speedometer return to 0 mph. It offers a welcome break from all the turbulence of life and helps to prepare the mind and body for the inward stroke of meditation and deepened awareness. Taking our time with the postures allows us to explore our mind and body at a slower steadier and more natural pace.

Soothing the nervous system; Slower and deeper breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This activation helps to dissipate the effects of regular fight-or-flight stress responses that can be damaging to our physiology and well-being. The overall calming effect on the nervous system, positively effects both mind and body down to the cellular level.

Encouraging Mindfulness; Restorative yoga encourages an expanded awareness of self and body through the practice. Slower movements create a fertile environment for a deeper experience of the poses and the breath. Awareness of the physical sensations, (external or internally generated), as well as thoughts and emotions as they arise, can all take on a much more profound significance in the depth of the restorative practice.

Fosterning Transcendance; This practice is a wonderful precursor to meditation. In fact, the practice of restorative yoga in and of itself often leads to a deep meditative state, or what could be described as a transcendent experience of oneness with the universal level of consciousness. Each pose and each breath leads us further up the ladder of expanded awareness. As the practice expands, the vehicle of yoga carries us from the waking state of consciousness into the silent space between our thoughts—the space from where we are able to glimpse the soul and awaken the divinity within.

Cultivating Higher and Healthier Body Awareness; The comfortable pace of restorative yoga opens the doorway to a deeper understanding of the body, allowing us to actually feel what it means to be a spiritual being having a human experience, while rekindling a genuine yearning to explore, and embrace, a deeper of sense of intimacy with the physical body. Deeper levels of bodily strengths can be integrated and owned and a more profound sense of self-love and acceptance can emerge.

Deepening Self-awareness; The subdued quality of a restorative yoga class often helps us draw attention inward and away from external events and situations of the world. With your awareness directed within, the practice becomes a sanctuary for the mind and spirit from which we can take a deeper look at who we are, what we want, and how we can serve the world. Restorative yoga opens us up to new levels of self-exploration and contemplation, allowing our inner being to shine forth.

Encouraging Clarity in Action; Through the mindfulness of the practice, we become increasingly aware of your actions or karmas, and how they influence our level of comfort or discomfort. We can see the direct cause and effect relationship between our the practice, our breathing, and overall level of well-being. As this experience continues to deepen, we begin to make more deliberate and attentive choices, both on and off the mat.

Encouraging Letting go, Surrendering and Detachment; By its very nature, the restorative yoga practice is the antithesis of the “no-pain-no-gain” mentality. Through it, we receive the greatest benefits from our practice not through forcing ourselves into a pose, but by releasing and surrendering to it. This shift in the approach helps to cultivate acceptance of our body and its inherent limitations. Further, it strengthens our ability to let go of preconceived notions of our bodies and how we think they should look or feel, both in and out of a pose. When increased ease and comfort are the theme of our yoga practice, acceptance and detachment naturally emerge as a result.

Reorientating us towards feeling safe and nurtured; In daily life it’s easy to get pulled into the insecurity that is a byproduct of the modern world. Many people move through their days haunted by fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. Restorative yoga provides us with a safe harbor wherein we can reconnect with our true nature, which is immortal, invincible, pure, and nourishing. Making that connection through our asana practice, breathing, and deep relaxation restores the memory of who we truly are and helps us to reclaim the fearless nature of our souls. From this refuge, we emerge feeling secure in the inherent goodness within our hearts and in the world.

Connecting us the Highest aspects of Self; The ultimate goal of yoga is union with the divine. Therefore, our practice should be a means to that end. Restorative yoga is the perfect vehicle to help us reconnect with the divinity within. Through the techniques of the practice, we awaken grace, poise, flexibility, balance, strength, and present moment awareness. This combination creates a mind and body ideally suited for seamlessly merging into the non-local field of awareness, or pure being.
As a tool for self-transformation, restorative yoga facilitates the integration of all the layers of life—environmental, physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual—culminating in the goal of all goals, awakening to our own divine nature.
The benefits listed here may not be isolated solely to restorative yoga, but they are some of the most defining benefits to this type of practice.