Restorative Yoga

Why Restorative Yoga? 
By Amber Renae 

One of the most powerful ways to find ease and flow in your life is by adopting a practice rooted in relaxation. The goal can simply be to breathe easier, feel lighter and slow the mind down. 
In our busy day to day lives, it can be a challenge to find time to unwind. Many people struggle with falling asleep at night because their nervous system is wound up from their daily tasks.  More so in the Western culture, we find that we always need to be “doing” something and dismiss the act to simply “be”. We are human BEings after all!
Adopting a practice to increase balance and harmony doesn’t have to be difficult. A beautiful and powerful tool for relaxing the mind, body and soul is through restorative yoga. Restorative yoga is a gentle, therapeutic and passive style of yoga that activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for the “rest and digest” phase of the body. Activating the parasympathetic nervous system allows for a deeper sense of relaxation, healing and (you guessed it) restoration. The poses in restorative yoga are held for a minimum of 5 minutes to allow the parasympathetic nervous system to turn on. Due to its passive and gentle poses, restorative yoga is accessible to all bodies and all levels. When we allow ample time, space and stillness for the body to hum into its natural rhythm, we allow in healing and harmony. 
Some of the benefits can include: 

• Relaxes your mind and body
• Soothes the nervous system 
• Reduces stress and anxiety 
• Improves sleep
• Aides in healing on the emotional and physical levels
• Boosts the immune system 
• Allows for stillness of the mind 

Some Postures Include: 
Supta baddha konasana 
Materials: 3 pillows or 1 bolster and 2 blocks 

1. Sitting on the mat or floor, place a pillow behind you with the short end at the base of your spine. 
2. Bring the soles of your feet together and knees out to the sides, this is called supta baddha konasana (otherwise known as butterfly) 
3. Place  2 pillows or 2 blocks underneath each knee for support 
4. Lay back onto the pillow behind you 
5. Rest here for at least 5 minutes while you allow the body to soften while focusing on belly breathing 

Supported Child’s pose 
Materials:1 pillow or 1 bolster 

1. Sitting with you knees on the mat, bring your knees a little wider than hips width distance apart, the toes can be touching if this is available 
2. Bring the pillow in between the legs so the short end is placed against the pelvis 
3. Fold forward, bringin the chest onto the pillow and allow the hands to rest on the side of the body. The forehead can be placed on the pillow or resting one cheek on the side (ensuring you switch halfway through for balance) 
4. Rest here for at least 5 minutes and allow the heart to melt into the pillow and the hips to become heavy as you welcome in restoration 

Supported Supine Twist 
Materials: 2 pillows 

1. Lay with your back on the floor or mat and place 2 pillows stacked upon each other on one side of the body 
2. Bring one leg into the chest, bending the knee and squeezing it into the chest 
3. Use the opposite arm to place the hand on the thigh or knee (if your left knee if up then use you right hand and vise versa) and gently guide the knee to the opposite side of the mat until it lands on the stacked pillows 

*If two pillows is not enough then stack more on top to provide support for the leg 

1. Allow the outside arm to come out long and wide 
2. Rest here for at least 3 minutes as you allow the body to detox and release with the support of a twist, remember to continue deep breathing
   
   
   

Restorative Classes DAILY at Gilbert Yoga (Spring 2022):
Tuesday 730-840pm Heather Lynn
Wednesday 6-710pm Amber Jaworski
Friday 12-110pm Gulsim Temirbolatova
Saturday 9-1010am Amber Renae
Sunday 430-540pm Jen Berg

Sources: 

1. https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-by-benefit/stress/yoga-poses-for-stress-relief/?utm_campaign=YOG%20-%20NL&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=203465702&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--rVNtJV8k6zNzOuyGEtldGbovVXlIVacZwyJ10mZJrLUgj3wV37SwodK08_zwPwR7rX89O49Ezi2W0sKuVaw2_hRstYA&utm_content=203465702&utm_source=hs_emai
2. https://www.simplypsychology.org/parasympathetic-nervous-system.html
3. https://www.healthline.com/health/restorative-yoga-poses#about-restorative-yoga