What is Restorative yoga

Restorative yoga is a gentle and nurturing style of yoga that focuses on opening and calming the mind and body through passive stretching, meditation and deep breathing. It is a practice of active rest, where the body is fully supported so the mind, muscles and nervous system can begin to soften.

The focus is not on pushing, stretching deeply or trying to achieve a pose.

The focus is comfort, support and rest.

What Is Active Rest?

Active rest means choosing to rest on purpose.

It is not about doing nothing. It is about creating the right conditions for the body to feel safe enough to relax.

In Restorative Yoga, active rest is supported through:

• comfortable poses

• supportive props

• slow breathing

• stillness

• gentle awareness

• allowing the body to soften

  
  

Many of us spend so much time doing, thinking, planning and pushing through that rest does not always come naturally.

Restorative Yoga gives the body and mind a space to practise slowing down.

A Brief History of Restorative Yoga

Restorative Yoga developed from the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar, who used props and modifications to make yoga more accessible for students with injury, illness or limited flexibility.

It was later popularised by Judith Lasater, a student of Iyengar, and has continued to be developed by teachers around the world, including Donna Farhi and Ana Davis.

How Does Restorative Yoga Work?

Each pose is set up as comfortably as possible using props such as bolsters, blocks and blankets and you work to find that delicious feeling of a subtle stretch. Once you find that comfortable place in the pose where you can relax you soften into the pose for anywhere between 3 to 20 minutes or more. Allowing the body to completely surrender into the gentle stretch.

Restorative yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, slows the heart rate, regulates the blood pressure and relaxes the body. It is believed to boost the immune system and accelerate the body’s natural healing process. 

It is considered particularly beneficial for those suffering from 

• Anxiety

• Insomnia

• Depression

• Poor Circulation

• Digestive Problems

• Stress Related Conditions

Prepare yourself for deep relaxation when you attend a restorative class. At the end of the session, your body feels open and refreshed, your mind feels calm and blissful. 

“..the poses are practiced with body in a deliberately mild or graduated version of the classic pose, focusing less on stretching the muscles and more on releasing tension and increasing the circulation of blood to key organs and glands.

In a restorative posture that has been well propped one feels absolutely comfortable with no intense stretching sensations. Don’t mistake this however for a mild result. It is the graduated nature of the posture that will allow you to stay for much longer periods than you might normally if you were practicing a posture more actively.

This longer stay allows key organs and glands to become drenched with revitalizing blood. Because the action reaches deep into the nervous system, the practice of these postures can dismantle chronic tension patterns, improve immune function, and bring the body and mind back to their original state of equilibrium.”

- Donna Farhi