This week is the last week of our current block of courses at Emma’s Yoga Hut. And it is a restorative week!
But, why do we do restorative yoga? Is it just because we like having a bit of a snooze under a blanket? Well, that part of it is nice, but in reality restorative yoga has huge benefits for our body, mind and soul.
Restorative yoga practice gives us a sense of returning to what should be our natural state; a feeling of being fully relaxed, the feeling of your body being so comfortable you barely even notice it anymore. With that comes that gorgeous feeling of deep relaxation, like you are watching everything from afar with a contented little smile, knowing everything is okay, exactly as it is right now. You can fully feel that life is what it is, and know that to be true.
Yoga is often translated to mean “yoke” i.e. to experience union. In the case of restorative yoga we can yoke body to breath, mind to breath, body to mind. We can begin to feel that we are not separate from the world around us, that we are not different to everyone else and that as such we are a beautiful integrated part of everything, so we can yoke ourselves to the world around us! Yoga has a lot to say on the illusion of separation!
Restorative yoga is a gorgeous way of entering a state of profound relaxation; of being in a place where we truly realise that sometimes by resting our body in the now - by doing nothing – we experience one of the most healing and powerful yoga practices of all.
Taking time out to practice restorative yoga, even occasionally, can help to even out our busy lifestyles. It is so effective in calming our central nervous system that it can deeply support helping to heal stress-related physical and emotional issues.
In restorative yoga class we stay in poses for up to 6 minutes at a time using yoga props like bolsters, blankets and blocks which completely support the body in the yoga poses. There is no muscular effort involved so restorative yoga is not only great for anyone with an existing yoga practice, but it is also accessible and very helpful if you are low on energy, suffer from CFS, ME, long Covid or similar, are chronically ill or recovering from injury. It is also incredibly useful add on to your toolkit if you are working on living with anxiety and depression.
Even though it might look like not a lot is happening to the body in a restorative class it is actually one of the best ways of increasing our flexibility! The softening and relaxing in long holds allows the muscles and fascia to fully release into each pose, which does more than any dynamic warrior based sequence to improve our range of movement and release pain caused by tension in held in the body. All of this helps us to activate the parasympathetic nervous system through the tend and befriend (i.e. taking care of ourselves!) pathway into the rest and digest state. This helps combat the rushing, doing, overwhelmed state that we can sometimes find ourselves in.
Not only all of the above, but as we grow still and soft in the class we create the space to tune into our natural qualities of compassion and understanding of others and, possibly more importantly for a lot of people, ourselves too. A bit of loving compassion for yourself goes a long way.
Here is a handy list of what makes restorative so good for us!
Deeply relaxes your body
Stills a over-busy mind
Releases muscular tension which in turn improves mobility and flexibility
Improves our capacity for healing and balancing
Balances the nervous system
Boosts the immune system
Develops qualities of compassion and understanding toward others and self.
So. That is what this weeks classes will do, it might LOOK like we are taking a rest on a big cushion covered with a blanket, but you are doing some very valuable work for your body, mind and soul. Don’t let anyone tell you that being comfortably draped over a bolster with a fluffy blanket isn’t excellent exercise!
Looking forward to seeing you on the mat!
Oh, and if you love the sound of restorative yoga then don’t forget, Super Soothing Sundays at Emma’s Yoga Hut are a whole 90 minutes of restorative yoga and guided meditation!
With love,
Emma x
(Emma runs Emma’s Yoga Hut in Earley. A tiny garden studio for small group yoga tuition. She is a yoga student and yoga teacher and has practiced yoga for 25 years. She trained with the Traditional Yoga Association right here in Reading between 2016 and 2018 to achieve her 500 hour yoga teaching accreditation. She has additional teaching qualifications in Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra which she subsequently undertook online during the great lockdown of 2020. Emma tries her best to practice yoga every day and particularly loves a spot of restorative yoga when she is tired or achey!)
Comments