What is Restorative Yoga?
A restorative yoga sequence is made up of usually only about five or six poses. These poses are often supported by props that allow you to completely relax into the given stretch. All poses are held for 5-10 minutes and all you do while holding the pose is breathe deeply and relax.
Restorative yoga poses include very gentle twists, seated forward folds, and gently supported backbends.
If you’re attending a restorative yoga class, your teacher will likely go around the class to adjust postures and help students go deeper into the pose. This way, you are shown that your body can move comfortably in ways that it doesn’t normally move.
It can feel especially challenging for the mind that is always active and wandering to be still and to be ok with not doing anything. It also challenges the body as you’ll be sitting in a pose for a long time without any movement, which might not sound like a big challenge, but it is.
Having a restorative practice has proven health benefits as well. In fact, several studies have shown that it can lead to significant reductions in blood pressure, most likely thanks to its ability to calm stress.
Those are some restorative yoga benefits that we can all enjoy a little more of!
Most of us are living a high-intensity life and always juggling a lot of activities. This is too much for what our bodies were made for and can account for a lot of the aches, pains, and sickness you may be experiencing in your day-to-day life.
Maybe the most beneficial exercise for you is the one that lets you experience the state of ‘not-doing’.
Of course, there’s no need to give up the blood-pumping exercises that make your body and mind feel good, but trying to incorporate a slowed-down activity is good for every single person on earth!
You will definitely feel the calming effects of having a quieter practice and you might find yourself wanting more of this kind of yoga.