What is Restorative Yoga?

When I found restorative yoga a few years ago I discovered the very best therapy for relieving stress. Whenever I have a particularly hard day or don’t feel like doing a regular yoga practice, I sink into a restorative yoga pose and just let everything go.  After lying in complete repose for ten or fifteen minutes, such as reclining bound angle pose (shown in photo), I seldom want to come out of it because I’m so deliciously absorbed in my own conscious relaxation that nothing else matters. Together with deep breathing and a sense of grounding, there’s no better antidote to healing both the body and the soul.

What is restorative yoga, anyway?

It’s a therapeutic style of yoga that uses props such as blankets, bolsters, pillows, blocks, sandbags, straps and eye pillows to create a nurturing and supportive environment for total relaxation.  Some people may find that restorative yoga takes too much time to set up, but the therapeutic benefits are enormous and it’s worth the effort, it really is. By using these various props, you can lie back effortlessly into poses that will soothe your nervous system, release tension, quiet the mind, and ease your body into a state of balance.

I invite you to discover the healing qualities of restorative yoga.  Read more about restorative yoga in this article by Yoga Journal.