Benefits of Restorative Yoga
Slow down, calm down
Don’t worry, don’t hurry
Trust the process
~A Stoddard
Life is busy. We are all filling our days with work, family commitments, social visits, emails, errands, appointments, chores, exercise, and the rest. We are constantly striving, achieving and ‘doing more’. We are living in a near-constant state of ‘fight or flight’; alert, ready to act or react, and most of us are carrying around a pretty heavy mental load.
Restorative Yoga is all about doing the opposite. About slowing down, switching off and doing less. We use props to support and hold the body in long hold poses so we can rest, recharge & reenergise.
The practice of Restorative Yoga is an antidote for the busy life style that so many of us lead. It allows us to ‘unplug’, relax, and unwind physically and mentally.
Here are some of the benefits that this wonderful practice can offer
Soothing for the Nervous System
Restorative yoga poses encourage deep relaxation, which has a direct calming effect on our nervous system. We hold poses for 10-20 minutes, which stimulates the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). The PNS is responsible for all the activities that take place in the body when we are at rest and is also called rest & digest mode. Restorative poses can actually help support our digestive system - which can be affected by stress.
With the body in ‘relaxation’ mode, the stress response is suppressed and both blood pressure and heart rate lower.
Boosting the Immune System
Stress can wreak havoc on the immune system and prevent the body from fighting off nasties and doing its necessary restoration and repair work. When the Sympathetic Nervous System (responsible for ‘fight or flight’ and the production of cortisol -the stress hormone) is dominant, it suppresses our immunity. If we are subjected to chronic stress it can manifest in the body as illness. Restorative Yoga allows us a physical rest, switching off our stress response and rebalancing the body and immune system.
Body Awareness
The slow nature of this practice gives us time to tune into the body. Our bodies are amazing, intuitive, intelligent - and they know more than we do. Our body is constantly giving us feedback - what it likes, what it doesn’t like, what it craves, where its limits lie, what it needs more of, what it needs less of. But how often do we listen to that feedback? Probably not often enough. Learning to listen and being sensitive to what our body needs can help us to notice the first signs of illness or injury, lower stress levels and improve our mood.
Introduction to mediation and the art of being present
Meditation can seem intimidating if you are new to it. Our minds are busy creating thought all of the time, our internal dialogue is constantly running and our inner chit chat can just seem to get louder and louder. To simplify it, meditation allows us to be quiet and to bring awareness to the breath and to the body in that moment. The extra time we spend in our Restorative yoga poses allows us to practise being present. Each time the mind wanders, we draw it back to the breath, back to the present moment. Each breath we take with full awareness gives our mind a rest, and gives us space from our thoughts.
Ultimate Self Care
We know the saying ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’ and its true. We cannot give the best of ourselves if we haven’t taken the time to recharge and boost our own energy levels. After an hour of deeply relaxing restorative poses you will rediscover a calm, centered, very zen you.