Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga is a practice that is all about slowing down and opening your body.  When you take a restorative class, you may hardly move at all, doing just a few postures in the course of an hour.  It is a completely different experience than most contemporary yoga.

During the long holds of restorative yoga, your muscles are allowed to relax deeply.  Poses are supported with blocks, bolsters, and blankets to eliminate unnecessary straining.  It’s a unique feeling because props, rather than your muscles, are used to support your body. 

Prepare yourself for deep relaxation when you attend a restorative class.   If it is chilly, keep your socks and sweatshirt on since you will not be warming up the body the way you would be in a regular class.  After you are set up in a pose with all your props, you will hold the pose for an extended period, often up to ten or twenty minutes.  At the end of the session, your body feels open and refreshed.

The benefits of Restorative Yoga are HUGE and too many to list here, including:

• better sleep/ less insomnia
• relief from pain – back pain, neck pain, shoulder tension… it all melts away
• less headaches(!!!)

I have done extensive training to teach this type of yoga and I have witnessed how powerful it can be.  I hope you’ll contact me if you have questions!  I offer Restorative Yoga once or twice a month.  The schedule changes each month, so join my mailing list to see current dates.

“We work very hard in our lives, and while we may sleep, we rarely take time to relax. Restorative yoga poses help us learn to rest deeply and completely.”   

Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., _PT