Welcome to Lunar Illuminations! In this edition of our blog, we’re gonna start diving in a little bit more to some of the styles of yoga classes offered at Yoga Luna, as well as their background, basics, and benefits. After all, there are so many different styles and lineages of yoga classes offered these days that it can be a bit overwhelming to choose! In this edition we dive into Restorative Yoga. Enjoy!

A background on restorative yoga practice

Yoga as a practice and philosophy is both broad and ancient, with roots stretching back as far as 3,000 years. Yoga classes and practices can include anything from vigorous to gentle movement, chanting to meditation and stillness, all aimed at helping to quiet and still the mind and at bringing us into integration with ourselves at deeper levels of awareness and being.

So where does Restorative Yoga fit in to this broad menu of yoga practice? Restorative yoga was developed relatively recently (through the 1970s) as a helpful, therapeutic, and much needed counter-balance to the fast pace, stress, and busyness of modern living. Restorative yoga offers the opportunity for deep stillness and comfort in the body, and tools to bring the mind into a complementary healing state of quietude.

What is Restorative Yoga?

Restorative yoga classes include the strategic use of props like blankets, blocks, chairs, and bolsters to support the body in different yoga poses. Each restorative yoga pose is practiced for a number of minutes, and the yoga props help each person to relax more deeply into the shape of the pose, which gives time for deeper layers of held tension to dissolve, which in turn is radically healing in and of itself.

When the body is supported comfortably in restorative yoga poses, the mind can also start to turn inward into the felt sense of the body and breath, and release its habitual thought turnings, leading us into the yogic state of pratyahara (a dis-identification with sensory input) and dharana (concentration, or one-pointed focus). These states are at the heart of authentic yoga practice as they serve to release us from our attachments, narratives, and suffering and connect us to the larger spaciousness of pure awareness.

Benefits of Restorative Yoga

Where do we start? We all know modern living is STRESSFUL, so let’s start there. Most of us are navigating an untold and widely varied amount of stress in our daily lives. This stress, whatever its cause, takes its toll on virtually EVERY system of the body. When we are under stress, our bodies effectively shut down the recovery, maintenance, and building processes of digestion, inflammation management, immune function, healthy respiration, and endocrine balance in favor of the survival response (fight or flight/the sympathetic nervous system response).

When we take the time to rest deeply, to be comfortable, still, and held in a safe environment, our bodies have the chance to switch from survival mode to restoration mode (hence the term, Restorative Yoga). Every system listed above then has the chance to reset and the body naturally shifts back into its native state of healing and recovery (the parasympathetic nervous system).

Breathing shifts to a deeper, slower breath that then supports blood pressure to lower. Digestive functions pick up and start to process our food more effectively, leading to less inflammation, better blood sugar balance, and better elimination (Restorative yoga has even been proven effective for helping to manage diabetes). Immune function rebalances in this state of ease and rest, giving our bodies the chance to fight off pathogens more effectively. Research shows that this nervous system shift also allows our bodies to make less cortisol and to rebalance our other hormones, leading to an overall improved sense of wellbeing and reduced inflammation. Thus, restorative yoga can also be very helpful for chronic pain conditions, as well as symptoms of peri-menopause like hot flashes. Spending time in this deeply relaxed state can also help improve sleep, another necessary pillar of health that suffers when our stress load is high. Restorative Yoga is also suitable and beneficial to practice during pregnancy, when all these functions of the body are working for two.

In the mental realm, the effects of restorative yoga are just as healing and beneficial. Due to the decrease of cortisol mentioned above, mental health symptoms like anxiety and depression can also improve. These mental health symptoms are also greatly affected by sleep and digestion, so our mental health benefits greatly when we are better rested and our digestive system is functioning well. Basically, if we do something that benefits our bodies this dramatically, all of those benefits will inevitably flow upstream to improve state of mind as well.

practicing restorative yoga: restorative yoga poses for beginners and experienced yogis alike

Although many restorative yoga poses involve lots of props, there are several that you can do on your own at home with very few props at all. Here are 2 simple but powerful restorative yoga poses that we like to use. They can be done at any time of day, although we recommend waiting an hour or so after eating before doing restorative yoga poses that involve raising your legs above your hips (see legs up the wall/legs on a chair below).

Crocodile Pose (Makarasana): This one can be done lying on your stomach on the floor (or bed) and resting your forehead on your hands. If your lower back is uncomfortable here, you can also rest with a pillow lengthwise under your torso, giving a little lift so your lower back can lengthen. This pose supports a beneficial shift in breathing and can be deeply quieting for the mind. Rest for 2 to 10 minutes.

Legs up the Wall Pose/Legs on a Chair: This pose can be practiced with your legs resting up the wall, or on a chair. If resting with your legs up the wall, feel free to keep your hips several inches away from the base of the wall so your hamstrings are comfortable. If you choose to use a chair, set up wherever you like and rest so the chair meets you just behind your knees. An extra nice option here is to use a strap or belt to help keep your legs aligned parallel. It can also be nice to place a folded blanket under your hips for extra padding. This pose brings the benefits of inversion into your restorative yoga practice, and can help to relieve jet lag, restore an easy belly breath, lower blood pressure, and relieve low back pain. Rest here 5 to 20 minutes. Ask your doctor about this one if you have glaucoma or any other condition involving pressure in your eyes.

Restorative yoga? Yes Please!

Hopefully this dive has given you some valuable information about why and how to practice restorative yoga. Although it can be practiced at home quite nicely with minimal props, it can be extra luscious and therapeutic to practice in a yoga studio with an experienced teacher. This offers the benefits of extra props, and a helpful eye on any extra support or modifications that may be needed. As of this writing, Yoga Luna offers Restorative Yoga Class on Thursdays, from 5:30-6:30 PM. We would love to welcome you into this inclusive, healing, and spacious practice.

Namaste (The Light in me honors the Light in you)