What we rest on is doing the work, rather than our bodies so it is a passive style of yoga rather than an active stretching style of yoga. The use of cushions, blankets and yoga props such as a bolster and bricks (if you have them), even a chair or the wall ensure that we can rest without effort in gentle yoga positions. Restorative yoga brings your body to a place of rest in a very supportive way. This class is about enabling you to let go of physical and mental stress and encourage your sympathetic nervous system (fight, flight freeze) to dial down and your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) to dial up - promoting balance and helping you to reset. You can even choose to drift off to sleep.
You are welcome to drift in and out, and enjoy a period of rest with my support in the background. You can follow all of my guidance and be comfortably, happily aware of your body and mind at rest. As a minimum you need a comfortable place to lie down – this could be on a bed or sofa or on the floor with cushions and blankets. If you find it hard to switch off this class is for you.Īnyone can enjoy this class. Yoga for Deep Rest classes aim to support your body to learn to relax fully, this helps the body and mind to become familiar with relaxation and thus over time the body may settle to sleep more easily. Achieving this, however can be very challenging for most of us, especially if you find it hard to relax, to fall asleep or to stay asleep.