I have been going to restorative yoga now for a few years and I absolutely love it. I have finally got to the point where I can actually relax at yoga. I know that on the Tuesday nights after yoga, I’m guaranteed a good night’s sleep.
Restorative yoga is a form of yoga that seeks to achieve physical, mental and emotional relaxation with the aid of props. The use of props makes it easier for you to maintain balance while you are stimulating and relaxing your body. While some restorative yoga poses are beneficial to the entire body, others target specific parts of the body, such as the heart or the lungs.
There are also many benefits to restorative yoga. It provides healing for the body and the mind. It is especially helpful when you need to eliminate stress from your daily activities. It can also help you recover from illnesses or overcome emotional depression and anxiety that are caused by traumatic events such as loss of a job, divorce, or death of a loved one.
I have met many wonderful women at this yoga class, each have started doing restorative yoga for different reasons. One of the women that I met resonated with me because when I told her that my dad was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer, she stopped in her tracks. I did not know that her young, beautiful daughter, died from Colon Cancer that spread to her bones. This is why she comes to restorative yoga class. It helps her cope. Having experienced trauma myself in my life, it too, helps me cope. Consistent practice of restorative yoga will make your body less vulnerable to stress-related illnesses too, which is a benefit also.
Restorative yoga poses are similar to yoga poses except that you use props. The poses are performed with the support of the props. Then each restorative yoga pose is held for a few minutes, it can be as long as 8 to 10 minutes. Some of my favorite poses are Legs up a Wall and Recline Butterfly. I also take a blanket with me that covers my body, I find that it helps me relax.
Some of the props that we use are a big bolster, a smaller bolster, 2 blocks, a strap, and a 10 pound sandbag. I bring my own mat and my blanket which the owner of the gym was able to get for us for $5 each, and I love it. The main purpose of the props is to provide support for your body when you are stretching or relaxing.
The instructor that we have is great. Every week, she brings something new to our class. The one evening she gave each of us a valentine shaped rose quartz. In tonight’s class, she was reading an article and decided to share it with us and asked us in the our beginning mediation to think of 3 things you are grateful for today, think of 1 thing that made you happy today and think of 1 think that you would change today.
So the 3 things that I am grateful for today are: 1-My Parents. 2- My Dogs (Pets – Baxter, Pippa, and Harper) and 3- My friends.
The 1 thing that made me happy today was that I was able to take my car to the dealership and they fixed the dent in my front wheel without having to send the wheel out. So now my car no longer has the vibration in the steering wheel. They also put that wheel on the back and realigned the car. That made me happy. The other thing was that without realizing it, my inspection had run out yesterday, so they were able to do too.
The 1 thing that I would change would probably be how I did things at work today. Some days I just don’t feel productive at that job, so I would probably change my approach to be more productive.
