What IS Restorative Yoga?

                            

I am trying to entice people to sign up for the Restorative Yoga workshop scheduled for Sunday, December 18, 2011 from 11am to 1pm... and I thought that you might not know what restorative yoga is... so these are my notes from the book by the respected yoga teacher, Judith Lasater entitled "Relax and Renew."

Restorative yoga is an antidote to stress. Taking time each day to relax and renew is essential to living well. When practice regularly, these restorative yoga poses will help you heal from the effects of chronic stress in a little as five minutes a day.

Anthropologists tell us the body that experiences stress hasn't changed much for millions of years... much of the stress is from a life lived on overload. It used to be that the word "stress" was used chiefly by physiologist who measured its effect in laboratories, but not so any longer. The effects of stress have reached epidemic proportions and stress related diseases have become a medical speciality.

The effects of stress may present themselves during milestone events, such as marriage, birth of a child, getting a new job, the death of a loved one.... but other times, it is the little things... like juggling the responsibilities of job and family... stress is often accompanied by one or more negative effects: impatience, frustration, irritation, anger, muscle tension, headaches, indigestion or constipation. So... stress can make you sick... our bodies have forgotten how to relax... they are always in flight or fight mode... when we live like this our body's capacity to heal itself is compromised.

So... the antidote to stress is relaxation. To relax is to REST DEEPLY... this rest is different than sleep. Relaxation is a state in which there is no movement, no effort and the brain is quiet.

Restorative yoga poses is "active relaxation"... by supporting the body with props we alternately stimulate and relax the body to move towards balance. Restorative yoga poses help in several ways:

1. Props provide a supportive environment for total relaxation

2. The restorative sequence is designed to move the spine in all directions

3. A restorative practice that includes an inverted pose helps reverse the
effects of gravity...because we stand or sit most of the day, blood and
lymph fluid accumulate in the lower extremities... so putting our legs up
the wall, for example, helps the fluids return to the upper body, which
helps the heart function better

4. Restorative yoga alternately stimulates and soothes the organs... for example
by closing the abdomen with a forward bend and then opening it with a
backbend, the abdominal organs are squeezed, forcing the blood out and
then opened, so that fresh blood returns to soak the organs

Restorative yoga is experienced as gentle poses, but it is easy to forget how POWERFUL they can be. Restorative poses are poses of BEING rather than DOING.

The less time you think you have for spending time in relaxation, the more you need to do it.

Restorative yoga places minimal metabolic demand on you... they ADD to your energy rather than SUBTRACT from it.

I hope you consider taking the workshop... I don't think you will regret it. Remember there is a limit of 10. We will end the workshop with Yoga Nidra.