Involving piles of blankets, eye pillows and bolsters, it’s not surprising that Restorative Yoga is sometimes referred to as ‘adult nap time’. Who doesn’t love the idea of recapturing a time from childhood when we got tucked in with care and were so free of responsibility and busyness that we could happily doze during the day?
What I don’t love about labeling Restorative Yoga in this way is the implication that it’s somehow a lesser practice and (if I’m going to be really pedantic) that it involves sleeping. Yes, you might drop off in a Restorative class but that’s definitely not the intention!
This is where I should confess that I used to dismiss Restorative as a waste of good mat time. My Yoga was a dynamic, sweaty affair - 90 minutes a few times a week that felt quite separate from the rest of my life. I had no time or inclination to lie on a bolster for extended periods of time; it felt lazy and unproductive. How would I progress my practice by doing nothing? The idea of spending so much time with just my mind for company was also pretty terrifying.
So, how did I end up teaching and advocating Restorative Yoga?
I’m eternally grateful to Paula Hines for her wonderful introduction to the practice during my Yoga Teacher Training. It wasn’t until Paula explained the science behind Restorative yoga that I understood the fascinating interplay between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. I realised then that the practice isn’t just a luxury for the time-rich or a cop-out for lazy yogis but a necessity for us all. As a method of bringing our bodies and minds back into balance and counteracting the chronic effects of persistent stress and dis-ease, it should be part of any varied ‘diet’ of yoga. In fact, imagine yoga was actually food; in the same way that always eating the same thing would deprive us of important nutrients, exclusively practising the same class, style or limb of Yoga can rob us of the ability to fully and beneficially experience the practice in its wholeness.
Today, my Yoga feels much richer, more nutritious. I still love the flow of Vinyasa but, these days, it’s complemented by softer, slower forms of movement and supported by pranayama and meditation. Off the mat, I’m much more conscious about how I live my life as well as my relationship to the world and everything in it. I credit much of this change to developing a Restorative yoga practice.
Having time and space to notice and accept what ‘is’ in each moment was my gateway into meditation - a practice I’d resisted for many years because, well, meditation is hard! This, in turn, led to more opportunities for Svadhyaya (self-study). Thanks to spending time on a bolster, I’m more able to observe the subtleties of body and breath and notice when I begin to get tangled up in the past, the future or stories about now. It’s not such a big step to take these learnings off the bolster and apply them while balancing on one leg in Ardha Chandrasana, or experiencing a challenging situation in life.
I could go on, talking about self-compassion and a larger sense of connectedness...but if you’ve never tried Restorative Yoga, why not give it a go yourself? Yes, you might fall asleep but there’s a chance it might open up a whole new perspective on your Yoga practice and even life off the mat!
By Katie Phelps
You can experience 90 minute Restorative classes with Katie from 6 - 7:30pm on Fridays and with Derek from 7:45 - 9:15pm on Mondays.
263 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7HN
