![]() It is not meant to make you sleep (though it can prepare you for better sleep later). Restorative yoga takes you into a state of relaxed awareness. ![]() It allows the natural breath to become very soft and subtle, and soothes the nervous system until it deeply relaxes. It is staying in the postures for this length of time – which means you only do four or five postures in a one-hour class – that helps to passively release chronic muscular tension, and soften and relax the body. The second is that the body is fully supported and comfortable, so that you can let go of tension in your muscles, breath and mind. It takes this long for the nervous system to move out of a frazzled state – the fight-flight-freeze reaction – into a deep relaxation response. The first is holding the body in each position for 12 or more minutes. Two things in particular make restorative yoga very different to other styles of yoga. Props include bolsters, yoga blocks, cushions and blankets. Props are used to support the body, so that it can fully relax and lie in the various positions for 12-15 minutes each, while the muscles are passively stretched. For a start, unlike other yoga, it’s done mostly lying down. Restorative yoga is the most gentle, relaxed and slow type of physical yoga you can do, designed to release muscular and mental tension, calm your nervous system, and ease you into deep relaxation. Yoga teacher Jacqui Gibbons outlines more of the benefits it offers, plus explains a full restorative yoga sequence and suggests the props you need to practise it safely and securely. (After all, the more your bones are supported, the more your muscles can release.) Blocks can be used under your knees in a forward fold, for instance, while a bolster or rolled-up blanket can be placed under your seat during butterfly to ease tight hips.Restorative yoga is a type of yoga that encourages deep relaxation, calm, and better sleep. Another good rule of thumb for deep breathing in a restorative yoga flow is to make your exhales twice as long as your inhales.Īnother tip: Yin yoga is also a great place to make use of props for added support or lengthening. In yin, you’ll breathe from your diaphragm-with every inhale, feel your belly and ribs expand and with every exhale, pull your navel into your spine. However, you should never stretch to the point of pain.īreath is an important component of yin yoga, too, because it gives you something to focus on in the more difficult and uncomfortable postures. You want to push yourself to a point where you feel a deep sensation (known in yogi terms as “comfortable discomfort”) that helps stretch your fascia and ligaments. Avoid fidgeting or moving around as best as you can in order to release fully into the posture. ![]() While you’re in each pose, work to find stillness. Think: butterfly pose, seated forward fold, or frog pose. As for the poses themselves, many yin yoga postures are seated or reclined poses, since they require your muscles to be fully relaxed. The key is holding each pose for an extended length of time, typically for two to five minutes (or even longer!). A yin practitioner is trying to access the deeper tissues, and many of the postures focus on areas that encompass a joint (such as the hips, sacrum, and spine, to name a few).īecause yin yoga is practiced in a non-heated room, it’s easy to do anywhere, anytime. Here, the goal isn’t to move through postures freely-postures could be held for three to five minutes, or even 20 minutes at a time. By holding the various poses, a yin yoga sequence can help restore the healthy flow of Qi in our bodies. "A yin yoga sequence has a very similar effect on our energies as an acupuncture treatment," yin yoga instructor Stefanie Arend previously tells mbg. ![]() By stretching and deepening into poses, we’re opening up any blockages and releasing that energy to flow freely. The practice of yin yoga is based on ancient Chinese philosophies and Taoist principles which believe there are pathways of Qi (energy) that run through our bodies. Because you’re holding poses for a longer period of time than you would in other traditional types of yoga, yin yoga helps you stretch and lengthen those rarely-used tissues while also teaching you how to breathe through discomfort and sit with your thoughts. It’s slower and more meditative, giving you space to turn inward and tune into both your mind and the physical sensations of your body. While “yang” yoga focuses on your muscles, yin yoga targets your deep connective tissues, like your fascia, ligaments, and joints.
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