Mindful meditation at its best with the perks of feeling at your relaxed best !!
Restorative yoga can bring us to a place where we feel completely relaxed. A place where we remember what it is like to feel comfortable in our own skin, where the currents of our minds no longer rule our reactions, and we feel beyond doubt, that everything is OK. After a restorative yoga class we are vibrant in our true nature I think…….
Below are five reasons why this more gentle, yin-energy practice leads us to a profound feeling of connectedness.
Increase Flexibility
Restorative yoga consists of long, supported poses, helping the body to soften, stretch, and relax. However, restorative yoga should not be seen as a simple stretching class. The flexibility found in a restorative practice comes from releasing the tension habitually held in the body. This, in turn, fortifies a profound feeling of relaxation felt in the mind, body, and soul.
Relax the Body and Balance the Nervous System
After a restorative class, you will leave feeling blissfully relaxed and open. The power behind this magic actually resides in your own nervous system. During the class our breath becomes softer, minds stiller, and bodies more supple, activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) – also often called, the rest-and-digest system. Once this system is activated, we are able to take our bodies away from where we may be stuck, in the fight or flight response.
Due to the effects, demands, and challenges of our fast-paced society, health and wellness professionals tells us we need to be engaging in an activity everyday that we find relaxing. This could be going for a walk in nature, taking an aromatic bath, or attending a restorative yoga class that allows you to stop, breathe, and reflect.
Find Where you Hold Stress
Reflection in a key element in restorative yoga. As our bodies start to relax, we can become conscious of where we habitually hold tension. Common places include; the shoulders, the jaw, the hips, behind the eyes, and the neck. Understanding the body in this way deepens the connection between our inner and outer worlds. In this context, the body can be seen as a direct reflection of our inner landscape; any tension found in the body, is representative of an internal tension or resistance to something in our lives. Our bodies hold many profound messages, available to us when we take the time to slow down and listen.
Learn What Lies Underneath (Still the Mind)
As well as reflecting on the physical state of our bodies, restorative yoga also gives us the opportunity to reflect on the state of our minds. In class there are little to no distractions. As you are guided to explore inwards, it is useful to notice the quality of your thoughts. Perhaps you begin to become aware of patterns or repetitions that are subconsciously responsible for your reactions or decisions.
Discover Meditation
Moving through the awareness of our body and our minds, we can then access a meditative state. Contrary to popular belief, this does not mean emptying the mind. Instead it is the cultivation of observer consciousness, a state in which we can watch our thoughts, feelings, and sensations, without judgement or in the contact of a story we have told ourselves about our own lives. Once in the role of the observer, we see ourselves outside of our own patterns, and learn to understand and redefine who we really are, and who we want to become.
Restorative yoga is a powerful practice that should be on everyone’s agenda. No yoga experience need for this tonic of a class….
If you are interested in this yoga style, we have two weekly classes Monday’s 8.15pm & Fridays at 7.30pm we also an upcoming training where we will explore all these concepts, and more, in depth, experiencing for yourself the magic of slowing down….
Big Love xxxx
