Restorative Yoga, a teachers perspective
I have been offering classes and one to one sessions in Restorative Yoga for maybe 7 years now. I was lucky enough to spend some years assisting Anna Ashby, who is a leading light of this practice in this country. There is nothing like learning from someone with such sublime experience of this way of offering support. I never cease to marvel at the effect this way of working has on people. Usually the practice takes place on the ground with each posture being experienced for a long time. A class might only consist of 4 to 6 postures. The art is to completely support the body with bolsters, blankets and any props that assist the body in deeply settling, since it need make no effort in having to maintain itself in gravity. Rather we let gravity do the work, allowing our bodies to ground and release. This is a practice originally developed by Iyengar but like most Yoga, everything unfolds more over time. Depending on the teacher, anyone attending a class might also experience breath practice and some meditation and even some very soft music to help settle the mind.
It works like this. During much of our active hours our active nervous system (sympathetic) is engaged, which helps us to navigate our worlds and respond to situations. For many of us this nervous system is over active, creating distress and anxiety. When the body is allowed to rest in this supported way for a period of time, the relaxation mode of the body ( parasympathetic nervous system) becomes prioritised and we start to unknit and unwind into a much more spacious experience. It’s not a practice to encourage sleep, although that might happen, rather it opens us up so our worlds are softer and more vibrant. At the Vishuddha centre we offer these opportunities in the evening, so those who come can take this feeling into their nights. It is also a practice that builds. The more people participate, the more body and mind becomes acclimatised and the more we develop a taste for effortless ease.
I confess when i first encountered Restorative Yoga, i thought it wasn’t yoga. I was so taken by the need for action. It took me some time to really get into doing nothing. These days if i am feeling physically or mentally at odds, i can put myself into a restorative posture, which really fails to refresh me. Many active yogis can apply to much force in their active practice. This kind of much quieter practice can really help even advanced practitioners to fine tune their own practice, so that effort doesn’t equate to a force which can be injurious. It also makes Yoga accessible to the more physically challenged, where the teacher tailors the way a person’s body is supported, to their own particular needs.
Four of the Vishuddha teachers in rotation are offering Restorative Yoga on a Friday night. I suggest you come and sample the practice. You don’t need to have done yoga to join in. The atmosphere is almost cathedral like, with dimmed lights and our bodies settled comfortably on the floor. It always feels that when we let go like this, their is a kind of benevolence available that is so very abundant.
Derek Elliott
