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Yoga Therapy Prescriptions
60 Health Restorative Sequences - DVD
with Laura Hawes
Restorative yoga is an exploration into deep relaxation. Restorative yoga explores the stress that is held in your muscles, connective tissues, organs and glands. Restorative yoga is slow, methodical, and meditative. You can use restorative yoga to get to know yourself piece by piece. To know each piece on the experiential level requires practice. There is a constant tendency to mentally turn away from stress in the body. We do not want to look at it too closely. Our mind is in error when it turns away because there is no danger in the body. The rewards for gently attending to the stress in the body are tremendous. Restorative yoga can keep you firmly on your life long journey to find the deeper answers that are beyond the stress filled mind. The answers you will find will include increased health and well being.
What would happen if we all relaxed deeply? Do you relax deeply? Do you know people who do? How deeply do you relax? Have you ever had your blood pressure drop 5 points below "normal"? How about 10 points or 20 points? Has your breathing slowed to a smooth and regular ten breaths per minute? How about seven or five ? Have you had long periods in your life where you smiled easily and held eye contact comfortably? Were you increasingly more helpful and compassionate towards everyone? Did your body feel better and recover from stress quickly and easily? Did you catch fewer colds etc? If you answered no to any of these questions then there is only one question left. Are you willing to try Restorative Yoga?
Restorative Yoga focuses on deeply relaxing the body while the mind remains alert. Restorative yoga is not sleep. Sleep is often a time where we do not relax deeply. Sleep is often filled with tensions and muscle contractions and dreams of stressful times. Deep relaxation is something different. Deep relaxation is an state of giving up. A state of letting go of the illusion of control. A state of renewal and rejuvenation. Deep relaxation requires no approval, no money, no thought.
Restorative yoga promotes healing and balancing all bodily functions.
Yoga, especially restorative yoga, helps to switch on your Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and switch off your sympathetic nervous system. The PNS calms the body and releases hormones that rebuild and regerate. The PNS lowers the heart rate, blood pressure, allows the immune system to operate more optimally and promotes a balanced endocrine system. The endocrine system becomes imbalanced when the Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is over-stimulated. Stimulating the PNS helps to bring all back in balance. It is believed that if the SNS is over-active for too long, illness pervades. Thus, forms of relaxation, such as yoga and meditation, that help to stimulate the PNS and calm the SNS are generally beneficial for overall body health.
David Spiegel, M.D., author of Living Beyond Limits, reports, "In medicine, we are learning that physical problems, such as high blood pressure and heart disease, can be influenced by psychological interventions, such as relaxation training. Indeed, the Food and Drug Administration issued a report recommending these non-drug approaches as the treatment of choice for milder forms of hypertension. Mind and body are connected and must work together, and this should be a powerful asset in treating medical illness."
The more your body is supported in poses the deeper the sense of relaxation. With props it is easier for the body to get into certain poses, and thus, surrender to the pose. Essential props include (note, not all of these need to be used in every class):
Restorative yoga postures can be practiced at any time. It is a great way to wake up and clear the mind before your day begins. It is also beneficial to practice restorative postures at the end of the day. It can be used to help prepare the body for sleep. Many who practice restorative postures (at any time of the day), find that they sleep better and their energy levels are higher.