All forms of yoga include an element of stillness. However, Restorative Yoga is the most intensely focussed on stillness. In some ways, this form of yoga is more about the mind than it is about the body.
Restorative Yoga, as the name suggests, is highly restorative. If you’re feeling run down, burnt out, stressed, anxious, or sick of the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions, this kind of yoga is a fantastic option. Restorative Yoga is particularly relaxing and is very effective for reducing stress because it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which slows your heart rate and calms your body, rather than your autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for your flight-or-fight responses and is connected with anxiety and stress. This helps your body regulate its circulation and circadian rhythms (which is great if getting a restful night’s sleep is a struggle for you) and gives your immune system a chance to recover from stress and fatigue.
Restorative Yoga is also likely to be perfect for you if you’ve got chronic pain as it uses lots of props to ensure every part of each class is comfortable and moulded to your body. In fact, we encourage you to use props in all our classes — they’re just even more integral to our Restorative Yoga classes.
When you practice Restorative Yoga with us, you’ll be working to calm and align your mind and body, be wholly present, and achieve a sense of stillness and peace. Our classes are a sanctuary of calm in a sometimes turbulent sea. Most people who practice Restorative Yoga notice a significant improvement in the quality of their sleep, whether or not they’d previously identified sleep as a challenge. And if you find yourself continuously comparing yourself to others, then this is definitely the kind of yoga for you. Restorative Yoga has a very internal focus so there’s no pressure to be the best or out-perform any other students.