What is Restorative Yoga?
By Julia Clarke
What is Restorative Yoga? This restful practices uses supported positions to invoke deep relaxation to settle your mind, relieve stress and improve emotional wellbeing
In recent years, Restorative Yoga has emerged as one of the most popular styles of yoga. Known for its capacity to induce deep states of relaxation, Restorative Yoga seems to be becoming increasingly valued as we experience ever-rising levels of stress. So what is Restorative Yoga exactly, and how can it benefit you?
What is Restorative Yoga?
Instead of the fluid movements and standing poses that characterize other popular styles like Vinyasa and Ashtanga Yoga, Restorative Yoga is a practice of deep relaxation, implementing supported poses that induce very gentle stretching and guided meditation, all designed to combat stress.
Restorative Yoga trades productivity for receptivity and is characterized by sustained periods spent in relaxing, reclining poses using lots of props like bolsters and blankets. A Restorative Yoga class might begin with 20 minutes spent lying down with a pillow under your knees and include gentle reclining twists, side bends and back bends where your body is propped up on a bolster. Don’t expect to stand up or get out of breath in this practice.
While it may not hold the same aesthetic or calorie-busting appeal as more vigorous forms of yoga, Restorative Yoga appears to offer some serious health benefits when it comes to combatting the effects of stress.
How does Restorative Yoga work?
We live in a society that values upward mobility, action and results. Rest and recovery are neither held in high regard nor commonly practiced. Our bodies are learning to adapt to the pressures of this fast-paced, modern life with increasingly high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline that are fueling an epidemic of obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, depression, anxiety and insomnia.
Restorative Yoga suppresses your sympathetic nervous system, sometimes referred to as “the stress response,” and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest, digestion, energy conservation and slowing your heart rate. Conscious rest, such as is practiced in Restorative Yoga, activates the alpha and theta brain wave states, which are indicated with lowering stress, decreasing anxiety, reducing symptoms depression, and improving creative thinking.
Restorative Yoga uses supported positions to invoke deep relaxation to settle your mind, relieve stress and pain and improve emotional wellbeing, and best of all, people are realizing how much they need this. In fact, an encouraging 2021 study revealed Restorative Yoga to be the third most popular style of yoga after Hatha and Vinyasa styles.
Because of its gentle nature and the use of props, anyone can do Restorative Yoga regardless of age, mobility or experience and reap the benefits straight away. Consider adding this practice to your weekly routine for instant results.
Julia Clarke is leading our April 2025 200hr Restorative Yoga Teacher Training, for more information about our training is available here.
