Restorative Yoga classes are a special treat that I recommend everyone indulge at least once a week - whether you provide this experience for yourself at home or you allow me to guide you. Restorative practice includes a gentle "warm up" - Moon Salutations, here - and then long rests (not holds) in completely supported asana, sometimes with guided meditation. In the diagram above, the rectangular paddle looking things are blankets placed strategically to support the body for maximum release of muscular effort - you shouldn't even feel as if you have to hold your arms up. Covering the eyes is an added way to trigger the relaxation response and deeper sense withdrawal, or pratyahara. While there isn't a wide variation in poses used for Restorative practice, you'll find you don't miss the variety once you sink into the experience. Your body will bring the novelty - where you feel tightness and release, how the body melts from week to week - and guided meditations will guide your monkey mind into releasing it's grippy little paws for the hour. Leave a comment below about your Restorative Yoga practice this week and be entered into a drawing to receive a guided recording of this class.
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The difference between restorative & any other style of yoga is both intensity of effort and duration in poses. Rather than working with muscular opposition, hugging in, radiating out, spirals, loops, etc you create a space for your body to melt into the pose. The time spent in both preparation and melting can more greatly emphasize the already meditative possibilities in asana practice. It’s useful to warm the body up to the practice with chandra namaskar – moon salutations. At least one practice a week should be restorative. The effects of restorative practice are hormonally supportive, metabolically positive, meditative, stress relieving, rejuvenating and can supercharge your regular practice.
This Mother's Day Weekend we're rocking a strong side-facing flow Moon Salutation to honor the mother within us all - male or female, old or young.
Mothering starts at home, both literally and figuratively. Our social images of mothers and mothering are often about taking care of others, nurturing and making the world a better, kinder, happier place for those we love. Mothering also requires power, fierceness and focus. For Mother's Day, honor your Mother - and the mother within. What does mothering mean to you? What do you need to receive to be your truest self? How can you make that happen? Maybe this class can be a part of giving yourself what you need. Expect to feel stretched, strengthened, balanced and nurtured. Let us know how you feel! |
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