Restorative Yoga Poses

Restorative yoga poses allow you to relax deeply and restore your body to a balanced state. While stimulating the quieting systems in your body, they inhibit the activating systems, or the parts of the nervous system that prepare you for action. The practice of restorative yoga revolves around eight conditions, which include muscle release, comfort, warm skin, inverted or reclined position, dim light or darkness, pressure on the bones around your eyes and holding the pose for an adequate length of time. These conditions induce relaxation, according to Roger Cole's article "Conditions for Calm" in Yoga Journal. Restorative poses typically require supportive aids, such as bolsters, blocks and blankets.

  1. Relaxation

    • After a stressful day in the office, perform the Child’s pose, or Balasana, to relax your body and calm your mind. Kneel on the mat, touching your big toes. Slowly lower yourself to a sitting position on your knees. Spread your knees to hip-width distance apart. On the exhalation, bend forward and sink your trunk into your thighs. Place your forehead gently on the floor, raising the bottom of your skull away from the top of your neck. Rest your arms by your sides, turning your palms up and releasing your shoulders. Hold the pose for at least 30 seconds and up to three minutes. To release the pose, lengthen your upper body first. Inhale and lift your body, sinking your tailbone into your pelvis.

    Muscle Release

    • In the Legs-Up-the-Wall pose, gentle stretching for minutes at a time and the use of a prop will enable you to relax your muscles. Place a round bolster about 5 to 6 inches away from a wall. Perch sideways on the right end of the bolster and lean your right side against the wall for support. On the exhalation, lift both legs up against the wall and drape your body over the bolster. Gently lower your shoulders, head and arms to the floor. Turn your palms up. Allow your sit-bones to sink into the area between the wall and the bolster. By placing a bolster between your legs and the wall, you can support your legs at a slight angle to the wall, so you can keep your legs straight without tension. Hold the pose from five to 15 minutes.

    Opening the Body

    • The Supported Bound-Angle pose opens your pelvis, abdomen and chest with safety and can help you if you have breathing difficulties or high blood pressure, according to Judith Hanson Lasater’s book “Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times.” You’ll need a bolster, four long-roll blankets, a sandbag and a double-fold blanket. Sit before the short end of the bolster and slowly back on it. Put a double-fold blanket under your neck and head. Your trunk should rest at a 45-degree angle to the ground. Bend your knees, drawing your feet together. Allow your knees to lower to your sides. Place a long-roll blanket under your right and left thighs. Put a sandbag on top of your feet to hold them in place. Extend your arms to your sides and put a long-roll blanket under each arm. With your arms, legs, head and neck supported, you should feel as if you’re floating. Cover your eyes with an eye bag. Hold the pose for 10 to 15 minutes.

    The Environment

    • Create a warm and softly lit environment to practice restorative yoga. If your skin is too cold, it sets off a mechanism in the body that raises your blood pressure. If your skin is warm, it triggers your anterior hypothalamus, which will inhibit your nervous system from revving up. Your heartbeat will slow down and your body will shift into a more tranquil mode, according to Cole. Similarly, low light or an eye covering will also stimulate your anterior hypothalamus and help you to relax.