Benefits of Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga helps activate the relaxation response
Imagine if you had a reset button. Pressing it would achieve the desired effect—an overall sense of calm and relaxation. Better still, the human reset button could help sleep, digestion and immune function, and it could be engaged whenever you felt stressed, agitated or tired. Well, there is such a button of sorts, it’s called Restorative Yoga and—according to Bo Forbes, a Boston-based therapeutic yoga teacher, psychologist, and the author of Yoga for Emotional Balance (Shambhala)—it can help activate the relaxation response in our minds and bodies.
“Restorative Yoga is like an embodied meditation,” she says. And the body benefits are a lot like that desired reset button: “Some studies show that it can help reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol which, in elevated levels, is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, weight gain and chronic stress.”
Although relaxing, a restorative practice is an active one that utilizes props to enhance the desired efficacy. As with other forms of yoga, Restorative utilizes the shape of the physical body and concentrates on the breath for desired results. For example, if you are feeling physically tired, consider face up postures (supported relaxation pose; supported butterfly). They can enhance blood flow to the chest area and digestive track, while alleviating stress. Face down postures are recommended for when the body is feeling agitated physically. Try supported reclining twist or face down relaxation with a blanket, which can help regulate the nervous system and calm the gut.
Nasal breathing can change the mind and calm the nervous system. Forbes suggests an elongated exhale to calm the mind and heart. An equal balance of inhale to exhale is helpful for harmonizing the nervous system.
Of all the props, the eye pillow is a gold star. Having one “simulates the oculocardiac reflex and its light pressure slows the heart rate,” says Forbes. This effect can enhance all-over relaxation.
Note: For detailed pose and prop instruction, sign up for Bo Forbes’ email at boforbes.com. The site also has a calendar of her workshops offered worldwide.