Restorative yoga has the goal of helping people to achieve emotional, mental and physical relaxation by using props. These props allow people to maintain balance more easily while relaxing by stimulating their bodies. There are certain restorative yoga poses that the entire body can benefit from. There are also other poses that are designed to focus on specific areas of the body, such as the lungs or the heart. People who are interested in teaching restorative yoga need to take a restorative yoga teacher course.
Origins
Restorative yoga that is now practiced around the world was created by B.K.S. Iyengar, who is generally considered to be one of the most significant practitioners of yoga. It was Iyengar who came up with the idea to have his students use props in an effort to make their poses more effective. The yoga methods that he taught were eventually given the name Iyengar Yoga. Over time, these teachings became the basis for what we now refer to as restorative yoga. Judith Lasater, a student of Iyengar, is credited with helping to make restorative yoga popular in many areas of the world.
Benefits
The primary benefits of restorative yoga are the healing of the mind and the body that it provides. It can be particularly effective for people who are looking to reduce stress and fatigue. It has also been known to help people recover more quickly from injury and illness. As if that wasn't enough, there are also people who use restorative yoga as a means of coping with anxiety and depression that often result from the death of a loved one, loss of a job and divorce.
The parasympathetic nervous system can be activated by restorative yoga. This allows automatic control of the body. When this happens, the normal nervous system will be resting. At this point, the muscles of the individual become more relaxed. The more a person practices restorative yoga, the less susceptible their body will be to illnesses that are related to stress. It can help a person to achieve optimal health.
Props
As mentioned earlier, props are necessary for a person to perform restorative yoga correctly. As far as the specific props that are used, it depends on what specific pose you are trying to perform. Blocks, chairs, pillows, straps and blankets are all commonly used in restorative yoga. The primary purpose for these props is to give support to a person's body as they are relaxing or stretching. Therefore, a person must make sure that the props that he or she is using are the right size for their body. One size does not fit all. Even a prop that is half an inch too big or small can result in discomfort and a lack of concentration during a pose.
Teaching Restorative Yoga
People who want to start a career as a restorative yoga teacher must first become certified. The following things are usually part of the curriculum in most classes to become a restorative yoga teacher:
- The dynamic use of props
- How to promote healing by meditating
- Alignment to support optimal energy flow to all of the body's systems
- How to deal with emotional releases and responses during practice
- How to make poses have the most therapeutic benefit
- The central nervous system's role in the relaxation response
Origins
Restorative yoga that is now practiced around the world was created by B.K.S. Iyengar, who is generally considered to be one of the most significant practitioners of yoga. It was Iyengar who came up with the idea to have his students use props in an effort to make their poses more effective. The yoga methods that he taught were eventually given the name Iyengar Yoga. Over time, these teachings became the basis for what we now refer to as restorative yoga. Judith Lasater, a student of Iyengar, is credited with helping to make restorative yoga popular in many areas of the world.
Benefits
The primary benefits of restorative yoga are the healing of the mind and the body that it provides. It can be particularly effective for people who are looking to reduce stress and fatigue. It has also been known to help people recover more quickly from injury and illness. As if that wasn't enough, there are also people who use restorative yoga as a means of coping with anxiety and depression that often result from the death of a loved one, loss of a job and divorce.
The parasympathetic nervous system can be activated by restorative yoga. This allows automatic control of the body. When this happens, the normal nervous system will be resting. At this point, the muscles of the individual become more relaxed. The more a person practices restorative yoga, the less susceptible their body will be to illnesses that are related to stress. It can help a person to achieve optimal health.
Props
As mentioned earlier, props are necessary for a person to perform restorative yoga correctly. As far as the specific props that are used, it depends on what specific pose you are trying to perform. Blocks, chairs, pillows, straps and blankets are all commonly used in restorative yoga. The primary purpose for these props is to give support to a person's body as they are relaxing or stretching. Therefore, a person must make sure that the props that he or she is using are the right size for their body. One size does not fit all. Even a prop that is half an inch too big or small can result in discomfort and a lack of concentration during a pose.
Teaching Restorative Yoga
People who want to start a career as a restorative yoga teacher must first become certified. The following things are usually part of the curriculum in most classes to become a restorative yoga teacher:
- The dynamic use of props
- How to promote healing by meditating
- Alignment to support optimal energy flow to all of the body's systems
- How to deal with emotional releases and responses during practice
- How to make poses have the most therapeutic benefit
- The central nervous system's role in the relaxation response
Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA.
