Are you #stressed? Experiencing #anxiety? Have difficulty managing your work/life balance? But enjoy #sleep, #relaxation, or having someone massage your shoulders, head or neck?
If you said yes to any these questions then I have a tool to help you destress, decrease your anxiety, manage your work/life balance, improve your sleep, decrease head, neck and shoulder tension AND help you relax both physically and mentally. We have a class for that, its called Restorative Yoga.
When you hear the word yoga do the images below come to your mind?
Thanks to social media, we are inundated with images like these. Now I don't know about you, but I remember being that first time yoga student and the experience was nerve racking. Between the expectations and nerves it's no wonder I lot of people struggle with gaining the confidence to even step on a yoga mat, let alone find a relaxed mental state during a class.
It's no secret that the asanas, or yoga postures, are practiced to help your body prepare for the mental practice of meditation. However, a lot of the yoga messages out there are overwhelming the idea that the practice is mainly about stretching to increase your flexibility. Although is this a benefit, it's not the primary goal.
Yes, with an everyday physical yoga practice you will see improved strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility, but we wouldn't continue this routine practice without the best benefit of all, which is the mental benefits. Experiencing decreases in stress, anxiety, depression are just a few of the mental benefits yoga can bring.
So, how do you start the practice of yoga while decreasing the fear, self-judgment, and expectations?
What if a yoga class consisted of poses like the ones below?
Instead of focusing on holding poses with your muscles, restorative yoga provides your body the support it needs with props such as blankets, bolsters, blocks, straps, chairs etc., which in turn calms your nervous system, deepens muscle relaxation, and allows you to hold a pose for longer durations, all the while challenging your mind to focus on your breath and being present in the moment. Classes usually only go through 5-7 restorative poses within a 75 minute class, and can be enhanced with gentle massage, trigger point release, soothing music, and aromatherapy.
Teachers of this type of class are very attentive to modifying poses to suit your body needs and is a great way to start a yoga practice that emphasizes your experiences over your fellow students.
We would love to provide you with the experience of Restorative Yoga at one of our weekly class offerings. Check our schedule for classes. Or, if your interested in learning more about restorative yoga and how it can help you with your stress, anxiety, depression, or insomnia schedule a Discovery Visit. We are happy to share additional information and answer any questions that you may have. Eee you in the studio!
Namaste!