Our Journal

    The joy of teaching restorative yoga

    The joy of teaching restorative yoga

    Yogamatters

    Restorative yoga is a beautiful and deeply replenishing practice that can help to regulate your nervous system and soothe you into a state of relaxation. We spoke with three restorative teachers about why they love sharing this practice with their students…

    Yvonne O’Garro

    I discovered Restorative Yoga in 2007 and felt an immediate connection; reconnection to myself, to my breath. I, like others, have found the opportunity to rest whilst being supported by props truly nourishing which is such a bonus for the parasympathetic (relaxation) nervous system in “an always on society”.



    I realised pretty early on in my yoga teaching training that Restorative Yoga was going to be my specialism because I liked being able to offer a practice that I have gained so much from over the years. I have been teaching Restorative since 2018.



    Both during an post pandemic I’ve noticed an increase in more students connecting with Restorative and finding real relaxation from the practice.



    Typically Restorative classes are taught in the evening but the practice can happen at any time of the day that suits your schedule. 1 posture for 10 or 20 mins, as recommended by Judith Lasater, can help keep the nervous system balanced and more able to handle periods of stress or discomfort.



    I have 2 lunchtime Restorative classes that are both steadily increasing in attendance and it warmed my heart to hear a regular student say that they didn’t know how they would feel about a lunchtime Restorative, but said they felt “rejuvenated” post practice.

    Ucci Ask

    The room falls into a soft silence. Some last shuffling around, and there we are, in perfect stillness. Resting (perhaps snoozing a bit!) in perfectly supported Restorative Yoga postures. Feeling comfortably warm and safe to let go and relax. It’s a big venue and we are probably more than 40 students in the room. Moments before, the air was filled with a mild frenzy of everyone getting just the right amount of props, such as bolsters, blocks, and blankets, blankets and even more blankets! As a matter of fact, not just any blanket, oh no…these blankets are perfectly folded and draped to fit around body shapes and limbs. We are not stretching and holding on to muscle activity – it’s the opposite. We can relax and release, and even more importantly, we rest! Judith has once again sprinkled her “Yoga fairy dust!”

    It’s an amazing experience to be in a class with Judith and share that moment together with fellow Yogis, but perhaps the magic really happens at home, bit by bit, when we “care to take care” of ourselves! That old and nearly forgotten quality of simply resting. Not sleeping, not checking one’s phone for the latest feed on social media. No. To actually rest. It appears so simple and yet so difficult to allow ourselves that life-essential daily moment to rest. With Judith, you learn that “to be that person you really want to be”, fully focused and attentive to what happens around us in our daily lives, we also need to push the “off-button” daily. It’s the “apple a day, to keep the doctor away” theory. It’s when we get a moment to recalibrate and recharge the batteries. Taking time out and placing a bolster and a few blankets on the Yoga mat for, let say 15 minutes every day – is it really that difficult?

    I was lucky enough to meet Judith early on in my “Yoga life”, and her books, workshops, various teacher trainings and intensives (live and online) is a continuous well of knowledge and inspiration to me. I have been a full-time Yoga teacher since 2005 and I draw from different traditions and trainings in my own teaching. I’ve trained in Restorative Yoga with Judith Hanson Lasater and Somatic Movements in the Hanna Somatic Education tradition with Lisa Petersen (Living Yoga). My long-term Yoga lineage is with Donna Farhi, though I started my Yoga journey with the British Wheel of Yoga and Sivananda Yoga. I am so grateful to have this “Yoga tool-box” and when I teach and practice myself, it’s a fusion from all of the above, but missing out of the opportunity to rest and a bit of daily “Judith Yoga fairy dust”? Never!

    Tawny Cortes

    I’ve been teaching yoga for nearly a decade and teaching restorative yoga for 5 years. I was first introduced to the restorative yoga practice by my teacher Anna Ashby. As someone who deals with anxiety and tends to worry and overthink, restorative yoga has taught me how to slow down, to downshift my nervous system out of ‘fight or flight’ mode and to come into an experience of deep rest. Restorative yoga is the invitation to relax from the business of thinking and doing and to come into an experience of being. It is a gradual letting go of physical and mental tension that allows us to come back into balance and feel replenished.

    So much of why I became a yoga teacher, and subsequently a mindfulness practitioner and wellbeing coach, comes from my desire to share with others what I have found to be nourishing practices that have supported my wellbeing and have helped me during difficult times. Restorative yoga is one of those practices. In many ways restorative yoga is an ‘advanced’ practice, meaning it requires us to look inward, to sense into our physical, mental, emotional and energetic state. This process of turning inward, of developing awareness, requires patience, non-judgement, acceptance, and self-compassion. It can take time to cultivate these qualities so don’t worry if you don’t relax completely in your first restorative class. That’s ok. Give it time. I promise you it will be worth the wait.