Feeling stressed? You might benefit from expanding your coping toolkit beyond the usual go-to habits. Increasingly, health and wellness professionals recommend restorative yoga as an effective way to relax and reduce stress.
Unlike conventional yoga styles, restorative yoga focuses on just five to six supported poses that use props to help the body release tension and settle into deep rest. Typical sessions include gentle backbends, seated forward folds and mild twists held for several minutes. The slow, supported approach encourages the nervous system to shift out of fight-or-flight and into a state of calm. Common benefits include:
- Deeper relaxation and restorative rest
- Improved flexibility through passive stretching
- A quieter, more focused mind
- Better balance of the nervous system
- Lowered stress and reduced anxiety
Many yoga studios now list restorative yoga among their offerings. At SunWater Spa and SunMountain Center in Manitou Springs, Colorado, restorative yoga is a specialty of founder Kat Tudor, who leads classes and workshops on site. Tudor says she introduced restorative practice to her teaching roughly a decade ago after noticing how it counteracts a culture of constant activity and pushing too hard. Especially in regions with abundant outdoor activity, she explains, restorative yoga provides an opportunity to recover, unwind and release the tension that builds from daily life.
SunWater Spa also provides virtual yoga and meditation sessions for those who prefer to practice from home.
If stress or anxiety is affecting your daily life, consider trying restorative yoga before turning to medications. For many people, the gentle, supported practice offers a natural, effective path to relaxation and renewed balance.