Restorative & Yin Yoga : Why We Need More Of It!

I love my vinyasa, but there are days when all i want to do is hold a relaxing pose without stressing my muscles for a long time and allow myself to marinate in it. If there is one word I would use to describe the non-yang part of yoga, it has to be Juicy. I love the way my body feels in it - I genuinely love teaching it and hear students exclaim how something as low intensity as a slow yoga class can be pretty high intensity on the mind and sometimes even on the body. I especially love how it benefits students of mine who go to the gym a lot or are runners or are sportspeople from various backgrounds. Restorative and Yin yoga not only helps up their performance but also gives them that rare chance to slow down and heal their bodies in a more respectful manner - something that 5 minutes of "cool down" or "stretch" at the end of their sports sessions usually can not achieve. 

I am heading to France (!) to teach at Chez Boileau in a gorgeous little town called Bergerac in Bordeaux. My audience will mostly be rowers / scullers who have specific needs to help rejuvenate their minds and bodies from the intense sport they practice. Hatha yoga trumps any yoga anywhere, that is my core belief - but that is definitely true for this group of students I will be teaching. I can not wait to introduce to them the life changing benefits of yoga - asana, pranayama and meditation. Yes I am confident that their rowing or sculling will be infused with new energy through yoga but I am absolutely sure that the experience on their mats will translate to increased positivity in their lives as well.

I am working with Alpheus Boileau to introduce a yogic lifestyle to these sportspeople and the local folk of  Bergerac. If in that process, they acquire the headstand good for them - but if they sleep a little better at night and feel a little calmer in the day then I'll consider that as success for me as a teacher. 

Here's something I wrote to prepare for the sessions in Bergerac. We often get confused between restorative and yin - this is my small attempt to differentiate between the two and also discuss why they're so beneficial to all of us - irrespective of where we are in life and in our yoga practice. 

E Q U I P M E N T   N E E D E D

Blocks
Blankets
Yoga Belts
Eye pillows
Bolsters


W H A T

• Unlike most yoga that we see across contemporary yoga studios (and well ummm on Instagram), Restorative offers us and our bodies a chance to slow down and relax.

• All stretching and effort is passive. Think of the word “soft” and all that it embodies.

• Your muscles are deliberately not allowed to exert - Props instead of muscles are used to support the body

• Most students encounter a melting-into-the asana or the earth sensation with restorative classes.

• Asanas are held for ca longer duration.

• A 60 min class focuses on max 5-6 asanas excluding shavasana.

• Movement while in the asana is minimal.

• Props ~ blankets, blocks, straps ~ are used to help support the body while is relaxes and opens up to the asana.

• Instructions are provided at the beginning of the class on how to enter, stay and exit from an asana. Teacher will provide additional props where they deem necessary for the yogi/yogini and are always available for questions / clarifications.

• Asana are modified to be supine or seated to allow for lesser muscle exertion.

WHY

• Passive healing is a technique many of us have forgotten to practice
• Restorative invites you to re-discover the immense power of relaxation it has to 

• offer us modern day yogi/yoginis.

• Learn to let go and relax. Merging your asana practice with meditation and deep breathing.

• Calm that overstimulated mind. Notice where the mind goes when you are dropped into stillness. 

• Learn to let go of the need to control - often a quality that leads to stress and anxiety in our lives. Give your body a well-deserved rest, especially if you are recovering from injury or need a break from a very active practice/routine.

• Trust that sometimes not doing too much is better for the body & mind.

• Experience the magic in the body when it lets go of tension that it so naturally holds in everyday lives. Learn to relax specific areas where you tend to accumulate stress in the form of stickiness & inflexibility.

• A chance for the mind to support any emotional recovery you are going through - hips and heart/chest/upper back region is where we hold a lot of our emotions - this practice helps open those areas and makes space for new energy to enter.

H O W   I S R E S T O R A T I V E    D I F F E R E N T F R O M Y I N

Yin And Restorative are similar in the way they focus on the subtler aspects of a yoga practice and the absence of muscular exertion in asanas. In both practices, asanas are held for longer durations as compared to an “active” or a more “yang” yoga class - 3-5 minutes. “Restorative yoga heals a body in need of healing. Yin yoga activates change at a very deep level in an already healthy body to increase performance.”

Props Vs Gravity

• However, while we support the body with props in Restorative, in Yin we allow gravity to help the body go deeper thus accessing connective tissues (ligaments, tendons and fascia)  around joints - that usually do not get a stretch when the muscles are tense.

Relaxation Vs Stretching

• Restorative as the name suggest gives complete rest to the body and the asanas that we choose for this practice are deeply relaxing and very comfortable and provide a very subtle stretch to the body - sometimes without you even noticing. 

• Yin on the other hand, is not subtle at all - and often goes beyond comfort into the realm of discomfort - you will feel this stretch for sure. 

Iyengar Yoga Vs Taoist Yoga

• Restorative was developed with the principle of the Late BKS Iyengar’s teachings and focus on alignments and props to support the body in asanas. The props help the body release and surrender. 

• Yin yoga was developed with Taoist concepts of Yin and Yang in mind. A combination of understanding the ideas of Yin and Yang from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Hatha Yoga and Ayurveda from India. Use of props is optional and practitioners will feel a certain level of discomfort and hence this practice can be challenging.

Choice of Asanas

• Restorative asanas are all supine or seated with absolute passivity, like Supta Badha Konasana or Supine Butterfly 

• Yin asanas include a few challenging hip openers like Lizard or Uthaan Pristhasana, that one needs to hold in stillness, and can find challenging.