Real Self-Care: Restorative Yoga

This post is part of a month-long series on Real Self-Care for world-changers. It’s about the experimentation: figuring out what works for you and following your heart. Simple, messy and everything in between. Self-care should be custom, intuitive, feasible and kind – to serve your actual life.

Restorative Yoga

A few years ago, I developed a bulging disc in my neck and couldn’t turn my head. It was distressing, to say the least, and nothing seemed to help. I ended up going on retreat with my teacher, who set me up in restorative yoga poses for the duration. (Oh, and I slept virtually 18 hours a day for three days.)

By the end of the weekend, not only could I turn my head (a little), but I was completely in love with restorative yoga.

While I love to teach this work, I also use it as a key part of my personal practice. At least once a month, I spend an hour in a series of restorative poses.

These poses support the body completely, in order to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This allows the body to rest deeply and the body’s systems to engage more fully. This is when healing can happen and repair can take place. Restorative yoga is can be done with props you probably already have around the house. It’s fabulous before bed in order to encourage deep sleep.