How restorative yoga calms the mind and body through gentle movements and meditation

• Restorative yoga is a gentle form of yoga designed to stretch the body and soothe the mind.
• Benefits of restorative yoga include promoting relaxation, relieving back pain, and improving sleep.
• Restorative yoga poses include child's pose, happy baby pose, and modified sphinx pose.

While some styles of yoga, such as vinyasa and hot yoga, are intense and challenging, restorative yoga is meant to be restful. It helps calm the mind and body through gentle, meditative poses.

What is restorative yoga?

Restorative yoga is a passive form of yoga that differs drastically from many types of yoga that focus on active movement from one pose to the next. It uses bolsters, a type of cushion, and other props to support the body in different poses, so you can relax fully without using as much effort to hold the position.

One of the best parts of this yoga style is that it's accessible to almost anyone since poses can be modified based on your unique needs.

During a restorative yoga session, an instructor will show you how to use props to enter the pose, such as how to use pillows to support your torso comfortably. "Then you just lie there and relax. It's very pleasant," says Cyndi Lee, a yoga instructor who trains teachers in restorative yoga.

You can expect to hold restorative yoga poses for anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes, which is much longer than other typical styles of yoga, where poses may be held for a few seconds to a few minutes.

Common props used during restorative yoga include:

• Yoga mat
• Yoga bolster
• Yoga blocks
• Yoga strap or belt
• Pillows
• Couch cushions
• Firm blankets, like Mexican-style yoga blankets
• Ottoman
• Eye pillow

However, depending on your flexibility, you may not always require a prop.

If you are a beginner to restorative yoga, Laura Meihofer, a yoga instructor, doctor of physical therapy, and pelvic floor therapist, recommends a small class or a one-on-one session with an instructor, who can teach you modifications tailored to your needs. Once you have learned from a teacher how to support yourself in different poses, you can practice on your own.

Note: You can find restorative yoga classes at yoga studios and wellness centers, as well as through online classes. But if you don't like the first class you find, don't be discouraged, Lee says. Just try another one to see if another instructor works better for you.

Restorative yoga benefits

Some benefits of restorative yoga include:

• Promotes relaxation. Restorative yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system or the body's relaxation response. In fact, a small 2019 study of Japanese nurses working the night shift found that four weeks of restorative yoga improved their psychological and physical stress levels.
• Relieves pain, such as back pain. Restorative yoga allows your back or other painful areas to relax.
• Improves sleep. Because these poses reduce stress, they may allow you to sleep better.

Restorative yoga can also help manage some medical conditions. For example, a 2014 study of underactive adults with metabolic syndrome compared those who practiced restorative yoga with those who practiced stretching. Over a year, the restorative yoga group saw their blood sugar levels decrease more than those who stretched.

Depending on your overall health when you start practicing restorative yoga, you might see benefits right away, such as improved sleep. Or it might take consistent practice, especially if you need to learn how to relax and get more familiar with your body, Lee says.

Important: Because it is low-intensity, you can practice restorative yoga every day if you like. Lee recommends at least once a week.

Restorative yoga poses

Here are some poses that Meihofer recommends for beginners. You should hold each of them for 5 minutes.

Note: You can practice restorative yoga at any time of day, although some poses, like lying face up, may be more energizing, and others, like bending forward, may be more relaxing, Lee says.

1. Child's pose

1. Begin on your hands and knees in a tabletop position.
2. Bring your toes together behind you, in line with your tailbone.
3. Sit back and rest on your feet. Slide your knees wider apart.
4. Place a yoga bolster or couch cushion in between your legs.
5. Slowly bend forward and rest your chest and the side of your head on the bolster.
6. Rest your hands on the floor or on the bolster under your cheek.

2. Reclined deep squat

1. Begin by moving next to a wall and facing it, then lie your back on the floor, with your feet near the wall.
2. Place your feet flat on the wall, with your knees at about a 90-degree angle.
3. Slowly scoot your bottom closer to the wall.
4. Allow your knees to relax out to the side, keeping your feet on the wall.
5. Rest your hands at your sides or on your abdomen.
6. Move closer to or farther away from the wall, and adjust how open your knees are, so your hips are relaxed and comfortable.

3. Modified happy baby pose

1. Lie on your back on the floor.
2. Put an ottoman or a stack of pillows under your feet and calves, so that your legs are supported.
3. Cross your feet at the ankles.
4. Slide your ankles slightly closer toward you, and let your knees gently fall open to the sides.
5. Rest your hands on your abdomen.

4. Reclining bound angle pose

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.
2. Place a yoga block or pillow on the outside of each hip.
3. Let your knees fall open to the sides, resting the outside of your thighs on the pillows or blocks. Your feet should be touching.
4. Feel free to move your feet closer to or farther away from you until it's comfortable.
5. Place your hands on the floor next to you or on your abdomen or chest.

Quick tip: For more support, you can place yoga blocks or stacked towels under your knees.

5. Modified sphinx pose

1. Begin by lying on the floor face down, with your legs straight behind you.
2. Glue your legs together, but allow them to stay relaxed.
3. Place your hands by your head, palms down, and rest your forehead or cheek on them.

Quick tip: For more extension in your lower back (like the traditional sphinx pose), move a stack of blankets or towels under your chest.

Insider's takeaway

Restorative yoga is a gentler, more calming form of yoga. Allowing your body to rest and relax is a form of self-care. Meihofer says that once she gets into a yoga posture, she sometimes uses the time to meditate.

"Restorative yoga is called restorative yoga because it restores something that is natural to us but we've lost the ability to be very good at, which is to rest and to relax," Lee says.

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