RESTORATIVE YOGA

At some point we all need a restorative practice, whether it's for on going stress management or you suffer from a particular disease (physical or mental), restorative yoga is therapeutic in it's application because targets specific organs and bodily systems. For example the nervous system. Some yoga poses stimulate the sympathetic branch, while others stimulate the parasympathetic branch. The fight or flight, rest and digest respectively can get out of balance and a person can become 'sympathetic dominant', causing a number of health problems. Restorative poses help relieve the effects of chronic stress in several ways. The use of props provides a completely supportive environment for total relaxation. Each restorative sequence is designed to move the spine in all directions. These movements illustrate the age-old wisdom of yoga, that teaches well-being is enhanced by a healthy spine.

Legs up the wall

Mountain Brook Pose. Because of the opening of the throat, this pose has a regulating effect on the thyroid gland, including balancing energy and the tendency to gain weight during menopause.

The parasympathetic nervous system

This is the relaxation branch of the nervous system, which when in operation, sends blood to the digestive system and decreases heart rate and force of contraction among other things.

The sympathetic nervous system

The fight or flight branch of the nervous system, which when in operation, directs blood away from the digestive organs and increases heart rate and force of contraction.

Judith Hanson Lastater describes restorative yoga as follows:

Supported Bridge Pose stimulates the parasympathetic nerve plexuses situated in the neck and sacrum region

"The spinal column is taken into backbends, forward bends, twists and side stretches.

A well-sequenced restorative practice also includes an inverted pose, which reverses the effects of gravity. This can be as simple as putting the legs on a bolster or pillow, but the effects are quite dramatic. Because we stand or sit most of the day, blood and lymph fluid accumulate in the lower extremities. By changing the relationship of the legs to gravity, fluids are returned to the upper body and heart function is enhanced.

Supported Child Pose

Psychobiologist and yoga teacher Roger Cole, Ph.D., consultant to the University of California, San Diego, in sleep research and biological rhythms, has done preliminary research on the effects of inverted poses. He found that they dramatically alter hormone levels, thus reducing brain arousal, blood pressure, and fluid retention. He attributes these benefits to a slowing of the heart rate and dilation of the blood vessels in the upper body that comes from reversing the effects of gravity.

Restorative yoga alternately stimulates and soothes the organs. For example, by closing the abdomen with a forward bend and then opening it with a backbend, the abdominal organs are squeezed, forcing the blood out, and then opened, so that fresh blood returns to soak the organs. With this movement of blood comes the enhanced exchange of oxygen and waste products across the cell membrane.

Legs up the Wall Pose is beneficial for water retention,  varicose veins or standing for long periods.

Yoga teaches that the body is permeated with energy. Prana, the masculine energy, resides above the diaphragm, moves upward, and controls respiration and heart rate. Apana, the feminine energy, resides below the diaphragm, moves downward, and controls the function of the abdominal organs. Restorative yoga balances these two aspects of energy so that the practitioner is neither overstimulated nor depleted."