The Practice of Rest
Guest post by Steph Northcote
True rest is not something most of us actively make time for in our lives. We’re busy. There’s stuff to do… then there’s more stuff to do...
Amidst the never ending to-do list, when exactly are we supposed to rest anyway? What does rest even mean or look like? Why bother?
To be honest with you I thought rest was the hour or two I got at the end of the day to sit in front of the TV before I flopped into bed. Numbing away worry and stress with stories and interesting things that took me somewhere else for a while.
Although restful to an extent, there’s healthier and more nourishing ways to practice rest. And when I say practice, I really mean practice. It’s not easy to give ourselves the time or indeed the permission to slow down.
Stress when poorly managed can be such a destructive thing. It tears you away from what’s important in life and leaves you in a fog. Stress is why I gravitated to yoga in the first place and it’s why the practice of restorative yoga has felt like a saving grace.
Not to be confused with sleep, rest is a state of relaxation. Movement stills, effort eases and the mind quiets. The aim of restorative yoga is essentially to create a resting pose. A comfortable position where you can pause, relax and just let things be as they are.
We fully support ourselves with props, as many as you need, to hold and cradle the body in seated or reclined positions. Passive stretching can happen but it’s not our aim.
You don’t need to spend a fortune on fancy props to practice restorative yoga. There’s loads you can do to support the body with things you already have at home.
There really is nothing you need to do in a restorative yoga pose. You just let go, let the body be. With time and practice the mind follows the body and this quiet resting state is where you find yourself. Something similar to what you know or imagine a deep meditative state to be.
For many of us though, resting can be much harder to do than it sounds. As someone who tends towards ‘over’ everything - doing, working, thinking, worrying, achieving - your mind may tell you that resting and restorative yoga is a waste of time. I promise you, I get it. But there’s nothing quite like the feeling after practice - the lightness, peacefulness, clarity, appreciation of life.
Gratitude is the real gift of restorative yoga. A restful yoga practice is a gift we give to ourselves so we can move in the world with more joy, compassion and ease. Better for ourselves and better for others.
Restorative Yoga for Deep Rest
I’d love you to join us online for our special Restorative Yoga Class on Thursday 30th September, 7.30-9pm.
We’re sharing this class online as the props we can offer in the studio at the moment are limited. This means you can join us from the comfort of your own home, you can even be in your pyjamas(!) and we’ll help with suggestions for props you can use at home.
Class will begin with slow, gentle movements to help you gradually settle into stillness. We’ll then explore some restorative yoga postures. We’ll spend time in these poses, longer than you’re maybe used to, the body comfortable, relaxed and fully supported by props (blankets, cushions… things you have at home). Class will finish with a guided yoga nidra practice.