THERE’S SO LITTLE REQUIRED TO DO YOGA: a mat (or, barring that, even the floor will do). A folded blanket on which to sit is good (or barring that, even a folded towel will do). But still, for some people interested in trying it but who don’t know where to start, the idea of walking into a studio – you know, where other people might see you fumbling around, losing balance, not quite knowing how to begin or follow instruction – is a terrifying prospect.
Here’s a practice, then, that takes such little physical effort that it’s as close as you can get to taking a nap in public. Restorative yoga melds low physical effort, the use of a lot of props to provide padding and comfort and great mental rewards.
At Salinas Yoga, a studio off of South Main Street in Salinas, Cindy Davis teaches a weekly restorative class, 5:30-6:30pm on Friday. She started practicing restorative yoga years ago, she says, when she was feeling tired and overwhelmed by life-changing circumstances.
The results were so immediate and so impactful that she’s been teaching the class since 2006.
“Basically, the practice is about intentionally calming down for a while so you can observe yourself at a deeper level,” Davis says. “You can use the tools anywhere. I use it to take the frantic edge off of airports. It is a good alternative when you’re trying to stave off illness, or are recovering from one.”
Being able to observe your own “habits of mind” opens the door to the possibility of looking at things differently, she adds, and you create conditions for being able to stay centered no matter what life throws at you.
In Davis’ class, she leads participants through a series of about five poses, all held for multiple minutes, all done on the floor and all involving profligate use of blankets, padded bolsters and blocks to support knees, arms, backs and necks. The idea is that when you support the body adequately, you can then pay closer attention to where the tension is – and then release it.
“When you support the body adequately, you start to tune into the places where you habitually hold tension,” Davis says. “The breath becomes less constricted and you notice waves of tension melting away with each exhale.”
Some yoga classes are physically demanding. Restorative yoga is not one of those. It is, however, mentally demanding.
If you can clear your mind, focus in on your breathing and just relax, you come out at the other end with mental clarity to replace your monkey mind.