While traditional hath a poses are Yang in quality, requiring muscular effort to maintain alignment, restorative yoga poses are Yin in quality and are done with no muscular effort. Restoratives are not about stretching or strengthening muscles. Instead, you practice releasing the inner grip of the muscular, emotional, and energetic bodies. Each restorative pose is help longer than a traditional hath yoga pose and can last 1-20 minutes.

In general, restorative poses can be used by anyone at any time to create balance, quiet, and restore rasa – our core energy. When practiced regularly, restorative pose lead to overall improved health. Restoratives also have a great therapeutic impact during times of illness, injury, pain, and various other stresses. They also help create a healing environment in the body by balancing the nervous system and allowing all systems’ optimal energy flow, restoring us at a physical, physiological, energetic, and emotional level. The more we practice relaxing, the more familiar we become with what we need to do in order to relax and the easier it becomes to stay calm, even in life’s most challenging circumstances.