Restorative yoga is wonderful for both true yoga beginners and more seasoned practitioners-everyone benefits from weaving low-impact, low-intensity movement into their fitness routine. "It also eases chronic pain, which can be a symptom of trauma." Some examples of chronic pain are frequent headaches, low back pain, and nerve damage.ĥ Mindfulness Breathing Exercises You Can Do Anywhere, Anytime "Since the body stores stress in common areas like the neck, shoulder, and hips yoga helps with stretching and opening up these areas to release stored stress," she explains. Rodriguez recognizes movement as a way to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. "That's the key to regulating your emotions, reducing cortisol levels (the stress hormone), and lowering blood pressure and heart rate, which alleviates the nervous system and a more effective stress response over time." "Yoga helps regulate the nervous system," she explains. Rodriguez says that restorative yoga, specifically, can help both the body and mind. It's no wonder that Stephanie Rodriguez, LMHC, founder and lead therapist at Emergent Mental Health Services in New York City, is a proponent of yoga for her clients. (Other examples of therapeutic CAM approaches are meditation, acupuncture, massage, and intentional dietary changes). Studies have found yoga to be beneficial as a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) strategy-an add-on to your current wellness routine. This Quick Full-Body Stretching Routine Will Help Loosen Stiff Muscles Restorative Yoga Benefits You might also use straps or bands to help hold, lengthen, or deepen specific stretches. Restorative yoga often incorporates helpful props-such as yoga blocks or bricks, pillows or bolsters, or a blanket or towel-that support the body in various poses. You'll likely pay close attention to your breath while maintaining a pose: breathing deeply into each stretch, decompressing tense areas, focusing on what you feel and think, and cultivating a connection between brain, breath, and body. Though rooted in the same discipline with many familiar, fundamental poses as other types of yoga, restorative yoga is less about building strength or working up a sweat than it is about deep mental and physical relaxation.ĭuring a typical session of restorative yoga, at home or at an in-person class, you'll likely hold just a few-often very few-tension-relieving stretches and positions for longer than, say, energizing vinyasa yoga (which flows from pose to pose more fluidly and quickly). Restorative yoga is a slower, more restful, more passive approach to yoga that's meant to melt away muscle tension, create space in the body, and alleviate stress. While you can always try a more intense, accelerated, and strenuous form of yoga to get your heart rate up and muscles working (in other words, to practice yoga as a workout), restorative yoga is slightly different and may be just the right prescription for mental catharsis, muscle relaxation, and stress relief. But don't be fooled-there are different types of yoga which look different depending on the modality. For someone who's never practiced yoga, the thought of contorting yourself may be far from your idea of relaxation and restoration.
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