A feature of modern life is that we are always “on demand” – we find our attention being drawn by the lure of social media; by text messages and adverts; by billboards and radio adverts. Our phones mean we are always in touch with family and friends, hearing their dramas, sharing ours, responding, thinking, analysing. Not of course that modern media or modern communications are inherently wrong, just they can take over and the downstream effect of that is “down time” – time to be instead of to do – becomes compromised.
Restorative Yoga is a practice to counter that; as is often the case, it can be many things to many people, and certainly for my own practice and teaching there is a soft edge between Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga. Most would agree though that Restorative Yoga provides deep relaxation, and hence through calming the nervous system, provides a valuable counter to the “on demand” aspects of daily life.
This is a useful book on Restorative Yoga with a well written introduction to the topic; a guide to a number of restorative postures with graded approaches, breathing, relaxation and sequences. Its an accessible book, and I feel a good one to learn more about this softer approach to Yoga to integrate into your home practice. Unusually a lot of the restorative postures are adapted versions of classic Hatha Yoga postures, but for sure the book is none the worse for that.
If I was being picky I may take issue with the use of “Therapy” in the title – Theraputic yes, Yoga Therapy maybe not. But thats a small complaint.
A useful and accessible book and one which I would recommend to people looking to explore the benefits of a Restorative approach to Yoga
