The following is straight from International Restorative Yoga Day’s HP. I didn’t make it up (lol) …If you click on the pink texts, related study details are found, compiled by Lindsay Sisti. In my mind, it’s a meditation practice and an effective preventative medicine and… so much more. I had known all these years there’s something precious that’s been neglected and amiss in our lives – this practice represents exactly what I had missed all these years. We need to make it a ritual. In parenting, parent education class often stress the importance of setting a “routine” – and I hated that word, routine – ugh – so boring. I say – make it a “ritual”. a Ritual for adults… Make it a sacred ritual in which you honor yourself by being kind to yourself. It’s not merely a 5 minutes for the exhausted, an after-thought post sweaty practice (which is very good for you BTW!). It’s for everybody. It’s mindful not mindless.
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Benefits Of Restorative Yoga
Restorative yoga actives the parasympathetic nervous system, which balances out the over-charged sympathetic nervous system, bringing about overall balance, wholeness, in a natural yin-yang way. The practice, if well designed, allows the body to reap the benefits dwelling in its restorative ‘rest and digest’ mode that yields the body’s natural functions to enliven you at top efficiency:)
This style of yoga can be beneficial for people struggling with a variety of conditions such as insomnia, asthma, migraine headaches, and chronic pain.
These are some of the benefits of restorative yoga:
- reduces cortisol, the stress hormone
- lowers blood pressure and heart rate
- reduces muscle tension, insomnia, and generalized fatigue
- boosts immunity
- reduces serum triglycerides and blood sugar levels
- increases “good” cholesterol,
- improves digestion and elimination
- greater capacity to regulate blood glucose levels
- lessens or alleviates chronic, severe pain
- enhances fertility
- increases blood flow to the heart
- stimulates flow of the lymphatic system
- increases oxygen levels in the blood
- greater flexibility
- reduces brain arousal
- feeling balanced and grounded
- increases mental acuity
- increases ‘vividness’ in daily sensory life
- cultivates greater patience with yourself and others
Researchers have been investigating the benefits of restorative yoga. Here is a sampling of the findings:
Restorative yoga for women with breast cancer: findings from a randomized pilot study.
These pilot data suggest potential benefit of restorative yoga on emotional outcomes and fatigue in cancer patients. This study demonstrates that a restorative yoga intervention is feasible for women with breast cancer.
Restorative yoga for women with ovarian or breast cancer: findings from a pilot study.
Significant improvements were seen for depression, negative affect, state anxiety, mental health, and overall quality of life. Fatigue decreased between baseline and post-intervention follow-up. Health-related quality of life improved between baseline and the 2-month follow-up.
Feasibility and acceptability of restorative yoga for treatment of hot flushes: a pilot trial.
This pilot trial demonstrates that it is feasible to teach restorative yoga to middle-aged women without prior yoga experience. Mean number of hot flushes per week decreased by 30.8% and mean hot flush score decreased 34.2% from baseline
Restorative yoga in adults with metabolic syndrome: a randomized, controlled pilot trial.
Restorative yoga was found to be a feasible and acceptable intervention in overweight adults with metabolic syndrome.
