What Has Restorative Yoga Done for Me?

I still vividly remember attending my first Restorative Yoga class.

I lay there, propped up with bolsters, blankets, bricks and blocks and I waited. I waited for things to ‘get going’. I waited for ‘something to happen’. I waited to start moving and stretching. And, as I waited, my mind became more and more agitated.

By the time I gathered my things and left the room, I felt quite put out. I recall thinking that I’d just wasted 90 minutes of my precious spare time. 90 minutes doing nothing! 90 minutes that I didn’t really have to spare! 90 minutes doing absolutely zilch!

The problem, of course, was that I couldn’t even begin to remember what it was like to fully rest, to do nothing.

I was living life at full speed: always on the go, always racing from one thing to the next. I lived to work and oh how I worked: every day, every night, every weekend, every ‘day off’, every ‘holiday’. Twelve to fourteen hour days were the norm. Work always, always came first. There was no time for family, no time for friends, no time for me.

Whenever I could, I’d head to my regular yoga class, where we’d have a short Savasana to end. Savasana for me typically meant one of two things: promptly falling asleep or starting to mentally rehearse what work I had to do when I got home.

I was exhausted and showing symptoms of chronic stress. And it was obvious to everyone but me.

So, after my first experience with Restorative Yoga, it came as a surprise to me when I decided to book another session the following week. And the next. And the next…

And, slowly but surely, Restorative Yoga crept up on me and began to work its magic.

It gave me the time and space to take a good, long look at myself and the life I’d been leading. It reminded me of the person I used to be before life got in the way. It gave me the courage to start saying ‘No’. It helped me to put myself back on the priority list. It taught me how to fully rest and the transformative effect of making time to properly nourish mind, body and spirit through deep rest.

And it made me realise I simply couldn’t go on as I was.

Now, years later, in addition to my basic yoga teacher training, I’ve completed two Restorative Yoga teacher trainings with Judith Hanson Lasater, author of Rest and Renew, Restore and Rebalance, Living Your Yoga and many more. I’m proud to have been certified by Judith as an Advanced (Level 2) Relax and Renew Restorative Yoga teacher.

These days I get to do something I truly love. I get to show other people how to slow down and, over time, learn to do nothing.

And for some of us, that might just be the most valuable lesson we ever learn.