I was on a retreat last summer where we were doing two very vigorous asana classes a day. Some of us, with me at helm, requested one day of restorative. One of my friends on the retreat, also one of the funniest guys i know, said, and I’m paraphrasing here, “I hate restorative. It always makes me want to go out and shoot someone afterwards.” My very wise teacher ended up compromising and giving us an asana class with some restorative poses at the end. My wisecracking friend admitted that it was really nice and he actually felt better afterwards (and, he didn’t even mention feeling like shooting someone!).

My friend’s reaction to restorative is not uncommon, especially among us overly ambitious New Yorker types. Whereas some people love restorative and look forward to lounging in the poses for many minutes longer than you’re able to in a regular asana class, others find it very difficult to be still. But, instead of oversimplifying and presenting two types of people, I would argue that we can all have our vigorous asana class AND our restorative class, and still be happy. In fact, we can even be content. Isn’t this what the yoga practice is actually about– this ability to calm the mind and be still? And how are we to accomplish this with so many things swirling around in our head, and so much pent up energy from the day (no doubt a result of repressed feelings)? Again, I would like to merge the two camps. In the west we like to focus on the asanas, because we want to be fit! And look good in our yoga clothes! In fact the Yoga Sutras don’t even mention any poses other than the seated meditation posture. Scant documentation of the postures was found in the 14th and 17th centuries, and it wasn’t until the 19th century that scholars came across a more in depth book on the postures. Here’s the thing, and most of us already know this, but the asanas were invented so that you could sit comfortably– so that you wouldn’t have to worry about that ache in the knee or tightness in the shoulder when you’re meditating. Ahhh, so there it is. One can have the vigorous asana practice AND the stillness. They actually GO together.

The benefits of restorative yoga are vast. If you allow yourself this relaxation, everything slows– the heart rate, metabolism, rate of breathing, blood pressure, and even brain wave patterns. In “Relax and Renew” Judith Lasater writes:

“Anthropologists tell us the body that experiences stress has not changed much over the millions of years of being human. Our ancestors had the same anatomical and physiological characteristics as we who drive freeways and communicate via the information superhighway. We have an ancient body subjected to a modern problem: living with chronic stress.

The antidote to stress is relaxation. To relax is to rest deeply. This rest is different from sleep. Deep states of sleep include periods of dreaming which increase muscular tension, as well as other physiological signs of tension. Relaxation is a state in which there is no movement, no effort, and the brain is quiet.”

And, for those of you that experience pain in a yoga pose and think that’s what is supposed to happen in yoga class (the old “no pain, no gain” mentality), you might want to reconsider and try a restorative class. This is why Iyengar invented the restorative practice– because in his teachings he came across people who experienced pain in a pose, and he wanted to help them get the benefits of the pose without the pain. I’ll say that again– YOU GET THE BENEFITS OF THE POSE WITHOUT THE PAIN.

So let yourself restore. At least once a week. It would argue it will actually improve your sweaty asana practice.

–Gabriella