Enjoy practising the art of conscious rest
In Restorative yoga we place our bodies in comfortable positions that are fully supported with props in order to allow a deep “let go” physically, mentally and emotionally.
Long held poses help reduce stress hormones, giving the bodily systems sufficient time to experience therapeutic benefits and allowing us to come to a place of deep rest.
We practise the art of less effort and more ease, exploring gentle, accessible ways to nourish and relax the body.
Sessions may include slow conscious movement, soothing self massage, breathing practices, restful poses and meditation.
Allow the body, breath and mind to sloooooooow down and relaaaaaaaaaax.
“When we spend time in these poses we remove the stress from our Nervous System and the body knows how to heal itself. The body has an incredible intelligence and knows what it needs to do in order to find its way back to balance.” Judith Hanson Lasater
Benefits of restorative yoga
- Promotes deep relaxation
- Releases muscle tension
- Decreases blood pressure and stress hormone levels
- Slows down the heart rate, breath rate and brain wave patterns
- Reduces anxiety
- Improves sleep
- Contributes to a sense of wellbeing in the gut
- Has therapeutic effects on various bodily systems: immune, cardio, digestive, etc.
When you relax deeply, your muscles release, your blood pressure and stress hormone levels drop and your heart rate, breathing and hormones slow down. You experience a wonderful all encompassing feeling of calm. According to medical research, regularly quieting your mind and body may help you sleep better and reduce your anxiety. It can also have therapeutic effects on the heart and on your immune, digestive and other physiological systems. Roger Cole
Restorative yoga tips
This is a conscious embodied form of rest that is different to lying on the couch watching telly, having a cup of tea, scrolling on a screen or sleeping.
Restorative yoga is an invaluable gem for our busy minds and weary bodies.
Give yourself the gift of practising this nourishing form of refuge.
Aquire a bolster (or improvise using blankets, towels, couch cushions….get creative and resourceful) and start today.
Make an intention to rest for 5 – 20 minutes a day. Make it a priority.
Practise not doing and everything falls into place Lao Tzu
Give yourself the gift of deep rest
Join us on zoom for Rest with the Harp - Restorative yoga and soothing sounds. Be part of the resting revolution in the comfort of your own home.
When I saw Vasudha was running Rest With The Harp I knew it would be magic. The 2 hour class combined restorative poses, with Vasudha’s beautiful singing and harp music. I felt the deep peace of conscious rest, guided by Vasudha’s meditations. It was just what my worn out mind and body was craving, particular at this time of Winter. Laura MacDonald, Speech Pathologist, Yarra Valley
Join Vasudha for a beautiful and blissful Restorative yoga experience
In person
Rest with the Harp at The Wellspring Warburton
Restorative yoga at Rest and Restore Retreat, Yarra Valley
Book a private 1:1 Restorative yoga session
Book a group Restorative yoga session for your event / retreat / special occasion
Online
Book a 1:1 Restorative yoga session online
How restorative yoga has helped me
I attended my first restorative yoga class around 10 years ago with Christina Yogini at Yoga by Nature in Brunswick Heads NSW. I was impressed by her knowledge, care and attention to detail that promoted deep states of rest.
Then my friend and yoga teacher Kathryn Riding lent me “Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times”, the seminal book by Restorative yoga expert, Judith Hanson Lasater. I began integrating these restful poses into my home sadhana (practice) and found that a regular Restorative yoga practice was invaluable during perimenopause, menopause and also helped me manage autoimmune disease symptoms.
Practising relaxing poses for 10 to 20 minutes helped alleviate anxiety and fatigue, and restored my nervous system to a calmer state. I moved from collapsing in an exhausted, helpless, overwhelmed heap to being able to function better in the world and enjoy life. Simply lying down with my head supported, knees over a bolster, covered in a cosy warm blanket and allowing myself time to do nothing but rest was absolutely heavenly!
Although I loved attending Christina’s profoundly relaxing classes, I wasn’t attracted to teach this style of yoga due to the large amount of props required to support the body. I didn’t want to do all that moving around of “stuff.” Hmmmmm. Never say never!
Upon moving to the Yarra Valley in 2022, I attended Katherine Spargo’s Rest Immersion at the Wellspring in beautiful Warburton. I was checking out the space as a potential venue for sound healing events. It was a lovely class and we made a nice connection chatting afterwards. Not long after, Kat relocated to Western Australia and asked if I would like to continue some of her retreat and class work. I didn’t hesitate and have fallen in love with this incredible opportunity to help people experience deeper rest than they have ever known.
Since beginning yoga teacher training in this modality with the wonderfully wise Judith Hanson Lasater and her delightful daughter Lizzie in 2023, I have come to regard Restorative yoga as an essential daily practice. While studying, our homework was to practise savasana (corpse pose) for 20 minutes a day for a week….or the rest of our lives! I endeavour to practise conscious rest daily, even if it’s for 5 minutes, and I encourage you to do the same.
Why? It enables deep rest, helps dissolve tension and anxiety, promotes calmness, instills clarity, helps balance the hormones and gives us permission to slow down and be still and silent amidst our noisy fast paced external world. Do it. You won’t regret it.
