When I first came to yoga, restorative yoga was my least favorite practice.
I wanted movement and craved anything but stillness.
In stillness my anxiety took center stage.
Then I heard a teacher say, “stillness can help us be at ease with what is”.
At first I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I trusted her guidance. So I kept going to class trying to find ease and openness. I would listen to her words in every class…”let the thoughts come and go, witnessing without judgment what is”. Then in one class, after a particularly anxious day, I simply let it be. I didn’t fight with the thoughts or beat myself for having them. I focused on my breathing, my body relaxing into the mat, and I let things be.
It didn’t mean that I suddenly wasn’t having anxious thoughts, what happened was I no longer let the thoughts take center stage.
It became the first step in healing, all thanks to yoga.
And so in this restorative practice, I’m inviting you to explore stillness for a sense of ease and openness. We’ll relax into heart opening postures, practice Dirgha pranayama, and a loving kindness meditation.
We’ll aim to let things be, to support us in opening up to both giving and receiving loving kindness.
Because when we’re at ease with ourselves, then we become more capable of tapping into our compassion.
I can’t wait to see you on the mat!
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