It’s called a ‘Practice’ for a reason
If you are exploring the world of yoga, you’ve likely come across Restorative kind. Perhaps you’ve tried a class, expecting instant relaxation, only to find yourself fidgety, restless, or completely distracted by your own thoughts. And you are wondering how lying around could possibly be a good use of your precious time. If that sounds familiar, you are in good company!
Restorative Yoga is viewed as gentle, but in many ways, it’s an advanced practice. It demands something incredibly rare in modern life: stillness. And learning to slow down and switch off is actually physiologically necessary & takes practice.
Here is a look at why this "work-in" is so incredibly good for your health, and why overcoming the challenge of stillness is worth the effort.
The Total System Reset You Deserve
Restorative Yoga was invented about 100 years ago by BKS Iyengar. Its original purpose was to help you relax, focus on the breath, and prepare for meditation.
Unlike faster styles of yoga, Restorative classes focus on holding traditional postures, or asanas, for longer periods, often between 4 and 20 minutes. Crucially, you are supported completely by props such as blocks, bolsters, blankets, and eye pillows. This support allows you to release tension and encourage surrender into a deeper sense of relaxation and stillness.
The intention of this restful practice is to nurture the mind, body, and spirit, giving time for stress and tension to be released and for the body to repair itself.
Calming Your Nervous System
Restorative Yoga is designed to down-regulate your system, helping you to move from merely surviving, to thriving. The most powerful benefit is that the practice calms the Nervous System which when dysregulated long-term creates "dis-ease" in the body.
By learning to regulate the nervous system, you decrease issues like high blood pressure & heart disease, inflammation, Dementia, Type 2 Diabetes. This practice offers a nervous system reset and is considered a crucial practice for wellbeing and longevity.
Calm Nervous System = Deep Physical and Mental Healing
When we give our body, mind, and soul time to process, restore, heal and rejuvenate - the physical and mental benefits are extensive:
• Improved Sleep & Relaxation: Reduces stress & depression, increases length & depth of sleep.
• Reduced Pain and Inflammation: It promotes healing and decreases inflammation and persistent pain. From skin irritations to autoimmune diseases.
• Physical Function: It improves posture, flexibility, strength, and mobility. It also improves cardiovascular, hormone health and respiratory function.
• Inner Wisdom: Restorative practice helps you reconnect with inner peace and wisdom, boosting self-awareness and self-compassion.
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The ‘Hard’: Why Stillness Feels Like a Struggle
If the benefits are so great, why does Restorative Yoga sometimes feel impossible? Many beginners say, “I’m just not able to relax, it’s not for me—restorative yoga is just too slow!”.
This difficulty stems from the fact that our culture keeps us in "ON" mode. For those with busy lives, turning this mode off is difficult. Our nervous systems get stuck in Fight & Flight mode. So when you finally do lie down, your cognitive mind and busy body don't know how to take time off. You may experience restlessness or a buzzing mind - “tired but wired”. The simple act of releasing and allowing yourself to be held—instead of constantly "holding" others, feelings, or responsibilities together—can be challenging.
In fact, choosing to be still and quiet with ourselves can feel like an act of rebellion against the cultural constructs that lead to exhaustion and misery.
Remember: Yoga is a Practice
If you are a beginner finding the stillness difficult, be kind to your body and patient with your restlessness. Remember that like all yoga, restorative yoga is a practice.
It is only through practice that we gradually improve our ability to slow down, be still, concentrate, and create space. You are moving away from chaos and pain toward a life characterised by harmony, health, and a joyful, peaceful presence.
Treat your body like a temple, not a machine.
Restorative yoga is maintenance for your whole being.
You're not doing more — you’re allowing more.
In stillness, the body recalibrates. What feels like rest is actually deep repair.
This is where healing begins — not through effort, but through ease.
Tip for the Restless Beginner
If settling into stillness feels particularly hard, seek out a style of class that eases you into relaxation. Some classes, such as Jess's, "Release, Relax & Restore" format, are specifically designed to help people who find stillness challenging.
These classes are thoughtfully designed to begin with gentle vibration, breathwork, and intentional movement — sometimes including a slow flow. This opening phase helps to release stored tension, activate energetic pathways (prana), and invite mindful presence. Moving in sync with your breath helps anchor your awareness in the body, creating a shift from mental chatter to embodied stillness.
As the practice transitions into deeply restful, restorative poses, the body and nervous system are guided into a state of down-regulation — a space where true rest, healing, and inner stillness can occur.
By consistently showing up, moving and breathing consciously, you retrain the body and mind to return to their natural rhythm — a rhythm that supports rest, digestion, and restoration.
This practice is a gift you give yourself — choosing consistency and growth over perfection, and making space to unwind, reconnect, and return to your true self.
