10 Easy Poses: Incorporate Restorative Yoga Into Your Daily Routine With These

rest
easy
Incorporate restorative yoga

into your daily routine
with these 10 easy poses
Rest Easy
HOME PRACTICE
When life is at its most demanding, it’s hard to imagine finding a little extra
room for relaxation. But that’s just when you most need to set aside time in
your personal practice to get centered, says Iyengar Yoga teacher Judith Han-
son Lasater, a pioneer of restorative yoga. The sequence that she’s crafted here
will help you do just that. These simple supported poses will gradually bring
your attention deep inside, preparing you to rest completely in a luxurious
Savasana (Corpse Pose) for 20 minutes.
Lasater ticks off enough benefits to convince even the most time-pressed
and stressed skeptic to add this project to the to-do list. “When you do restor-
ative yoga,” she says, “you’ll stop having the consistent pain of fatigue that we
ignore or hide with caffeine. You’ll begin to feel more patient. You won’t react
as quickly.” In essence, Lasater believes that you will function more efficiently
and effectively.
Plus, she adds, you’re guaranteed to love the feeling of deep relaxation.
“Never in my many years of teaching has anyone ever told me that they got
into a relaxed state and didn’t want to go back to it,” she says.
To surrender completely in Savasana or in any other restorative pose, set a
timer for 20 minutes. Try not to judge yourself if you feel antsy or your mind
races. Allow your thoughts to float by and come back to your intention to
surrender. Most of all, try to build a habit of resting by incorporating restor-
ative yoga sequences into your regular routine, or even doing just one 15-min-
ute pose each day. “Animals rest, babies rest, and civilized cultures rest,”
Lasater says. “So, what’s the best thing we can do for our health? Absolutely
nothing.” A N D R E A F E R R E T T I
before you begin after you finish

RELAX Spend a few moments disengag- RELAX AGAIN It takes at least 20 min-
ing from the busyness of life by sitting utes of rest to quell your body’s “fight or
quietly with your eyes closed for 5 min- flight,” or stress, response, so be sure to
utes while you breathe slowly and deeply. stay in Savasana for 20 minutes or more.
Afterward, notice how you feel. Has your
PREPARE Collect the props that this
heart rate slowed down and your breath
sequence requires—two blankets, a
deepened? Do you feel calmer and more
block, and a bolster (or more blankets
grounded? Observe how you cannot be
if you don’t have a bolster)—and find a
relaxed and anxious at the same time.
room where you will not be disturbed.
Close the door, adjust the temperature REPEAT Practice this series at least once
to ensure that you’ll be warm enough in a week to help you let go and live well.
long-held poses, and begin.
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Rest Easy
1
HOME PRACTICE
1 Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)

Set the intention of beginning a calming ritual.
Stand with your feet a foot apart and exhale as you
fold forward, holding on to your elbows. Keep your
lower back slightly arched and your abdomen firm
to stabilize your back as you fold. Stay for 5 to 10
breaths and inhale to come up, keeping your back
arched and the belly active. Repeat 1 more time.
2 Cat-Cow Pose
Rest on your hands and knees. Slowly exhale as
you drop your head and round your entire spine
into flexion. Stay for a moment, inviting the belly
organs to lift up against the spine. Then inhale as
you release them down and come into an arch (as
2
pictured). When you flex, make sure that you lift
“out” of the shoulder joints; when you arch, make
sure that you drop your midback down below the
shoulder blades. Repeat 10 times.
3 Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

(Bridge Pose)
Lie on your back with your knees bent
and your feet flat on the floor and paral-
lel, heels near your hips. With an exha-
lation, slowly curl up from the tailbone
into Bridge Pose. Interlock your fingers under your
3
body, and press your arms down as you tuck your
shoulders underneath you. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths,
release your arms, and roll down through your
spine. Take a couple of breaths and repeat,
changing the clasp of your hands by inter-
locking your fingers with the opposite
thumb on top.
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Rest Easy
HOME PRACTICE
4
4 Crisscross Backbend
Fold two blankets so that they are approximately
7.5 inches wide, 28 inches long, and 5 inches deep
(adjust the dimensions if they don’t
feel right for your height). Lay the
blankets on your mat in the
shape of a cross. Sit at the
end of one blanket with
your feet flat on the
floor and lie back so that the other blanket
brings your midback into an arch. Your
head will hang back slightly; your throat will open.
5
Bring your arms out to the sides and breathe long,
easy breaths. Release your belly and close your
eyes. Stay for 1 to 3 minutes.
5 Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

Sit on the floor and bend your knees, placing the
soles of your feet together. Let your knees fall to
the side. Drop your chin and breathe slowly for 2
full minutes.
6 Supta Baddha Konasana

(Reclining Bound Angle Pose)
Place a block on the floor with one end of a
bolster on top of it, so that the bolster is at a
30-degree angle to the floor. Sit in Baddha Kona-
sana in front of the low end of the bolster and lie
back. Place a blanket behind your head and support
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your outer legs and elbows with
more blankets or small pillows.
Cover your eyes and rest
for 10 minutes, paying
attention to your breath.
To come out, bring your
knees together and roll
slowly to the side.
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Rest Easy
HOME PRACTICE
7
7 Salamba Upavistha Konasana
(Supported Wide-Angle Seated
Forward Bend)
After you sit up, turn around, take your
legs wide apart, and rest your chest
on the bolster. Turn your head to one
side for 1 minute, then to the other side
for 1 minute. Make sure that you keep
your legs straight, your knees slightly
engaged, and your kneecaps pointing
upward. Become aware of your breath with-
out trying to change it, close your eyes, and relax.
8 Reclining Twist
Lie back, bend your knees, and place your feet on
the outer edges of your mat. Exhale and drop your
knees to the right so that your left knee drops into
the arch of your right foot. Let your left pelvis and
shoulder follow the twist, letting them lift up natu-
rally. Stretch your left arm on a diagonal above your
8
ear to feel a stretch along your left side. Then bring
the knees to center and do the other side.
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Rest Easy
HOME PRACTICE
9 Salamba Balasana
(Supported Child’s Pose)
End your active work by sitting in Child’s Pose.
9
Spread your knees and bring the elevated
bolster used in Step 7 between your legs. If
necessary, place a folded blanket on top to
help support your rounded spine. Hold for
1 or 2 minutes, spending equal time with
your head turned to each side.
10 Savasana (Corpse Pose)

Lie on your back in Savasana with a folded blanket
supporting your head, neck, and the tops of your
shoulders. Place a bolster under your knees and a
rolled blanket under your Achilles tendons. Set a
timer for 20 minutes. Cover your eyes with an eye
pillow or a soft cloth, and cover up with a blanket
to stay warm. Take a long inhalation and an equally
long exhalation through your nose. Do this 20 times.
10
Do not cheat yourself by skipping the most power-
ful de-stressing pose—stay 20 minutes! When you
are done, roll to one side and sit up slowly.
photos: RORY EARNSHaW; MODEL: ELIZABETH ROSSER; STYLIST: JESSICA HANSEN/ARTisTs’ SERVICES;
HAIR/MAKEUP: MILES BERDACHE/ARTISTs’ SERVICES
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rest

Incorporate restorative yoga

before you begin after you finish

1 Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)

3 Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

5 Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

6 Supta Baddha Konasana

10 Savasana (Corpse Pose)

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