Private Restorative yoga in Metro Manila
Four or five postures in a session, each one propped up so completely that you can stop holding yourself up at all. The quietest of the four. Fully propped, held long, and closer to rest than exercise.
What Restorative actually is
Restorative is not stretching. Bolsters, blankets and blocks take your weight so that nothing has to work, and each posture is held for five to ten minutes. The aim is to put the body in a position it can be in without any effort, which turns out to be much harder to arrange than it sounds.
Who it suits
It is what I would give you at the end of a week that took everything. Also for coming back after illness, injury or a long gap, where movement would be too much too soon.
What a session feels like
Like doing very little, which feels strange for the first ten minutes. Once you are propped you stay there and I adjust the props rather than you. People fall asleep in it.
Sessions run 60 or 75 minutes. Bolsters, blankets, blocks and an eye pillow. Nothing you need to own.
Questions about Restorative
Is Restorative yoga actually doing anything?
It is doing less, deliberately. Whether that is what you want this week is a fair question, and if the honest answer is that you would rather move, take Vinyasa instead.
What props do I need at home?
None. I bring bolsters, blankets and blocks to every session. If you happen to have cushions and a folded duvet we can use those too, but nothing needs buying beforehand.
Can I do Restorative if I am injured?
Tell me what happened and what your doctor or physiotherapist has said, and we build the session around it. I am not a medical professional and I will not treat an injury. What I can do is set up positions that keep well away from it.
Where I teach it
Sessions come to you. These are the areas I am in most often.