A 30-minute restorative class for beginners with a chair, a bolster and the wall
This practice focuses on the evening wind down. It will help you relax your mind, calm down from the busyness of the day or whatever stress you have, and get into a more relaxed mood before sleep. Maybe you have a bed there, maybe you’re just getting ready to go to bed, so you can use your bed or a chair.
Releasing the head forward
We begin in Uttanasana with the hips at the wall, lifting from the backs of the thighs and holding the elbows, so the side trunk and the head release down. Then we sit on the front end of the chair with the legs wide, walk the hands forward on the blocks and rest the head. Let the back of the head release to the front of the head, so you release any tension from the head. With a bolster on the chair seat, we come back into Uttanasana and rest the forehead on the arms. Just watch that the bolster is not too high, so you’re not compressing the neck.
Lying down
In Supta Tadasana with the feet at the wall, straighten the legs so the flesh of the buttocks moves down and the lower back rests on the floor. Then draw one knee in at a time in Supta Pavanamuktasana, and then both knees into the chest. Keep the hips moving down, not lifting up. If the head lifts because the shoulders are tight, have a blanket behind the head so the neck is supported.
A gentle twist
With a rolled blanket under the knees, let the legs roll to the side and turn the chest. Move the hip away to keep length through that side, and make the exhalation a little bit longer as you turn.
Supported resting poses
In Supta Baddha Konasana and Supta Swastikasana, blankets support the legs, so the inner legs and inner pelvis can release. If you feel that you’re holding and doing, then you’re continuing to do something. With that support you can let go, kind of like a best friend who is listening to you. We hold a lot of tension in the abdomen just from the seated positions we have most of the day, so let the abdomen relax.
Legs up the wall and Savasana
We finish in Viparita Karani, legs up the wall, over a bolster and a block, and then Savasana with the legs resting on the bolster. Whenever we start to focus on our breath, everything starts to slow down. Let that extended exhalation help you slow down, mentally and physically.
Stay as long as you like.
Enjoy, Namaste 🙏🏻
This sequence includes:
- Uttanasana (hips at the wall)
- Seated forward bend on a chair
- Uttanasana (head on the chair)
- Supta Tadasana
- Supta Pavanamuktasana
- Supine twist over a blanket
- Supta Baddha Konasana
- Supta Swastikasana
- Viparita Karani
- Savasana
