RESTORE & NIDRA begins Sun, Oct, 4th 7PM

Class Description

EVERY 2nd Sunday 1.5 hours This class is geared towards those: • Who often find themselves feeling tired, rushed, overwhelmed, agitated, stressed, etc. and would like to find a way to press pause on the hectic pace that life often asks of us. • Who have mastered the active and busy side of life, but are interested in finding more balance by consciously slowing down and intentionally practicing self-care more regularly. • Who suffer from chronic pain/illness, grief, insomnia, or who are looking to recover from injury gently. • Who want to learn how to relax more deeply and to experience the peace of returning home to themselves. • Who want to learn how to slow their racing thoughts and discover the refuge of silence, stillness, and self-compassion. • Who are in need of respite, restoration, healing, and serenity, would like to learn how rest that is more than superficial can help to encourage better quality sleep. • Who know how sweet and soul-soothing a Restorative practice can be! In this practice, you will be guided to choose the use of props like bolsters, blankets, eye covers, sponges/bricks, blocks, straps, etc. to help you find positions of ease and comfort. Resting in these restorative postures will facilitate the gentle release of tension and the gradual opening of the body, with the aid of gravity and your slow, steady, relaxed breath. Eleanor will guide you through this 1.5 hour practice with grounding, breath awareness, reclined and supported poses. We will aim to stretch passively, rather than actively, in mat-based and long-held poses, with the idea being that, if we can put effort into our prop set ups, we can sink into effortlessness in each posture. The class will conclude with an extended Savasana (final resting pose) and a guided meditation, called “Yoga Nidra”, which means “Yogic Sleep”. This dreamy experience is meant to allow you to hover between wakefulness and sleep (in the most relaxed state that your body can manage without actually falling fully asleep), and is deeply healing and restful for all layers of your being. No previous yoga experience is necessary, but the ability to get down onto the floor and back up again is helpful. However, if this is not currently in your scope of mobility at the moment, please let your instructor know, so that we can modify a version of each pose to suit your body best. Please wear comfortable clothing and bring warm layers, as the body temperature tends to drop a couple of degrees as we recline.