This is what I’m doing a lot of in my practice these days 🙂
I notice that if I’m short on time, I try to cram in a lot of postures – I’ve been talking about this a lot but it’s taking me awhile to really change this habit. When I’m full of energy (ie kind of manic) I need to move to start with, but then my whole being drops into yoga and eventually I get reallllllly slow and sigh a lot. In the end, I end up hugging my bolster like a yogi’s teddy bear, and drape myself over it in child’s pose. It feels so good!
If you don’t have a yoga bolster, you can definitely experiment with couch cushions and sleeping pillows.
But you might also splurge and get a bolster!
They’re available at: www.huggermugger.com – I like round bolsters best, like the one I’m on, but they also have rectangular, which are a bit more firm.
The art of restorative yoga sometimes takes awhile to figure out, even if you’ve been practicing for 14 years, evidently! In busy times, like the holiday season, I find that’s when I need to relax the most. Let me know if you end up splurging on a bolster!
Enjoy your practice!
Wow, that looks so snuggly and good on a snowy day!
I also find it hard to get a good mix of active and restorative when I practice at home. Even settling into child’s pose can be tough, because I have trouble relaxing and keeping “count” or track of what I’m doing / where I’m going next. Making child’s pose a little more luscious with a bolster sounds like a really good way to remedy that!
I have been considering splurging on the Yamuna Foot Wakers, which I find helpful buy WAY less comfy than a bolster 🙂
Yes, It’s as divine as it looks. I think a bolster is worth every penny for the extreme yumminess that it brings me.
Have you tried the foot wakers? I love them, but if you want to borrow mine for a few weeks, just let me know Melissa. I’m happy to lend them out (I have two pairs, so I wouldn’t miss them).
what are foot wakers?
and THANKS for the great photo and the link, Barrett! I need one of these, as I LOVE child’s pose! I can’t get enough of it. But I seem not to give myself permission at home – only in class, if I’m tired or need to mentally re-focus. Getting a bolster might help with that!
Barrett I did this last night with rolled up cushions–divine! Thanks for the restorative reminder.
[…] forward bend (very calming for me). And sometimes I lie over a block or curl myself up over the bolster. Heavenly! I feel much more in control and present then when I tune into whatever’s going […]