Why Restorative Yoga benefits your wellbeing, and how to get started
Increasingly, it’s becoming clear that cognitive functioning relies on getting enough rest - Restorative Yoga can help. Learn how to get started with these simple tips
We know that consciousness is more complex than simply being awake or asleep. You can be awake but not conscious of what you’re doing (like when you don’t remember the drive home) or you can be alert and focused on a complex task. But you can also be awake and lost in a day dream, or having a conversation with someone but recalling something else entirely. Even when you’re asleep, there are different states of what we collectively term “unconscious”: you can be trapped in a dream and unable to get out, on a lucid adventure in which you’re at the wheel or, if you’re lucky, in a restful, dreamless sleep.
With the exception perhaps of driving in a fugue state, none of these frames of mind is better or worse than another; rather, they’re each essential stages of consciousness that, when functioning in harmony, can produce seamless cognitive function and promote creativity and productivity. Increasingly, it’s becoming clear that cognitive functioning relies on getting enough rest.
As self-care enjoys its coming of age, rest is becoming increasingly recognized as a major player in the field of health (For the purposes of this piece, “rest” should include adequate sleep, meditation, and conscious relaxation practices such as Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra). But rest is not simply the provider of wellbeing; it is the source of accomplishment and innovation. In a results-driven, lightning speed world where more is being asked of us than ever before, it’s no longer about “finding time” to recover, but recognizing that without preemptive rest we’ll get less done, fall further behind, and feel more overwhelmed than ever.
The practices of yoga have always been centered around the importance of balancing activity with rest, and offsetting the tendency of the human mind to become so overwhelmed with misconception and illusion that we forget this fundamental wisdom. This idea is central to yoga’s best known (and best-selling) text, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, in which yoga itself is described not as stretching, but as a practice to still the fluctuations (Vrittis) of the mind. Patanjali goes on to identify five different Vrittis or states of mind that should be transcended in order for the state of “yoga” (meaning, in this sense, unified awareness) to take place:
Pramana: correct knowledge
Viparyaya: incorrect knowledge, misconception
Smriti: memory
Vikalpa: imagination, fantasy, illusion
Nidra: sleep
While this text was likely written by and for ascetics seeking an altogether higher state of mind than is needed for earthly day-to-day functioning, there’s wisdom here too for today’s householder practitioner. In reality, it’s obvious that we cycle through these different states throughout each day, and that each one is in fact necessary for our health and growth. Instead of trying to override them to gain elusive states of enlightenment, knowing how they work together to inform the fabric of our experience is probably more relevant and useful.
Take the first one, Pramana, for example. Existing in a state of perpetual correct knowledge certainly seems appealing, but without making a regular transition from misconception to correct knowledge, learning never takes place. Memories are required to put what we have learned into future use, while imagination adds a lens of perception that’s beyond what we receive through our senses, and allows for progress and ingenuity. But most importantly, none of this functions well without Nidra, which in this context includes both sleep and conscious rest.
In her book The Art of Rest, Claudia Hammond identifies mood disorders and memory difficulties as mental side-effects of not getting enough rest while the Mayo Clinic associates relaxation with improved concentration, mood, and problem-solving abilities and decreased anger and frustration.
In 2016, The Rest Test, the world’s largest study on rest was performed. In it, 68% of more than 18,000 participants reported not getting ample rest. That two-thirds of people are therefore at risk of cognitive dysfunction doesn’t bode well for the individuals involved, or our society at large.
So what can be done? The first step is approaching rest like you would any new venture: make a plan.
Plan. Just as you would schedule a work out, it helps to carve out time for conscious rest. Set aside a manageable chunk of time (it can be as little as 10 minutes) on a regular basis and commit to resting.
Prioritize. One of my favorite tips for clients struggling to make time for rest is having them set aside one morning or afternoon a week for self-care. Somehow this can feel more manageable than building in time every day.
Strategize. If you’re busy, it can be useful to bookend other activities with rest, such as building in Restorative Yoga poses at the end of an active yoga practice, or doing Yoga Nidra in bed before falling asleep.
Incentivize. Let’s face it: humans are creatures of instant gratification. A study from Iowa State University suggests that adding a motivating reward after your practice is key to making your habit stick. Enjoy a bite of dark chocolate after your practice if that’s what it takes.
