Poses
Explore restorative yoga poses designed to calm the mind, relax the body, and support deep rest in daily life.
Updated on: 17th December 2025
Posted on: 17th December 2025
Restorative yoga is a gentle, deeply nourishing practice designed to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and support the body’s natural healing response. Unlike more active yoga styles, restorative yoga focuses on stillness, comfort, and conscious rest.
This practice uses supportive props—such as bolsters, blankets, and blocks—to fully support the body in restorative yoga poses. With the body comfortably held, muscles can soften, the breath can slow, and the nervous system can settle into a state of deep rest.
Restorative yoga is especially helpful for people navigating stress, fatigue, chronic tension, or emotional overwhelm. Because the poses are fully supported and held for longer periods, the practice is accessible to people of all ages, body types, and experience levels.
At its core, restorative yoga invites you to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with a sense of balance and ease.
Restorative yoga offers both immediate and long-term benefits for physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
One of its most profound effects is calming the nervous system. By encouraging the body to shift into a parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state, restorative yoga helps counteract the effects of chronic stress and mental overload.
With regular practice, restorative yoga may support:
Because the practice emphasizes rest rather than effort, restorative yoga can be a powerful complement to more active forms of exercise or a supportive practice during periods of recovery.
Restorative yoga works by creating conditions where the body feels completely safe to relax. Each pose is carefully arranged with props so that there is no muscular effort required to “hold” the shape.
Poses are typically held for five to twenty minutes, allowing time for tension to release at deeper levels. As the body settles, the breath naturally slows, and the mind becomes quieter.
Common restorative yoga poses—such as reclining bound angle pose, supported child’s pose, and legs up the wall—are explicitly chosen for their calming, grounding effects. With minimal movement and sustained support, the practice encourages deep rest rather than stimulation.
Over time, this intentional slowing helps retrain the nervous system to return to balance more easily, even outside of practice.
To begin a restorative yoga practice, choose a quiet, comfortable space where you won’t be disturbed. Dim lighting and a calm atmosphere can help signal to the body that it’s time to rest.
While you don’t need elaborate equipment, a few basic props can significantly enhance your experience:
Start with simple poses such as the supported child’s pose or corpse pose (Savasana). Short 15–30-minute sessions are enough to experience benefits, especially during stressful periods or before bedtime.
Restorative yoga can be practiced 2–3 times per week, or even daily when life feels demanding.
Several restorative yoga poses are especially effective for promoting relaxation and restoring balance:
Each of these poses supports the body, allowing the mind to soften and stress to melt away. Practiced consistently, they can become powerful tools for relaxation and renewal.
Reclining bound angle pose, also known as Supta Baddha Konasana, is one of the most deeply relaxing restorative yoga poses.
To practice, lie on your back with the soles of your feet together and your knees gently opening to the sides. Use a bolster or stacked blankets along the spine for support, and place additional cushions under the knees if needed.
Remain in the pose for 5–10 minutes, allowing the breath to flow naturally. This posture gently opens the hips and chest while encouraging deep relaxation. It is often used to ease tension, calm the mind, and support emotional balance.
Bound angle pose (Baddha Konasana), also called Cobbler’s Pose or Butterfly Pose, can be practiced seated or reclined with support.
This pose gently opens the hips and inner thighs while promoting relaxation rather than effort. When supported with props, it becomes a restorative posture suitable for extended holds.
Regular practice of the Bound Angle Pose may support improved flexibility, reduced mental tension, and a greater sense of calm. Many practitioners also find it helpful for winding down in the evening or releasing stress held in the body.
Restorative yoga is a holistic practice that addresses both the body and the mind. While the body is physically supported in gentle poses, the mind is invited into stillness through awareness of breath and sensation.
As physical tension releases, mental chatter often quiets as well. This creates space for clarity, emotional ease, and a sense of inner balance.
With regular practice, restorative yoga can deepen body awareness and cultivate a more compassionate relationship with rest—something often missing in fast-paced daily life.
A restorative yoga class typically moves slowly and intentionally. Poses are set up carefully with props, and transitions are minimal.
An instructor will guide you into each posture and may offer adjustments to enhance comfort and support. Classes often include calming cues, gentle breath awareness, and extended periods of stillness.
Most restorative yoga classes end with a longer relaxation, allowing the effects of the practice to fully integrate. Many people leave feeling grounded, refreshed, and deeply rested.
One of the strengths of restorative yoga is its adaptability. Poses can—and should—be modified to meet your individual needs.
Use as many props as necessary to feel fully supported. If discomfort arises, adjust the pose or rest in a neutral position. The goal is never to push or stretch, but to create ease.
Listening to the body is an essential part of the practice. Restorative yoga honors where you are each day, without expectation or strain.
Breath awareness plays a central role in restorative yoga. As the body rests, the breath becomes a gentle anchor for the mind.
Simply noticing the natural rhythm of inhalation and exhalation can help deepen relaxation. Over time, this mindful breathing supports greater nervous system balance and emotional steadiness.
When paired with longer holds and physical support, breathwork enhances the restorative effects of each pose.
Sri Sri Yoga, offered through The Art of Living Foundation and named after Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, integrates traditional yogic wisdom with modern understanding of stress, breath, and well-being.
Restorative yoga elements are woven into many Art of Living offerings, including:
Sri Sri Yoga also offers teacher training programs, including 200-hour certification and advanced levels, for those wishing to deepen their practice or share yoga with others.
While restorative yoga supports physical and mental relaxation, pairing it with breathwork and meditation can deepen its benefits.
SKY Breath Meditation, taught in the Art of Living Part 1 Course, works directly with rhythmic breathing patterns to release accumulated stress and restore inner balance. Together, gentle yoga and breath-based meditation create a powerful foundation for sustainable well-being.
Restorative yoga creates space for deep rest in the body, but lasting balance comes from supporting both the body and the breath. Sri Sri Yoga, offered through The Art of Living, integrates gentle yoga postures with breath awareness and relaxation practices to calm the nervous system and release accumulated stress.
To deepen your experience, the Art of Living Part 1 Course, which includes SKY Breath Meditation, offers powerful, guided breathing techniques designed to restore inner balance and mental clarity. Together, yoga and breathwork create a strong foundation for sustainable well-being—on and off the mat.
