Restorative yoga, rest as a practice

Most yoga asks something of you: a stretch, a balance, a breath held a little longer. Restorative yoga asks the opposite. You lie on a bolster, a blanket under your head, your knees supported, and you stay there for fifteen minutes doing nothing at all. For many people, it is the hardest practice of the week.

Where it comes from

Iyengar's props

Restorative yoga was foreshadowed by the method of B.K.S. Iyengar in Pune. Iyengar designed props, "wooden gadgets, belts, ropes" in the words of his official site, so that stiff, older, tired or ill students could take postures they could not otherwise hold, with less muscular effort. Supported versions of shoulderstand, backbends over a bench, legs up the wall: the gestures of restorative yoga are all in his classes. See Iyengar yoga.

Judith Hanson Lasater

The American teacher Judith Hanson Lasater, an early student of Iyengar who has taught yoga since 1971, a physical therapist with a doctorate in East-West psychology, gathered these supported postures into a practice of their own. She was among the founders of Yoga Journal and of the California Yoga Teachers Association. Her book Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times (1995) is presented by her publisher as the first book devoted to restorative yoga; Restore and Rebalance followed in 2017, with twelve postures and their variations.

In the texts

The classical texts do not describe a "restorative" practice, but they know the value of rest. Among its fifteen postures, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes the corpse pose, just before the four great seated postures:

उत्तानं शववद्भूमौ शयनं तच्छवासनम् । शवासनं श्रान्तिहरं चित्तविश्रान्तिकारकम् ॥

uttānaṃ śavavad bhūmau śayanaṃ tac chavāsanam | śavāsanaṃ śrānti-haraṃ citta-viśrānti-kārakam ||

Lying on the ground on one's back like a corpse: that is śavāsana. Śavāsana removes fatigue and brings rest to the mind.

Viśrānti, rest, repose, is the word on this page. Legs up the wall is related to viparīta karaṇī, "the inverted practice", which the same text (3.78-3.79 in the GRETIL edition) treats as a mudrā to be learnt from a guru, with the navel above and the palate below, not as a rest pose. The modern supported version keeps the shape and drops the esoteric aim. Be honest about the difference.

The props

Lasater's full list for a home practice: a mat, four blocks, three firm bolsters, three hand towels, three eye bags, eight firm blankets, a belt, a folding chair and two sandbags. She also suggests what most of us have: sofa cushions, pillows, and bags of rice or dried beans as weights. The principle: every part of the body that would otherwise hold itself is supported.

Five classic postures

A session at home, step by step

1. Choose a warm, quiet room; switch off notifications; keep a blanket within reach, the body cools quickly in stillness.
2. Set up the first posture completely before lying down: it is the setting that does the work.
3. Come in slowly, adjust until nothing pulls, then stop moving.
4. Let the breath be natural; if the mind runs, return gently to the sensation of the support beneath you.
5. Come out as slowly as you came in, rolling to one side before sitting up.
6. Four to six postures make a session of 45 to 90 minutes; one posture of fifteen minutes is already a practice.

The breathing timer can mark the time without a loud alarm.

Who it suits

Restorative yoga suits almost everyone: beginners, older people, people who are tired, convalescent or stressed, dynamic practitioners on a rest day. Its intensity is the lowest of all yoga styles; its difficulty is mental, the stillness. On the levels of practice, it is open from the first day.

Before you start

We make no health claim for restorative yoga here: it is presented as a practice of rest, not a treatment.

Finding a good class

There is no certifying body for restorative yoga. Teachers trained in the Iyengar method, or by Judith Hanson Lasater and her students, know the props best. Ask how many students are in the class (setting up takes time), and whether the teacher adjusts the supports for each person. For a stretch-based slow practice, compare with yin yoga; to deepen rest with attention, try yoga nidra. All the schools and paths: the paths of yoga.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Restorative yoga, Wikipedia (Iyengar props, Judith Hanson Lasater, Relax and Renew 1995, props list, holds up to twenty minutes) checked October 16, 2026
2. Judith Hanson Lasater, Wikipedia (teaching since 1971, physical therapist, co-founder of Yoga Journal) checked October 16, 2026
3. Iyengar Yoga, official site of B.K.S. Iyengar and RIMYI (props designed by Iyengar) checked October 16, 2026
4. Svātmārāma, Haṭhayogapradīpikā, Sanskrit text, 1.34 and 3.78-3.79 (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 16, 2026
5. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (Allahabad, Panini Office, 1914), Internet Archive checked October 16, 2026

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