In today’s world, we find ourselves in “fight or flight” mode WAY too often. Too much adrenaline is being pumped into our systems on a daily basis, usually for no good reason. Our distant ancestors used adrenaline to escape real life-or-death threats – like being chased by bear. Today, we produce adrenaline when we scroll social media, watch the evening news, or read something we disagree with. True life-threatening events are few and far between.
Not so for the possum . . .
Just like us, when a possum is threatened by a predator, its body is flooded with adrenaline and other chemicals, then it collapses and appears dead. (“Freeze” – as it’s called in the world of neuroscience – is another response to extreme stress.) Once the threat is gone, the possum “comes to” and violently shakes its body. That shaking is the possum’s way of discharging and releasing the alarm chemicals produced when the threat occurred.
What do modern humans do to discharge the alarm chemicals that our bodies are producing daily?
Often we do nothing. Often we just sit and stew in our own hormonal waste. Sure, some of us find some physical activity to “burn off” frustration, but sometimes that just compounds the problem. Going for a run (for example) helps us feel better, but now we’ve got endorphins and lactic acid adding to the adrenaline overload. Others might choose to have a drink to settle the nerves, but alcohol comes with its own set of problems too, including sleep disturbance.
Sleep is meant to be the body’s time to rest and repair and bring our hormone levels back into check, but many of us aren’t sleeping well (ironically, possibly due to an overload of adrenaline and cortisol), or we aren’t sleeping enough. Some of us consider it a feat of strength to be able to “get by” on just a few hours of sleep. And napping? Who has time for that? Plus, napping can further disrupt the nighttime sleep cycle.
Our society has come to believe that we are meant to get as much done in a 24-hour period as we can, and as a result, we are seeing an alarming rise in autoimmune diseases, high blood pressure, reproductive problems, and anxiety and depression. If we’re lucky enough to avoid big problems like those, we might end up simply catching a virus or succumbing to a bacterial infection that we otherwise would have been able to avoid.
What CAN we do?
We need to find time to relax, to let the “rest and digest” state undo the effects of “fight or flight.” And since we’re not sleeping well, we need to find time to do that during our waking hours. Any type of yoga or meditation will help, but if you want the full body/mind conscious relaxation experience, nothing beats restorative yoga. It is the antidote to the modern lifestyle. And the great thing is, anyone can do it!
If you’ve come to a beginners class and been frustrated by it because you didn’t feel strong enough, if you’ve come to a yin class and been frustrated by it because you didn’t feel flexible enough, you will love restorative!!! If you’re go-to exercise is core strength yoga, running, or crossfit, you need restorative yoga. In fact, if you are alive in the world today and you’re not living off the grid as a hermit, you need restorative yoga.
What is restorative yoga and what is the philosophy behind it?
Restorative yoga poses look a lot like poses you might see in a regular yoga class, but in restorative, the body is fully supported so that there is no effort or stress on the body. (This is also what differentiates it from yin yoga, where we’re purposely stressing joints and connective tissue.) Full support encourages complete relaxation of the muscles, allowing the lymphatic system more effectively do its job of ridding the body of toxins and hormonal waste. Free flowing lymph moves infection-fighting white bloods cells throughout the body. So even though it might not look or feel like the body is doing very much in a restorative practice, there is a lot of important “behind the scenes” stuff going on. For this reason, restorative yoga is especially beneficial for people with autoimmune issues, people who are receiving cancer treatment, people with anxiety and/or depression, and anyone under an unusual amount of mental or physical stress (aka “modern humans”). And because the body is fully supported, it can be practiced by anyone including pregnant women, the elderly, and those who are less mobile.
If you’d like to learn more about restorative yoga, including how to practice it on your own or how to teach it to others, you’re in luck! I’m offering an all-day restorative yoga workshop this Sunday at Main Street Yoga aptly titled “Restorative Yoga: The Science of Relaxation.” The workshop includes complete restorative practices, explorations of individual postures, how to use props, and an in-depth discussion about how restorative yoga works on the nervous system. We’ll also touch on Yoga Nidra and its relationship to restorative yoga.
CEUs (7 contact hours) are available for yoga teachers registered with Yoga Alliance. Teachers will learn remedial poses, feel-good assists for restorative yoga, and how to use marma points to enhance a restorative practice.
Register now and receive $15 off the workshop fee! (Originally $95, now $80.) But hurry - there are only 4 spots remaining!
I hope to see you Sunday!