Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Molly Trayner


Molly Trayner
Professor Douglass
Midterm
Oct. 10th 2012

                                                                                                                                                                                          Attending “Restorative” at Back Bay Yoga Studio


            When I walked up to the tall brick building, with large bay windows facing Boylston Street and enter the doors of Back Bay yoga, I immediately felt comfortable.  I had picked Back Bay Yoga because of their large and broad class offerings.  When you walk into the lobby of the studio, you are asked to take off your shoes and check in.  The front desk folks were very helpful and friendly.  I was pleasantly surprised by Back Bay studios setup.  They had a clean area, a locker room and nice sitting area.  The members of the studio were pleasant.   It was a nice balance of men and women.  The studio seemed very popular for Teacher Training and many of the clients seemed right at home at the studio.  All in all, it was a great experience attending Back Bay Yoga.
           
            The class I choose to attend for the midterm assignment was Restorative Yoga.  “Restorative yoga is a gentle therapeutic style of yoga that uses props to support the body in restful still positions”.  (Back Bay Yoga) The all-around general goal of Restorative Yoga is to find complete physical and conscious relaxation in soothing positions that you hold in pure relaxation.  “It is most commonly called, Yoga for the nervous system.” (Ryan Cunningham, Class Teacher)  I picked this class because I wanted to try something a little different from the more popular classes that I would generally go to.  I was very intrigued to the idea of pure relaxation, and using props.
            At the root of modern restorative yoga classes are the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar, who taught his students to use various props for the purpose of perfecting poses.  (Livestrong 2009) He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world.  His teachings developed into an official style of yoga, named “Iyengar Yoga.”  His teachings directly inspired the creation of Restorative yoga.   
            The Restorative Yoga class teacher at Back Bay yoga is Ryan Cunningham.  Ryan teaches a handful of classes at the studio as well as serves as the Manager of the studio.  Ryan has been teaching yoga for a few years now. 
           
            Walking into the sunroom for my 75 minute Restorative Class, Ryan asked me to set up my mat and from the wall, put 4 blankets, 4 blocks, 1 strap, 1 bolster and a metal chair.  Gathering these props and putting them around my mat, I thought, “What did I get myself into?”  The class was small; there were a few males and handful of women.  Age range was from college to mid 40s.  The room lighting was dimmed with orange lanterns and Ryan Sat in the middle of the class for everyone to have view of him doing the poses.  This set up had me nervous and it was very unknown to me, sitting next to a pile of props waiting for directions.  But as soon as the class started I felt at ease with Ryan’s teaching.  Ryan calmly started describing the first pose and walked around to gently adjust everyone and gave personal hints for comfort.  Between each pose, Ryan would say, “Adjust and set up the physical part of the pose, let yourself fall into the pose, then focus on the inner part of this pose.”  It was odd at first, the setting of just lying in a dark room on an object for several minutes. But, I found myself using the montra, physical and then focus on the inner pose.  With that, I found complete peace and relaxation in the pose I was doing. 
           
            The class was 75 Minutes of 7 poses.  Each pose was described before hand.  Then we fell into these poses for several minutes.  Here are just a few poses we did in class. 
            Paschimottanasana (Chair Variation): Fold a blanket and sit on it while sitting in a cross -legged position letting the weight of your legs drop. Then put the metal chair directly in front of you with a blanket on the seat and lean forward to lay your arms and head on the chair. 
           
            Supta Baddha Konasana:
Lay down and putting a blanket under your spine and head, release the tension in your back.  Bringing your feet together, with knees bent and opened out to the side of the mat, while placing blocks under the knees to support the weight for complete relaxation.
           
            Supported Seated Twist:
Sit straight up in a right angle to the bolster, left hip into the side of the bolster with your legs folded with a blanket between the thighs to avoid compression of the hips.  Twist and lie on the bolster, make sure you are not twisting so much you are stretching. After a few minutes, we sat up and switched sides.
           
            Viparita Karani (Chair Variation): Pull the chair onto your mat. Put a blanket on the seat of the chair and put you lower legs on the chair.  Lay down flat on your back. Once you are flat on your back with you legs on the chair, put a folded blanket under your lower back.
           
            Each Restorative sequence is designed to move the spine in all directions. These movements illustrate the age-old wisdom of yoga that teaches well being is enhanced by a healthy spine. Some of the restorative poses are backbends, while others are forward bends. Additional poses gently twist the column both left and right.

            Restorative Yoga was one of the most relaxing and supported yoga classes I have yet to encounter.  Once I had myself set up in the poses, I completely fell into them.  Focusing on my breathing, letting my thoughts come and go, I found peace with my body in the poses.  It’s a relaxing style of practice that leaves you feeling open and refreshed.  It was a completely quiet, effortless form of yoga designed to impact, in subtle yet powerful ways, the mind and body. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   















                                     References:

"Back Bay Yoga Studio." - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. <http://www.backbayyoga.com/>.





"Judith Hanson Lasater." Judith Hanson Lasater. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. <http://www.restorativeyogateachers.com/learntopractice.html>.


Adkins, Carissa. "What Is Restorative Yoga?" LIVESTRONG.COM. N.p., 21 Nov. 2009. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/38606-restorative-yoga/>.

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