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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