Restorative Yoga Postures

I caught a particularly bad cold earlier in the year and had to adapt my personal yoga practice. I didn’t have the energy to do my regular asanas so I chose to do restorative postures instead. I thought I would write about the benefits of poses that I used to help.

I believe that it’s really important to be able to modify our practice to suit our changing needs. My personal practice enables me to connect and reflect on what’s going on within my life.  It’s imperative that we learn to listen to our body and adapt our practice as much as necessary.

In restorative postures, it’s much nicer to use props but if you don’t have any, you can always use alternative things that you can find in your home.  For example, you could use couple of pillows instead of a yoga bolster and a scarf or belt to replace yoga strap. Eye pillows are wonderful for restorative practice but if you don’t have one, you could use eye masks or cover your eyes with a small towel. Get creative and use whatever that works for you. Just make sure that you are supported and really comfortable. Here are some recommended restorative postures:

Supported Supine Bound Angle Pose

This is a great heart and hip opening pose, especially beneficial for relieving some symptoms of a cold.

 Props: Bolster, yoga straps or blocks and eye pillow

Cobbler yoga pose

Supported Child Pose

When you’ve got a cold, it can be difficult to do forward bends but this is a lovely calming and relaxing one to do.

Props: Bolster, cushion, blanket 

Yoga Child Pose

Legs up the wall pose

Similar to forward bends, inverted postures can be challenging postures to practice when your feeling under the weather but you can practice this pose easily.  It is also said to be a great pose to encourage you to get a good night’s sleep. The trick to getting close to the wall is to start by sitting very close sideways and flipping your legs 90 degrees. If your buttocks are still far away, use your elbows to nudge yourself closer.

 Prop: a wall or a chair, bolster

Yoga legs up the wall pose

Practicing points

  • Stay in the pose from 5 – 10 minutes
  • Feel and decide for yourself how much props to use
  • Relax and enjoy