THERAPEUTIC REST

by Jimpi

Mr. and Mrs.Yamamoto, caretakers of the high school I attended in Utah, lived in a couple of rooms just inside the main entrance of the building. I don’t recall a single time during those winters when the walks and two pavillions in front of the school were not clear of snow, and yet I only ever witnessed one person, Mr. Yamamoto, a man of slight build in at least his late sixties then, shoveling snow. How he did the job was remarkable in the way he would rest between bursts of effort. Steadily working and regularly resting; in fact, it is the image of him resting that I remember best. He would stand behind the vertical shovel with both hands resting on the end of the shovel handle completely still and relaxed. Then he would start again.

I was remembering him because this past winter Brooke and I read an account of the 1996 ascent of the north face of Everest. While visiting her brother, Barclay, a physician and mountaineer in Salt Lake City, we had several conversations about the many popular books and films that have brought such perilous high-altitude stories to light in recent years. He talked about “therapeutic rest” in the context of the extreme conditions climbers train for and endure. We see and read about them near the summit, taking a step and then resting before being ready to take another step or two, before being compelled to stop and rest again. It may be hard for us who have not been to high altitudes to relate, and yet therapeutic rest is useful to understand in order to make our yoga practice or exercise regimen more effective. In sports medicine it is now recognized that time to recover is essential to making progress in training. A great aid to this understanding can be experience and the practice of awareness.

Dr. Barclay defines therapeutic rest as: “Down time at the right time. Short or long, when or where dependent on individual needs and circumstances one must escape the gravitational pull of mother earth.” He went on in a recent letter to express his belief that “the body tells us quite clearly if we are out of balance through pain and fatigue.”

In yoga we continually refine our ability to tune in to the breath for the signals it gives in order to adjust the way we move between or hold asanas or poses.

 

In any particular yoga pose, breath awareness is the key to bringing exertion and rest into balance. Pacing your practice and progressing to deeper levels of awareness requires consistent attention to breath, thus avoiding the mistake of overdoing or approaching asana superficially for quantity rather than quality.

Ideally breath remains constant and calm and rest is applied in proportion to the type and duration of the poses one moves between. In a dynamic phase of practice, such as while warming up, moving between positions with each breath in or out, there is a rest or brief stillness of the body as the tide of breath changes direction. Thus the mindful breath contains the motion of the body. Body and mind are connected through the breath.

While holding poses in a more static type of practice, restfulness is attained finally through adjustments in alignment so that the position is held with the least possible effort and motionless except for breathing. With practice, you can gain insight into how long to maintain this longer stillness. Though the word “asana” implies restfulness, a short rest is generally taken in a less strenuous pose such as mountain pose or child pose for a couple breaths or six to eight seconds after moving out of an asana and before doing a second round or moving into another asana.

The long rest comes at the end of all the asanas: pranayama and other kriyas done at a stretch. The general principle is to devote one fourth of the actual practicing time for this rest. For example, twenty minutes of yoga would be followed by five minutes of rest. This rest is usually taken in Shavasana with a blanket to help maintain core temperature and protect the body from external wind. As needed final relaxation can be supported by blankets, blocks, or other props. While in Shavasana keep the eyes closed, the body loose, and the breathing normal. Concentrate the mind, perhaps on a place of natural beauty such as the ocean or a garden. In this simple method of resting there should be a feeling as if you are breathing the air of that chosen place and you are relaxing by being mentally present there.

In our yoga practice when we choose poses that nourish and calm us and give us a sense of deep rejuvenation, we are doing restorative yoga. These asanas are typically supported with blocks, straps, or blankets and require us to linger in stillness for up to several minutes at a time.

A restorative practice is a good practice to cultivate on your own since often it is most helpful outside of class, to expel insomnia or allow for calm prior to or following a stressful event. Here are a few suggestions for practicing restorative poses.

Start out with a few minutes of gentle movement before settling into a restorative practice. Moving slowly and carefully will prepare the muscles for relaxation and give your body a chance to let go of its restlessness.

Support yourself with plenty of props. The more you feel your body is supported, the deeper your sense of surrendering into the pose will be.

Take the time to get comfortable on your props and make any necessary adjustments before you settle in. A small adjustment to a blanket or a minor shift in the body’s position can allow for a much more enjoyable experience.

Although they look peaceful, restorative poses can be challenging. Just because the body rests quietly doesn’t mean the mind will settle into stillness too. Be patient and continue to practice despite your mind’s resistance.

You may choose to incorporate a couple of restorative poses into your daily practice or you may devote one entire practice each week to restorative poses. But if you practice with awareness, in time you will cultivate the ability to more easily still your body and calm your mind and rest with peace in the present moment.

[Resources for further reading: Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Lasater]