Like a forgiving mother, Patanjali’s first sutra calls us back home after a day’s frenzied adventures. Never is too late and nothing is lost for every time we read or utter the word Atha (Now) we can start again, we can start anew.

Arching the body over the bolsters in the shape of a bridge opens the chest and the lungs, stretches the hip flexors and helps drain fluid from the legs. As soon as I settle in the pose, I feel the energy of the body expanding and the chatter in my head slows down. I experience, in other words, what Iyengar used to call ‘negative brain’

Have you ever noticed how much touch - self touch- there is in a yoga practice? It’s not the most obvious thing but almost every other cue involves a reference to touch…

In an ideal world, we would all have time for a long restorative yoga practice on a daily basis. But, alas, our daily obligations to work, family and friends and our endless to-do lists leave us with little time for self- care. But taking time to rest every day, even if it’s only for five minutes can be truly transformative

My personal yoga practice as well as the classes I teach always begin with a quick check-in in the form of a brief meditation. In Yoga, the point where our senses are completely withdrawn from the outer world is called Pratyahara and it is as important to our practice as breath-work (pranayama) and postures (asanas).

Every time we hum, chant, yawn or moan we stimulate the vagus nerve - the tenth cranial nerve that wanders all over the upper body and is largely responsible for the ‘mind-body’ connection.

Most people think of restorative yoga as an easy practice similar to spending a day at the spa or having ‘an adult nap time’ (Stevens). Others still assume that restorative classes are designed for people who due to age or injury are unable to practice ‘traditional’ styles of yoga.