Restorative Yoga: mind & body
Before a restorative yoga class, I walk around the room to say hello and check-in with students one-on-one. For a while, I asked folks how their body was feeling during this mini check-in. I asked about their body because the restorative practice begins with the physical body.
In yogic texts, the physical body is considered the most gross of our five energetic bodies, the koshas, and is named the annamaya kosha. The koshas are often described like Russian nesting dolls, with the physical body being on the outside and the most subtle body, anandamaya kosha (bliss body), being all the way on the inside. By supporting the annamaya kosha in restorative yoga, we open the pathway to the other four koshas. The middle three koshas are the pranamaya (energetic body), manamaya (mental body), and vijnanamaya (wisdom body). The journey through the Koshas leads us to connect with our most brilliant self.
In restorative yoga, we tend to our annamaya kosha by wearing comfortable clothes, setting up props in a way that fully supports the body, and taking our time to move slowly from shape to shape. When I ask students at the beginning of class how their body feels, I’m listening for information about how I can guide a practice that initially tends to their annamayakosha, knowing this will support them in greater conscious expansion.
Sometimes students responded to my question by saying, “My body is fine, I’m here for my mind.” They understood how caring for the body in restorative yoga leads to a freer and clearer mind. There are two koshas that relate to the mind. The manamaya contains the active thinking rational mind, the pragmatic mind. The vijnanamaya contains the higher conscious mind, with intuition, insight, and wisdom. The pranamaya kosha, the energetic body, works with the breath to animate the physical body and both aspects of the mind. Through restorative yoga we are able to create union and balance among these five energetic bodies and reduce pain and discomfort in the mind and body.
Today before a class, I ask students a combination of these questions: How is your body feeling? How would you describe your energy? or How is your mind? These questions invite people to speak to different aspects of their energetic bodies, their koshas. Through them, I learn how the practice can support balance and union in their being that day.
If you’d like to learn more about the koshas or the mind-body connection in restorative yoga, I’m hosting my 25-hour Restorative Yoga Teacher Training in February 2023 with Heatwise Yoga in Brooklyn. You can learn more about it here.
