BENEFITS OF RESTORATIVE YOGA
Restorative yoga or yoga for recovery has now become increasingly popular with us too;
A yoga style certainly different from tradition, which while having its origins in a modern style maintains the concept of physical and mental health of a more traditional yoga.
Benefits of restorative yoga
Restorative Yoga has a positive influence on almost all the most important systems of the body, such as the cardiovascular, circulatory, nervous, lymphatic, immune, muscular, skeletal and endocrine systems.
Practicing restorative yoga also increases levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in anxiety and depression. This partly explains why it relieves stress and makes us feel less anxious and depressed.
This style of yoga can also be beneficial for people with chronic pain.
Let’s see some benefits of Restorative Yoga
- improves fertility
- reduces cortisol, the stress hormone
- reduces the symptoms of menopause
- lowers blood pressure and heart rate
- reduces muscle tension, insomnia and generalized fatigue
- improves the immune system
- increases “good” cholesterol
- improves digestion and elimination of waste
- increases the ability to regulate blood glucose levels
- relieves pain
- reduces triglyceride levels
- stimulates the lymphatic system
- improves blood circulation and oxygenation
- calms the mind
- increases flexibility
- develops grounding capacity
- improves mental acuity
There has also been a lot of research on the benefits of restorative yoga and how it improves our health.
In a 2009 study (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd), for example, talked about restorative yoga and breast cancer
This study demonstrates potential benefits of Restorative Yoga on the emotions and fatigue of cancer patients.
In fact, it is highlighted that improvements have been noted in depression, anxiety, mental health and in general quality of life for women with ovarian or breast cancer.
Restorative Yoga and menopause
Another interesting study of 14 postmenopausal women presents brilliant results.
The 14 women who had at least 4 moderate to severe hot flashes a day or at least 30 a week underwent the study, which involved practicing eight restorative yoga positions taught in an introductory 3-hour and 8- weekly 90 minutes sessions. People practiced alone even twice a week.
The majority of people were satisfied with the results and 75% continued to practice restorative yoga for the next three months. The mean number of hot flashes per week decreased by 30.8% and the intensity decreased by 34.2% from study start to week 8.
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