Join Tess Booth, my co-teacher, and I for this advent countdown of self-care through the Christmas craziness. It is a daily 20 minute commitment we are making to ourselves, knowing the huge benefits that this simple posture yields. Constructive Rest is the most portable and practical restorative pose as it can be done without any props and and requires no special yoga equipment but has a multitude of benefits. In other words you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Constructive Rest will balance out the constant battle that the nervous system has between ‘doing’ and ‘being’. It is a pose for bringing us back to centre and allowing the spine to realign and lengthen. All you need to do is lie down, bend the knees and place the soles of your feet evenly onto the ground and be still for a while or listen to my free audio guide to keep you there for the full length of time that it takes for the relaxation response to kick in.
Receive 4 support emails with extra information and audio tracks over this month of practicing daily Constructive Rest.
Subscribe now to support yourself through the Christmas period
I know from Christmas past that however much I make an intention not to get involved in the speeding up and juggling that happens around this time of year, by the time I’ve attended the functions, supported the kids with their extra activities, sent off the cards and pressies to the Northern Hemisphere, organised the holidays with family meet ups and friends, made camping and food plans and wrapped up my work stuff for the year on top of the daily curve balls that life throws up, I often feel a great deal of tension physically, emotionally and mentally by the time I sit down for Christmas lunch!
This act of lying down, semi supine every-day will support me and I hope you too, on all those levels of being. Just 15-20 minutes a day will reveal untold benefits including these:
- Energises and restores fatigued body and mind
- Activates relaxation response in the nervous system
- Creates grounding
- Regulates and encourages good breathing
- Encourages good digestion
- Releases the psoas muscle
- Restores a neutral spine…
- …and can therefore relieve back pain
- Stillness and connection with Self
It isn’t just a gift to yourself when you do this counter cultural act, it benefits all those around you. It is not selfish, it is compassionate and sensible. A yoga practice seeks to nourish us, to take care of ourselves and our energy regulation so that we can be out in the world in good relationship with others and ultimately offer out compassion and love to all those around us. Isn’t that the point of Christmas too?
Prioritise your own wellbeing and schedule a pause for your self today. What are you waiting for?
Subscribe now to support yourself through the Christmas period
Your first free audio guide for practicing Constructive Rest
To keep us all supported in this commitment, do comment below and share your experience or ask me any questions that the practice may bring up. You could also post your commitment on your own Facebook page and encourage others to join you.
Namaste,
Sam x