Updated March 29, 2026 12:27PM
Okay, so we all know we need to rest. Not only is it essential for emotional equilibrium, rest supports bodily repair as well as longevity. But the act of doing nothing can be a challenging practice. It asks us to put everything, including our thoughts, down for a while. And that’s a completely foreign concept for many of us.
Rest was not encouraged when I was growing up. Hustle was what I saw. I had only been encouraged to work hard, do my best, and work hard some more. I observed working and sleeping—not that elusive thing called rest that exists in between. It wasn’t until I was already teaching yoga that a mentor asked, “Who modeled rest for you?” That’s when I realized I didn’t have a model.
If I hadn’t eventually experienced restorative yoga, I’m not sure that I would have ever known how to rest. Since becoming a teacher of rest practices—including restorative yoga and yoga nidra—I’ve witnessed how essential being still is in order to go through life with more presence and skill. We will always encounter challenges in our personal and professional lives, and those will always be set against the backdrop of what is happening in the world that is beyond our control. Being aware of how these situations are affecting our nervous systems is an important first step to knowing how our capacity to cultivate the opposite. It gives us a chance to say, “I know that I have the the skill to meet this moment, but do I have the space to meet it?”
Restorative yoga answers the question of how to rest despite the challenge, grief, fear, anxiety, etc. that you are carrying. And it allows you to practice rest alongside the inevitable stressors of life.
The following sequence of restorative yoga poses asks nothing of you except your willingness to be held and stay for a while. It’s designed to help you let go of all effort as you recline your body and allow yourself to be supported. You’ll experience your nervous system settling into calm—or something like it—in just three postures. (And possibly sooner than that.) Ideally, you’d allow close to an hour as you linger in each of the poses for 15 minutes each. Yet you’ll also find benefit from doing just one that resonates with you in the 5 minutes that you have.
Restorative Yoga for (Almost) Instant Calm
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Whenever the world feels too loud, come back to this sequence. Gather all of your cozy-making props—pillows, blankets, blocks—and set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes per pose. Let yourself experience some time to be free from any obligations or concerns beyond the moment in front of you so you can take back your energy and remember what rest feels like.
What You’ll Need
Chair, sofa or pouf; bolster or firm pillows; 3-4 blankets; 2 blocks; 1 yoga strap or belt; eye covering
Also recommended although not essential: cozy socks; extra pillows; weighted blanket as a top layer
Restorative Boat Pose
Letting your hips be heavy while your legs remain passively elevated can help ease away the effects of the day. You may already be accustomed to this in Legs Up the Wallyet simultaneously elevating the upper body and creating an opening across your chest brings an extra sense of expansiveness and calm.
How to: Set yourself up facing a sofa, chair, or pouf. If using a hard chair, place a blanket over the seat. Set up a block on the highest height under your head and a block on the medium height under the mid-back. Place a bolster or a couple firm pillows against the blocks to create a supported ramp for you. (If you don’t have blocks and a bolster, you can create a gently sloping support with stacked books and a couch cushion.)
Bring your legs onto the softa, chair, or pouf. Get close enough so your knees bend deeply and the backs of your knees feel supported. If you have a strap, place it strap around your shins just under the knees to keep the legs hip-distance apart rather than splaying out to the sides. If you don’t have a strap, wrap a blanket around the shins to create the same effect.
Sit with your back against at the base of the bolster and slowly lower the full length of your back onto it. Rest your arms gently alongside your body, slightly away from your sides, palms facing upward.
Soften your gaze. Take a full breath in and, as you exhale, allow your entire body to settle a little heavier into the props beneath you. If your arms dangle above the floor, place some pillows beneath them. Let every part of you feel supported.
Stay here and rest, noticing how the breath naturally deepens without any effort on your part. I recommend staying for 15 minutes, but any amount of time you can stay here will help.
When you’re ready, slowly make your way onto your back alongside your stack of props and bring both feet on the floor. If you like, take some subtle movement here. Then roll your body onto one side. Take a moment here.
Supine Twist
This prone pose is less intense than most twists, which results in the body being able to release more easily. When set up carefully, it can feel like you’re taking a long, slow exhalation throughout your entire body.
How to: Keep your setup for Restorative Boat in place. Sit with one hip alongside the bolster so you’re facing the side wall. Bend your knees and allow your hips to stack. Slowly lower your upper body onto your stack of props, twisting slightly to rest your chest and side body on the support. Turn your head to face the same direction as your knees. Notice if you need to lower the stack under your upper body for comfort. If there is any discomfort under the hips, bring a folded blanket beneath you for more support.
Stay here for 5 to ten minutes. Use your arms to slowly press yourself away from the prop stack and take your time as you make your way back to sitting. Turn so your other hip is sitting alongside the stack of props and repeat the twist on the other side.
Belly Savasana
This is one of the most underused restorative yoga poses in existence yet arguably one of the most powerful positions for nervous system regulation. The gentle compression against your belly brings support as well as grounded connection. And when the entire front body makes full contact with support, the nervous system quickly calms from the sensation that’s similar to self-hugging or deep pressure touch. It feels as if you’re being held without the work.
For people who have difficulty getting comfortable in traditional Savasana, this prone position often lands well.
How to: Bring the bolster lengthwise along the mat. Placing 2 blocks, side by side on the lowest level, at the end of the bolster closest to you. If the bolster is taller than the blocks, place a folded blanket on top of the blocks to create a similar height. Roll a secondblanket and place it near the other end of the mat for ankle support.
Come onto your hands and knees facing the blocks and bolster. Lower the front of your hip bones onto the firm support of the blocks and your belly and chest onto the cushiness of the bolster. Settle your ankles on top of the rolled blanket. Turn your head to one side, resting your cheek on the bolster. Let your arms rest wherever they feel most natural, whether alongside your thighs with your palms facing upward or with bent elbows bent in a cactus shape alongside your bolster. Soften into the support underneath you as you exhale. Stay here for as long as you wish.
