Stress is more prevalent than ever, but lucky us the SRWC is offering an opportunity to relieve it: restorative yoga! Restorative yoga is a class that offers excellent opportunities for tension-removal, meditation, stress-reduction and overall promotion of wellness.

“The yoga spectrum spans from more intensive types like power and Ashtanga, to simpler, calmer kinds like Hatha,” said class instructor Kirstin Simon. “Restorative yoga is on the far end of this spectrum, leaning towards the calmer side.”

While yoga types on the higher end—like Ashtanga and power yoga—are more cardio-based, sweaty forms of yoga, restorative is the complete opposite. It deals with the mind, decreases stress and offers access to a much wider range of people, regardless of mobility, experience or other restrictions. Participants will use props and bolsters to get set up, but the class mostly entails long, meditative, breath-centered practice and slow mindful movements.

“We don’t do anything standing,” said Simon. “Participants will be sitting very still—and that’s the hard work. Breath work is hard work.”

Restorative yoga targets the parasympathetic nervous system in an effort to reduce stress. Simon believes that managing stress is vital to any person’s well-being and enjoys being able to facilitate stress reduction for those that simply need a break.

“In my opinion, 99.9% of the population should be doing this yoga, but they don’t,” Simon said. “I want to let students know that they can heal themselves through this yoga and give them the opportunity to simply check out for an hour. It’s important for them to do.”

Simon teaches restorative yoga on Sundays from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. in the Farber Fitness Room. All experience levels are welcome!

For more information on this class, visit http://www.asirecreation.org/group-fitness.