NEW CLASS – Rest and Restore

“You don’t need fixing, you just need a tool kit upgrade” Gurutej Kaur Khalsa

Rest & Restore
Kundalini Yoga for Wellness and Recovery

10 to 11:30am Thursday morning

Mandala Garden Yoga & Wellness
161 Dawson Street, Girards Hill

Yoga is well known for its health benefits. A growing number of studies are showing that a regular yoga practice does contribute to ongoing good health.

Most yoga classes, however, are for generally healthy people, as a means to maintain health. You may come to yoga to increase your flexibility and energy, to reduce stress or improve sleep, but these are not necessarily considered health conditions.

When faced with health challenges, many people find regular yoga classes do little to improve their condition. They may even find yoga has a negative effect on their overall feelings of wellness. This is when a therapeutic approach to yoga is needed. Whether you have an ongoing health condition, are experiencing chronic pain or stress relate illness or are recovering from illness, this gentle approach to the practice of yoga and meditation can have beneficial effects on your overall feelings of wellbeing as well as supporting your road to recovery.

In regular yoga classes the student adjusts to the yoga. In the therapeutic approach the practice of yoga needs to be adjusted to meet the student where they are. Through my training in teaching Kundalini Yoga therapeutically I have come to embrace the idea of “something is better than nothing” and this is what underpins the practice in this new class.

The Three Pillars of Yoga

There are three pillars in the therapeutic approach to Kundalini Yoga, breath, movement and rhythm.

Breath – because everything starts and ends with breath. It is the first thing we do when we emerge from our mothers womb and the last thing we do before life is ended. In yoga the flow of breath is what connects us to the life force, the prana.

Movement – comes through postures, both from moving through asana, as in Hatha Yoga, and within postures as is common in Kundalini Yoga. It can also be as subtle as the simple touching of fingers in a moving mudra.

Rhythm – Rhythm combines breath and movement with the rhythm of the mantra, creating a continuous beat, like the heart beat of the Divine Mother. The flow of rhythm can have a powerful effect on the brain, helping to rewire us away from stress, pain and illness and into a healthier way of being.

“The art of healing, the art of ecstasy, the art of God-consciousness has millions of names in mystic terms. It has to do with rhythm and reality. When the body is in rhythm, there is ease. When the body, or any part of the body goes out of rhythm, there is dis-ease.”  Yogi Bhajan

One of the first ways we fall out of rhythm is through stress. In a natural stress response the body starts in a relaxed natural state. A trigger activates the nervous system to respond, what is known as fight or flight (or freeze). This triggers the release of adrenalin in the body, ready to take whatever action is needed to address the threat. Once the threat or ‘stressor’ is gone the body releases cortisol to bring you back to the natural state.

Relieving  Stress to Raise Vitality

Problems arise when the nervous system becomes unable to ‘turn off’ the stress response. Instead of returning to a natural state of relaxation the body remains in the heightened stress response. This state of constant tension can result in chronic health conditions, such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia and autoimmune disease.

The gentle combination of breath, movement and rhythm in this therapeutic approach to yoga helps to relieve stress and provide some relief from such conditions. a surefire way to beat stress is through the ability to deeply rest. The focus on rest and deep relaxation helps to teach students strategies to help them find the rest they need for recovery.

Therapeutic yoga is a perfect complimentary therapy, working alongside other health measures students may be undertaking. It does not claim to replace other health modalities or to be a miracle cure. Instead it works to support the immune system to take the best advantage of the range of health strategies a student may be using.

Possibly the greatest benefit of the practice is supporting students to self-efficacy, the belief that they are able to impact their own wellbeing. This is based in a certainty that we can make a difference. We all have the ability to impact our destiny. You could call this the psychology of getting well.

While modelled from the full 8 week ‘Kundalini Yoga for People Experiencing Health Conditions’ format, this class is being offered as a drop-in. This allows students to experience the benefits of therapeutic Kundalini Yoga without the stress of commitment, which can be challenging when you are unwell. A 6 week Restorative Kundalini course is offered in the evenings, with courses starting regularly.

Rest & Restore
Kundalini Yoga for Wellness and Recovery

10 to 11:30am Thursday morning

Mandala Garden Yoga & Wellness
161 Dawson Street, Girards Hill