What Is Restorative Yoga? Benefits and How It Differs From Other Yoga Styles

If you’re curious about yoga but want a practice that feels gentle, soothing, and healing, restorative yoga might be the perfect fit for you. It’s a style focused on deep relaxation and stress relief, quite different from many other popular yoga types.

Comparing Four Popular Yoga Styles

Hatha Yoga

Hatha yoga is often considered the foundation of many yoga styles. It’s a balanced practice with a mix of breathing exercises, basic postures, and gentle stretches. The pace is moderate, making it great for beginners wanting to learn alignment and breath control.

Yin Yoga

Yin yoga involves holding seated or floor poses for longer periods (usually 3–5 minutes or more) to deeply stretch connective tissues like ligaments and fascia. It’s slower and more meditative than Hatha, focusing on increasing flexibility and calming the nervous system.

Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga takes gentleness even further. Poses are fully supported with props like blankets, bolsters, blocks, and cushions, and held for extended periods (5–20 minutes). The goal is complete relaxation, releasing tension, and activating the body’s natural healing response.

In my own classes, I’ve been exploring different kinds of relaxing poses to help participants enjoy deep release by implementing more restorative poses into the In Style yoga sessions. We recently had an amazing class where I introduced some new restorative positions. These poses require minimal effort, allowing your body to release naturally rather than forcing a stretch, which can sometimes cause tension.

It’s incredible what you can achieve with simple props like yoga blocks, foam rollers, pillows, cushions, blankets, and straps. These tools help support the body, making the practice accessible and deeply restorative.

Power Yoga

Power yoga is a dynamic, fitness-based practice that builds strength, stamina, and flexibility through faster-paced, challenging sequences. It’s great if you want a vigorous workout combined with traditional yoga postures.

Why Choose Restorative Yoga?

• Deep Relaxation: Calms the nervous system, helping reduce stress, anxiety, and fatigue.

• Healing and Recovery: Ideal for injury recovery, chronic pain, or burnout, giving your body the space to heal.

• Improves Sleep: Supports better, more restful sleep.

• Gentle Stretching: Encourages flexibility and releases deep tension without strain.

• Accessible for All: Suitable for all ages and fitness levels.

Who Can Benefit from Restorative Yoga?

• People dealing with stress, anxiety, or insomnia

• Those recovering from injury or illness

• Beginners or anyone needing a gentle practice

• Anyone looking to complement more active exercise with deep rest

I’m continuing to explore new ideas and props, and soon I’ll be sharing more about how the use of straps can further your progress in both flexibility and relaxation. Stay tuned!