Author Caren Baginski is a yoga teacher and yoga therapist in training who has long offered supportive yoga practices on her YouTube channel.  One of her areas of specialty is the restful practice of restorative yoga, and her new book—with its simple title Restorative Yoga—centers around this style.

As yoga manuals go, this one is relatively short (just over 200 pages), but it packs a lot into that length.  In particular, it is presented in full-color, with detailed photo illustrations for every restorative posture included.  Baginski opens by providing an overview of the origins of restorative yoga, including how it was developed by BKS Iyengar and later popularized by his student, Judith Hanson Lasater.  She describes the key components of stillness and quiet and reviews the benefits of this type of practice.  She also covers important factors such as setting up a space and choosing props.  (Note that restorative yoga tends to be a prop-heavy practice; most of the postures featured in this book require 4-6 blankets plus additional props such as bolsters and blocks.)  This introductory section also provides helpful tips for preparing the body, calming the mind, and breathing for relaxing. 

The first chapter concludes with a section on poses to end one’s restorative practice; this information seems a bit odd in placement but makes some sense given that the three chapters which follow are organized by type of posture:  Forward Bend Poses, Backbend Poses, and Inversions, Twists, and Side Bends.  As noted above, the postural pages are accompanied by beautiful, full-color photograph, at least 3-4 photos across a minimum 2-page layout.  The photos are progressively numbered, and each photo is complemented by clear concise text instructions.  Every posture also includes an introduction, a recommended length of time to hold, a review of necessary props, a brief description of cautions, and finally, a featured inset with guidelines for how to “experience the pose.”  In addition, virtually every pose depiction offers a supplementary photo that presents an adaptive variation for that posture.  The written instructions finish with information on how to transition out of each posture when ready.

The final chapter (Chapter 5) provides sequences of poses for a complete practice.  These routines vary from 30-45 minutes in length.  (On her website, Baginski also offers a link for additional 15-minute practices.)  Conveniently, the first of these focuses on “Minimal Props”; other themes include lower back, upper body, spine, sleep, and pregnancy, plus relief from stress, anxiety, jet leg, and headaches, for a total of 17 routines.  An index concludes the book.

Overall, this book is an extremely useful resource for yoga students who wish to practice restorative yoga at home, and it would likely serve as a valuable reference manual for most yoga teachers as well.

© 2019 Beth Cholette

Beth Cholette, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who provides psychotherapy to college students.

Categories: Wellness

Keywords: wellness, yoga