These 9 Restorative Yoga Poses Will Give You the Relief You’re Craving

If you prefer fast-paced dynamic workouts such as HIIT, rowing, and power yoga, you may see exercise as an opportunity to break a sweat and bring your heart rate up. And while there’s nothing wrong with those motivations, sometimes your body needs something a bit calmer and gentler to quite literally ground you back down to earth. You may want to consider restorative yoga, a perfect option for balancing out your workout routine while also helping alleviate stress. Read on for some of the best restorative yoga poses to try.
What Is Restorative Yoga?
When you think of yoga, you might imagine pushing back into Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), flowing through Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskars), or going upside down into a Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana). Unlike these more active postures and sequences, restorative yoga allows you to simply let go and melt into your mat.
“Restorative yoga differs from other types of yoga in that it is completely passive and supported,” says Peloton instructor Anna Greenberg. “There’s no effort from the practitioner at all to hold themselves up in any of the postures.”
Restorative Yoga vs. Yin Yoga: Key Differences
Be careful not to conflate restorative yoga with Yin Yoga. While both of these practices involve slowing down and maintaining longer holds than you’d find in other yoga classes, they’re far from interchangeable. Yin Yoga requires more effort and action—and can feel intense. “In Yin Yoga, you hold deep stretches that work on s[……]






