The best way to speed up? First, slow down.
This fall, I had the opportunity to work on a fun story that landed in my lap: an introduction to restorative yoga for Yoga Journal. Funny, what initially attracted me to yoga more than 10 years ago was anything but peace. A restorative practice was the last thing I was looking for. Instead, I came to my first Bikram class looking for a hard workout. I wanted to build my strength and endurance and improve my balance so I could become a better rock climber.
I found those things, but I also found a lot of other benefits I didn’t know I was looking for. Now, my understanding of yoga is more nuanced, and a restorative practice isn’t something I go running, screaming, from. So why consider a restorative practice in the depths of winter? Stress reduction. Improved powers of concentration. It can help you sleep. It can improve immune system function. But even more intriguing, it can give you valuable insight into your own mind and body.
“We know that the relaxation response prompts something called constructive internal reflection,” says Bo Forbes, one of the yoga teachers I interviewed for the story. “And that brings us to a place where we can have better perspective on experiences, our emotions and interactions with other people and be able to look at them through a different lens—a less reactive one and a more understanding and compassionate one.” Sounds pretty good, right? Learn more about restorative yoga by reading my full piece, “Why You Need a Restorative Yoga Practice This Winter,” on Yoga Journal’s website.