There are many ways to honor our mind, body, and spirit. Allowing space for self-care is imperative to our overall mental and physical well-being. In an article published by Everyday Health in May of 2021, Paula Gill Lopez, Ph.D., says the need for self-care is obvious. “We have an epidemic of anxiety and depression,” she says. “Everybody feels it.” Taking care of ourselves is a gift of self-love. Restorative yoga sequences are an excellent practice to promote and nurture self love!
Exploring what brings peace and joy is something often forgotten in our busy lives. In the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, we journal about the things that brought us joy as a child and go on weekly dates with ourselves, perhaps pulling ideas from this list to see if they are still enjoyable. This exercise is a way to reconnect with oneself.
Ideas to Honor the Mind for Self-Love
- Read a book
- Research a topic or vacation spot you may want to visit in the future
- Explore a career idea you had as a child – “what do you want to be when you grow up?” – what is involved in that? Does it still resonate with you? Why or why not?
Ways to Honor the Body for Self-Love
- Take a walk in nature
- Take a bubble bath
- Grab some lotion and give yourself a hand and foot massage
Exploration to Honor the Spirit for Self-Love
- Attend a religious or spiritual service that speaks to your heart
- Connect with an old friend who always “gets you.”
- Listen to your favorite music or soundtrack that transports you to another time
Restorative yoga is a way to honor the mind, body, and spirit at the same time. This restorative yoga sequence is aimed at self-love and nurturing all parts of oneself.
Here is our recommended sequence of restorative yoga for self-love:
- Warm-up
- Breathwork
- Side Body Stretch
- Modified Supported Bridge
- Savasana
Suggested Yoga Props (at-home yoga prop alternatives also available)
- Few pillows
- Yoga bolster
- A couple of blankets
- Eye pillow if you have it
WARM UP:
Cat/Cow
Slowly come into the tabletop pose on your hands and knees and take a couple of breaths. On an inhale, allow the belly to drop towards the ground. Raise the tailbone and raise the chin up towards the sky for a cow pose. On the exhale, reverse your direction, pull the belly in, drop the tailbone, and bring chin to the chest for cat stretch. Repeat 2 or 3 times, moving with the breath, and finish by coming back to a neutral tabletop pose. Feel the movement of the spine and breath, warming and waking the torso.
Seated forward fold
Extend both feet out before you, allowing the knees to remain soft. Reach the crown of the head upwards, sitting tall. Hinge forward from the hips, bringing the chest down towards the legs, reaching for the toes. Feel the stretch down the back body.
Side stretches
From a seated position, inhale, bringing both arms toward the sky, alongside your ears. Exhale, rooting the right hip into the ground, shifting the body’s weight onto the right side. Bring the right elbow to the floor while stretching the left arm up and over the head. Feel the stretch along the side body and remain here for five breaths. Inhale, returning to center, and then switch to the opposite side.
Seated twists
Return to a seated staff pose, with legs outstretched. Bring the soul of the left foot to the floor, bending the knee. Exhale, twisting the torso to the left. If accessible, bring the right elbow over the left knee, remaining in the seated twist for six breaths.
Release the left knee and move to the opposite side; hold the twist for about six breaths.
Breathing Exercise for Self-Love
Begin by using a guided breathing technique like the one developed by Victor Pineiro; five breaths to change your life. If this modified version of Mr. Pinierio’s style doesn’t resonate, try one of our other five best yoga breathing exercises for anxiety.
Bringing focus and awareness to our breath, we can find self-connection while honoring our bodies. Find a comfortable position, either seated or lying down. Each breathing pattern will focus on a unique word combination.
Breath one: in/out
While inhaling, concentrate on the word “in” and “out” during the exhale. Focus only on these two words, “in” and “out.” Notice how the chest and belly rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale.
Breathe in, thinking “In.” Breathe out, thinking “Out.”. Notice the silence around you and the space in between the words. Allow the body to feel heavy into the mat. Stay in the present moment by focusing on the here – breathe in and now – breathe out.
Breath two: deep/slow
The next breaths will focus on the words and actions of “deep” and “slow.” Allow the inhale to be a big deep breath as you think about the word “Deep” breath in deeply. As you exhale, allow the breath to fall slowly and feel the word “slow” in a long and drawn-out pattern.
On the inhale, imagine the lungs filled with oxygen. Breath deeply, expanding the belly, sides, back, and chest – “deep.” Hold the breath as you envision the lungs cleansing and filtering the air – the body doing its job. Exhale slowly and deliberately, perhaps making a hissing sound through pursed lips or saying the word “sloooow” on the exhale. Appreciate this slower pace – nowhere to go and nowhere to be.
Breath three: calm/ease
Now breathe in and focus on the words “calm” and “ease.” Relax into the breath and body, inhaling calm and tranquility. Hold the breath, paying attention to any areas in the body holding tension. Exhale, with a sigh, and focus on “ease.”
Calm and ease, inhale and exhale, like ocean waves pulling out to sea and crashing on the shore. Calmness enters the body, tension releases, and comfort is restored. Like the crashing waves of the ocean, feel peace at this moment.
Breath four: smile/release
For this next breath, breathe in and physically smile. Acknowledge all of the reasons you have to smile right now. The breath in your body, the sun has risen, an opportunity for a new moment. Exhale, releasing anything negative thoughts you may be holding inside. Smile in, release out. With each breath, channel the smile to any place in the body where you experience pain, stress, or fear.
Continue with this breath until you’ve smiled at every place in the body needed. Allow every negative thought, physical pain, and anxious feeling to dissipate with each smile and dissolve with every exhale. Notice how much better the body feels and how authentic the smile is.
Breath five: here/now
Finally, breathe in and out, appreciating the here and now. Ground down and connect with the earth supporting your body, breath in, “here,” and breathe out “now.” If possible, allow the thoughts to empty from the mind, focusing only on the words and breath. I am here. I am now. All that is and ever was is here. All there ever will be is now.
SIDE BODY STRETCH – 7 minutes per side: 14 minutes Total
Place the pillow at the top of the mat and a bolster or another pillow across the surface. Grab a blanket and place it beside your mat.
Bring your hip to the side of the bolster and place the blanket between the knees. Optionally, you can drape another blanket over you for warmth.
Reach long through your side body. Extend your arm out in front of you and rest the side of your face on the pillow. You can also stack the arms and realign the rib cage with the bolster.
Invite the hips to melt into the ground. Check-in and release any tension held in the knees, hips, arms, or face. Before completely relaxing into the pose, find a little movement. Bring the hand to the shoulder. Reach the elbow up towards the ceiling, drawing small circles with the elbow towards the ceiling. Start to deepen the breath, connecting the movement to the breath. Now that you’ve moved in one direction let’s progress in the other direction.
Extend the arm over the head, lengthen through the fingertips and support the arm, resting on your cheek. Readjust if you lack support in any part of your body. Notice the rise and fall of the rib cage as you breathe in and out.
Stay here for about 7 minutes.
Once the time has passed, bring the arms back to a stacked position, slowly and mindfully push away from the earth to come back to a seated position. From this space, turn to the other side.
So face backward to the prop, squeezing the blanket between your knees. Reach long through the side body and, this time, arrive into the pose, stacking the arms. Bring the hand to the shoulder, kind of like a wing, and circle the elbow in sync with the breath.
Additionally, extend the other arm overhead so the bicep cradles the face and ear. Let go of any holding in that top arm. Allow the rib cage to melt into the support of the bolster. Following seven minutes, unwind from this position and lay with the back on the ground. Windshield wiper the knees and allow them to follow with the breath.
MODIFIED SUPPORTED BRIDGE POSE – 10 Minutes
Take a blanket and fold it into a square; we will use it to support our heads; keep your eye pillow handy.
Place the bolster in the middle of the mat.
Sit up on the bolster. Place your feet about hip-distance apart or even a little wider. Ease your way down and take the blanket underneath your neck, above your shoulders. Roll the end of the blanket for a bit of support of the curve of the neck.
Readjust the bolster underneath your hips, arriving at your lower back. A little of the glutes will hang off the bolster. Release any tension in the lower back – allow it to soften your back. Place the hands by your side, palms facing up. Alternatively, the arms can be open wide, laying out to the sides if you’d like a little more of a shoulder opening.
Once you have arrived and settled, feel free to find the eye pillow and rest it over the eyes. Remain here for about 10 minutes.
To come out of the pose, first, remove the eye pillow. Bring one knee to the chest and then the other, feeling the elongation of the lower back. Tuck the chin to the chest for an added stretch.
Extend one arm overhead and roll over to your side. Inhale and press yourself up.
If this pose felt great for your body, you may be interested in our Restorative yoga for hip and back pain.
SAVASANA – As long as you’d like
Find a comfortable position lying down on the mat. Leverage the props around you to find the sweet spot for your body. If you are on a time crunch, go ahead and set a timer with a gentle alarm to bring you up from savasana when desired. We recommend a minimum of five minutes in this asana to integrate and realize the full benefits.
If music helps calm your mind and body, playing gentle sounds may help you relax into the pose. Feel free to use the blanket as a neck or knee support or cover up if you are chilly. Place the eye pillow over the eyes, hands, chest, or belly to act as an anchor.
Once you’ve found your perfect pose for relaxation, allow the mind the quiet and enjoy the sounds of the room around you.
Once finished with savasana, slowly come back to the room by bringing awareness to the body. Wiggle the toes and fingertips, find movement in the arms, legs, and head. Widen the mouth and eyes to stretch out the face muscles.
Return to a seated position and gently ease back into your day.
Honoring the mind, body, and spirit is a gift. Restorative yoga is self-love. We can restore and rejuvenate our being by focusing on our breath, calming the mind, and moving the body. Taking time to settle in, for even one hour a week, can help us bring our best selves into the world around us.
Shavasana is great in combination with Yoga Nidra – in here we’ve included a scientific background of why Yoga Nidra works and a 10 minute guided session for you to try it out.
Shanti Arunkumar, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
Learn more about Shanti by reading her bio below.
Click on link below to meet L’Aquila Active’s entire team of experts, including university degrees, certifications, and credentials on yoga and meditation: