restorative heaven

That is what I've decided to call this pose.  In the cold, dark yin of winter, my tired, cranky, sluggish body craves some laying on bolsters time.  

Lately, I've been dedicating 20 minutes a day to this pose.  You need silence, darkness, warmth and comfort...plus the actual time to let your nervous system shift for an especially delicious restorative pose.  I follow this pose with a 10-20 minute sit depending on how effective restorative heaven was in shutting my mind the fuck up.

The set up:

You will need:

• mat
• block
• bolster
• strap
• 2 blankets
• eye bag

Putting it together:

• mat perpendicular to the wall
• block on its lowest height (baby bear) about a foot from the wall
• bolster on the block, bolster will be at an angle
• short tri-fold blanket against the bolster (long edge parallel with the wall)
• long tri-fold blanket perpendicular to the short tri-fold (perpendicular to the wall)
• strap looped
• eyebag at the ready

Saddling Up:

• hips on the short tri-fold
• legs up the angled bolster
• back along the long tri-fold
• belt looped around the thighs
• pull the bolster to the bum, you want it to touch so you have full support
• tighten the strap around the thighs so the inner thighs can "let go"
• eyebag on the brow (most eyebags are really heavy, so to avoid smashing my corneas, I place them at the third eye and then press down, like I'm closing the third eye)
• arms wherever is comfortable for you.  I like my arms a little higher than savasana arms so that I get that very gentle chest opening.

I like to give very thorough instructions in prop laden restorative poses.  Personally, if I don't have detailed instructions, my mind doesn't "drop" and I just worry about my set-up...gah.

Confused on blanket folding?  All folds are from blankie tadasana.  Here is Cora with Blanket folding 101.