Anapausis: A Practice Of Deep Rest

Inspired by the Latin word anapausis — the cessation of work so strength and vitality may return — this gentle restorative yoga practice invites you to pause completely.

To soften the body. To quiet the mind. To let the heart disengage from struggle.

Here, nothing is required of you.

Just rest long enough for your breath to deepen, your nervous system to settle, and your natural vitality to quietly return.

A space to stop striving.
A space to simply be.

Transcript

Hello, My name is Shana. Welcome to the PAWS Studio. This is our friend Luna and today we are going to do a restorative practice. This practice is a gentle, Passive, Relaxing practice where we will dive deep into stillness. I would suggest a couple of blankets, One or two. Okay, So go ahead and grab those and then one bolster. And if you do not have a bolster, You can grab a couch cushion or a couple of pillows. So go ahead and grab your props and let's get started. Bringing your blankets into the middle of your mat, I've got a simple fold. Blanket is folded in half and then in half again. Higher or lower depending on what you need through your back. If you find this sort of a shape is not okay for your back, What I would do is I would unfold it a little bit more and just create this much of a fold along your back. It'll be a gentler sort of lift. So see how that feels. I do like having quite a bit of lift through my shoulders and my back so I'm going to stack two blankets. We're going to start with five minutes of quiet. A chance to get introspective and move into our breath. Your sit bones are on the floor, Shoulder blades on the floor. If you feel like you're cold, You can cover yourself with a blanket. As you settle in, Bring your awareness to your breath. The other thing you might want to add for this practice is an eye pillow. I'm going to grab mine. I forgot it. Shoulder blades are resting gently on the floor. Head is heavy. Sit bones relaxed and heavy towards the earth. Bring your full awareness to your breath. Noticing your inhale and noticing your exhale. As you inhale, Bring your awareness to your body. And as you exhale, Back body softens towards the floor. This sort of restorative practice is for you to check in. Checking in with how you are feeling in your physical body. Checking in and noticing your thoughts. Checking in and noticing your emotions. Being quiet with ourselves is where our deep wisdom arises. Where we listen to the whispers of our hearts. Settle in now in this silence. All awareness to your inhale. All awareness to your exhale. We are here for five minutes. I will keep the time. If it gets uncomfortable with the blanket underneath you, You can readjust or maybe bring a bend to your knees, Feet are on the floor. You can also put another blanket underneath your sit bones if the angle is not feeling comfortable in your back. Take a deep breath in and out, Bringing your awareness back to your body. Take a great big stretch from one end of you to the other. Bend through your knees, Roll onto your side body. Take your time. Move the blankets off to the side. Support yourself and come all the way up. Come to a comfortable seated position. Arms to your side. Deep breath in. Inhale all the way up. Look up. Exhale, Hands together. Three more times. Inhale, Lift. Let's move into our next shape. I'm going to use a bolster. Putting the bolster about two-thirds of the way down my mat. And again, If you don't have a bolster, You can use a couple of pillows or a bunch of rolled up blankets. You just want to create a little bit of space here. Laying down on your left hip, Bringing yourself all the way down. The bolster is in your side body between your ribs and your waist. If you find that your head's not comfortable, Grab one of your blankets and put it underneath your head. Left arm. I'm finding I need a little bit more than that. There we go. Left arm is down to the floor. Take your right leg and bring it down to the floor behind your left leg. Your right heel is your anchor. Take a deep breath in. And as you exhale, Right arm comes up towards your left arm, Opening from one side of you to the other. Readjust if that's not quite comfortable. We are always adjusting our bodies to make sure that we are in the best position for each of us. This is a practice where we listen intentionally. We listen to what the body has to say. Now grabbing hold of your left wrist, Open up. And then begin to sway a little bit, Opening up towards the ceiling and rounding through towards the floor. Slow movements. Noticing how that feels in the body. Using your breath to guide you. Now if you find a spot that feels like that sensation goes right down to the depth of your soul hold. This movement is up to you. It is your pacing and your practice. A couple more times each side. Breath stays deep and even. Come back to center, Both knees stacked. Rest here and notice any sensation. Bend through your elbows, Pushing up. And let's move into the other side. This time right hip is to the floor, Right arm is down. Notice how the neck feels. Would you like a blanket underneath or does that feel okay the way it is? Knees start stacked and then bring your left leg down and off of your right leg. Left heel providing your anchor. Inhale and exhale. Left arm comes up. Reaching from one end of you to the other. Notice any sensations. Notice how you feel. Grab hold of your right wrist with your left hand and let's begin to open up towards the ceiling and rounding through. Again, A reminder that we are listening to the body. If that bolster that's underneath your waist is not the right place for you, Roll up a blanket. Always adjust and listen to what the body is asking for. Hold open here, See how it feels. And roll forward. I get a lot of pain in my back and shoulder. It's from an old injury. And this is one of the best stretches that gets into parts of our back that are hard to stretch. Bring your knees back to center, Arms back to center. Relax. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, Release and slowly put your weight to seated. You can put that bolster towards the front of your mat for now. And let's move into some Cat-Cow. Onto your hands and knees. Inhale. Looking up, Drop the belly, Lift the hips. Exhale, Chin to chest, Rounding through. Go with your own breath. This is one of the most nourishing movements for our bodies. Take your time rolling up through your entire spine. And then moving through a free-form sort of Cat-Cow, Side to side. Noticing how you feel in the body. Listening to where the body is asking for some attention. Grab a couple of blankets or your bolster and place it on your mat. We're going to bring our chest down, Coming into a supported Sphinx pose. Elbows are on the floor. Bring your legs nice and wide. Relax your shoulders down and away from your ears. Feel your belly expanding and releasing. We're not holding this one quite so long. Opening up through the body. Pelvis, Bones and heart. Breathing in through the nose. Breathing out through the mouth. Breathing in through the nose. Breathing out through the mouth. Breathing out through the mouth. Breathing in through the nose. Breathing out through the mouth. I'll show you both options. I'll start with the blanket. This is how we use the blanket for our first resting pose. For this one, I'm going to have you take it and roll it into a rectangle. The nice thing with these blankets again, Is you can make them higher or lower depending on what your body's asking for. You will sit on the blanket and have the top of the blanket just where your shoulder blades start. My shoulder blades are on the floor. Resting heavy. Your knees can be bent. Your legs can be straight. I'm going to use a bolster for this, But I am going to take my blanket and cover my body for some extra warmth. If you're using a small bolster, The same thing goes. You are sitting on the bolster. And your shoulders come down onto the floor. And this is our shape. We are staying here for six minutes. Readjust, Make sure that you're comfortable. Maybe an eye pillow. I'm going to cover up my feet because I'm a little bit cold. If you're new to restorative yoga, One of the things that I would really recommend is that you take your time in each pose to see how is this best suited for my body today. We are here for long holds. It serves you well to take your time to make sure that you are in the best version of this pose for you. Take three deep breaths in and out. And then we settle into silence for six minutes. Allow your body to settle in. Awareness to each inhale and each exhale. I will keep track of the time. Allow yourself to rest. Allow yourself to rest. Take three more deep breath in and out, Bringing your awareness back to your body. If your legs are getting tired, Bring a bend to your knees, Feet are on the floor. Support yourself and roll slowly onto your side body. Pause here. Move your blanket or your bolster off to the side. And lay on your back with your knees bent. Feet on the floor. Take three breaths here. Notice how your back feels, Your hips. And then nice and slowly, Side to side. Side to side. We are moving into our final resting pose now. I'm going to grab my bolster underneath my knees. Eye pillow. You could put a pillow under your head if you'd like. And then make sure that you are nice and warm. It's so important to keep warm in restorative yoga. It's hard to relax if we're not warm enough. Settle in, Make sure that you're comfortable. I do love using an eye mask. It allows my senses to turn inward. And then take three deep breath in and out. Begin to deepen your breath, Inhaling for three or four counts. Exhale is longer, Five, Six, Seven counts. All awareness to your inhale. All awareness to your exhale. Last three breath in and out. Bring your awareness gently back to the room. Back to the center. To your body. Wiggling your fingers and your toes. Maybe you'd like to take a stretch from end to end. Take any movement that feels right for you right now. Eye pillow can go off to the side. Any props underneath your knees, Also off to the side. Roll onto your side body, Pausing here. Take your time. Roll up to seated. Bring your hands to your heart center. Take three deep breath in and out. Noticing your body, Noticing your thoughts. Noticing your emotional body. Bring your hands together. Thank you, My friend, For spending this time with me. I hope that this practice brought you relaxation, Comfort, And deep connection into yourself. Be well.