Restorative Yoga for Beginners – by Julia Clarke

If your goals with yoga are less “Instagram influencer doing the vertical splits” and more “I would like my body to not ache so often”, then this is the book for you.

The focus here is on opening and relaxation, and involves poses that are simple and gentle, and each routine consists of only a few poses per session, so there’s no need to memorize a long arcane list of asanas, nor any need to refer constantly to a manual while in the perambulatory pretzel position. In short, it’s stress-free, which surely is something that yoga in general should be.

The poses themselves (of which there are 36) are illustrated clearly; the cover art is indicative of the style of drawings inside, and there are clear text-based instructions and explanations too.

Since there are props used throughout to give support in positions that will be held for a period of time (think less “holding a plank position while shaking” and more “this cushion under this body part eliminates the need for tension”), you will need to have/get those things to do the exercises as indicated. If you have some cushions/pillows and a rolled towel, you probably don’t need anything else, though a foam roller and a yoga block can be helpful if you have them.

Bottom line: if you’ve been thinking of yoga, and want to ease yourself in gently, then this is an excellent choice, and in this reviewer’s opinion, a lot better than other “yoga lite” options such as chair yoga.

Click here to check out Restorative Yoga For Beginners, and restore your body!