Restorative Yoga at Ten Trees Yoga & Wellness

After a crazy few weeks of focusing heavily on Inferno Hot Pilates, throwing Hot Buti Yoga into the mix, and trying all kinds of new things, I was sorely in need of some healing yoga. Feeling strong feels great, but sometimes tightness and soreness comes along with that new muscle build.

I’d heard from multiple sources that this new beautiful LGBT+ inclusive studio had some great offerings, and a packed schedule of FREE classes for their grand opening weekend. 11AM restorative yoga after a lazy morning and a bite for brunch with the boyfriend sounded perfect.

Although located on the second floor in a rather inconspicuous spot, this studio was surprisingly easy to find, and with ample parking. There is a small garage attached to the building that offers parking for all of the businesses in the area, and plenty of street parking as well.

Upon arrival we were greeted at the front desk of their gorgeous lobby. The green/white/wood color scheme gives a comforting and cheerful vibe. The previous class was still on the way out, so we were given a little tour and instructed to hang out in the lobby for a few minutes. Because it was their grand opening weekend, refreshments were offered to everyone in attendance.

Once in the practice room, we all set up our mats around the perimeter against the walls, so that we could use it to put our legs up during a posture later. We were showed to the props closet (full to the brim with props!) and instructed to grab a bolster, two blocks, two blankets and an eye cover. The room filled right up – about 30 people attended! The instructor placed her mat in the middle of the room so that everyone could see and hear her.

Class began with arrival and a breathing exercise, focusing on filling and emptying the lungs and belly with air one at a time.

Now, I’ve taken plenty of yin yoga classes, but never a restorative. Although similar in a lot of ways with many of the same postures used, yin is more about finding your comfortable “edge” and restorative is more about relaxing into the posture and letting yourself open naturally, or so I’ve been told.

Going in with this prior knowledge, I was surprised that we had a pretty long warm up that consisted of a flow of postures before we got into the “deep” stuff. I have a feeling that the way they run classes in this type of practice may vary from studio to studio. Because we have a heated room at RIHY (usually kept around 85 degrees during yin class), we don’t need very much “warm up.” This has definitely sparked interest to try yin and restorative at other studios!

Once we got to the delicious, deep part of class, I was all in. The instructor showed us how to set up our props for reclining bound angle pose (one of my favorites). We were even provided eye covers to help keep the eyes closed. We then transitioned into legs up the wall. I believe we held each posture for about 8-10 minutes.

I can’t decide if those two postures were the best part of class, or if it was the guided meditation at the end. I think both!

The guided meditation was very similar to a yoga nidra I did a few months ago – but I didn’t fall asleep this time! I was, however, so relaxed that I did not want to get up to leave at the end, and felt so grounded that I had to sit in my car for a few minutes before driving home.

Now if you have issues with stress or blood pressure, this is 110% the class for you to take. I left feeling relaxed but energized, and my resting heart rate stayed low for the rest of the day! Legs up the wall also does wonders for my back, so I had a little extra spring in my step.

I would absolutely love to come take class here again and check out more of their offerings. I had a few different friends check out the gay men’s yoga class and said it was wonderful. I’m hoping a queer women’s class pops up too, I’d love to try it!