How Can I Make Room for Restorative Yoga in My Working Week?

For me, rest is not simply a gap in the diary. In The pause between pain and peace, I wrote about spending three weeks receiving guidance rather than holding space for others, with ocean air, music and time to be cared for. That experience sits behind a question I bring to restorative yoga: could we let ourselves receive support while life is still unfinished?

The small conditions we place on rest

Perhaps you recognise the sentence that begins, “Once I’ve…”

Once I’ve answered these messages. Once the project is finished. Once everyone else has what they need.

Rest waits at the end of a list that keeps growing.

For someone working in HR or management, there may be another complication: you are accustomed to arranging care. You remember the invitations, check the room and make sure everyone knows where to go. Taking your own place in that room can feel like a different proposition.

According to research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in 2021, people who regarded leisure as wasteful enjoyed it less, particularly activities pursued for their own sake. Experiments in the same paper found that describing leisure as productive did not increase enjoyment either. This was research on leisure, not restorative yoga, but it leaves me wondering whether rest needs a better justification—or fewer conditions.

What would make an ordinary Wednesday a sufficient reason to rest?

Restorative yoga: finding enough support

Restorative yoga centres on resting in supported postures. As Cleveland Clinic explains, sessions involve fewer poses held for longer, using props such as bolsters, blankets and pillows to support the body.

The beginning might involve adjusting a cushion, adding warmth or discovering that a position needs changing. This is not preparation to hurry through before the “real” practice begins. Finding comfort is part of arriving.

There is something quietly generous about arranging the support around the person, rather than expecting the person to manage with whatever is there.

A folded blanket can make that idea tangible. You do not need to endure an uncomfortable position to prove that you are participating properly.

For a little while, the question changes from “What else can I do?” to “What would help me feel supported here?”

When the mind brings its own agenda

The body may be resting while the mind is planning dinner.

Perhaps an unfinished email returns. Perhaps you wonder how long you have been there, then start wondering whether you should feel calmer by now. It is possible to stop working only to begin supervising our rest.

I would not turn that moment into another correction.

You do not have to apologise for arriving with thoughts. Nor do you need to chase them away before you can belong in the practice. There can be room for the person who feels settled and the person who is still mentally rearranging Thursday.

Stillness should not become an endurance exercise. Changing position, keeping your eyes open or asking for another option are choices worth making available.

The invitation is to become acquainted with a slower experience, not to demonstrate that you have already mastered it.

An ordinary ending is allowed

Perhaps there is no revelation.

You might notice the weight of a blanket, a comfortable moment or how often your attention wanders. You might finish without knowing what to say about the experience.

I would like us to leave room for that.

Otherwise, rest acquires its own performance review: Was I calm enough? Did I let go? What did I gain?

There is no need to bring a useful insight back from every session. Time spent receiving care does not require a concluding report.

A place for rest within the working week

For HR teams exploring corporate yoga in Singapore, a restorative session can be an invitation to experience a different pace together. OASIS offers standalone Restorative Yoga sessions as well as a workplace series.

Before choosing a date, I would ask something practical: can people attend without also being expected to answer calls or monitor messages?

A supportive invitation might explain what the session involves, how to request adaptations and that participation is voluntary. Colleagues should not have to close their eyes, discuss personal feelings or appear relaxed to satisfy anyone else.

And the organiser deserves the option to participate, too. Perhaps someone else can look after the door and the late arrivals.

Explore Yoga for the Workplace to discuss a setting that makes receiving support feel possible. Yoga should sit alongside considerate working arrangements, not be asked to compensate for demands that need attention.

Life can remain unfinished

The diary may still be full afterwards. There may be messages to answer and dinner to make.

What interests me about restorative yoga is the possibility of allowing rest a place among these ordinary responsibilities, without requiring an exceptional reason.

We do not have to wait for exhaustion to make the invitation legitimate. Nor does the time need to earn its keep through a more productive afternoon.

For your team, explore the ways to invite OASIS into your workplace. For a more individual setting, there is Private Yoga with Gabrielle.

The list can still be there when we return. For a while, we can be here.

Questions about restorative yoga

Do I need yoga experience or flexibility?

The emphasis is on support, not achieving demanding shapes. Let the facilitator know about your experience and access needs. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health advises people with health conditions or injuries, and those who are pregnant, to discuss suitable modifications with their healthcare provider and instructor.

What if lying still feels uncomfortable?

You do not need to push through discomfort; Cleveland Clinic emphasises comfort rather than pushing physical limits in restorative practice. Ask about a different position or more support. A thoughtful workplace session should also allow you to stop or step out without having to explain yourself to colleagues.

How is this different from a short breathing break?

A breathing break creates a brief pause within an activity. A restorative session sets aside time for supported rest, with space to arrive and settle. For the shorter pause, see How Can Yoga Help Me Pause Before I Respond?.