This was a great read and would be awesome as a reference resource for specific needs. I enjoyed the flow and layout of the book and the illustrations also were easy to follow. I really enjoyed it.

Paula Hines Rest + Calm: Gentle yoga and mindful practices to nurture and restore yourself (Green Tree, 2022) offers a buffet of yoga and mindfulness practices to soothe the overworked, under-rested, or frazzled soul, regardless of prior yogic training.

Part I, Rest, covers restorative yoga: its benefits, props to utilize, and poses (names, images, and detailed descriptions). The colorful asana (yoga pose) illustrations are inclusive of race, age, and gender. Asanas that can be modified with chairs, and practicing while pregnant are also incorporated

Part II, Calm, discusses pranayama (breathwork) and mindfulness exercises with Hines emphasizing one of the highlights of breathing exercises: you can do it almost anywhere! Mudras, alternate nostril breathing, and a variety of sensorial work is also included in Part II.

Yoga nidra (yogic sleep), a deep state of meditation and relaxation is also encompassed in Part II. And speaking from recent experience, instituting a yoga nidra practice before bed (even a few minutes) is the most rewarding part!

I particularly appreciated Hines's emphasis on acceptance and worth, regardless of productivity—even that rest was the absence of productivity. (My rest has been pretty paltry!)

Thank you to NetGalley, Green Tree, and Paul Hines for the e-ARC.

What an amazing explanation on this aspect of yoga, the layout and artwork(graphics). As a yogi student is was helpful seeing the picture with a few thing I actually struggled to understand without a visual next to it. I will absolutely be adding this book to my shelf and use it in my teaching career.

Who doesn't need a little more R&R? I've practiced yoga on and off for many years, and while there's not much new here, it is presented in a loving, appealing way, and I found it helpful. Includes nice illustrations as well.

Thanks very much for the free review copy!!

This is a lovely book that brings me peace every time I pick it up. Thank you for celebrating rest for rest's sake, as opposed to rest for the sake of being able to be more productive. Although I have experimented with meditation and breathing techniques before, I had never tried restorative yoga prior to reading this. I liked that there were sets of poses that you could do for different needs, such as anxiety or depression. I wish I had had access to this when I was pregnant or post-partum - I believe it really could have made a difference in my state of mind if I'd had these tools in my pocket at that time. I'm so grateful to the author for making these strategies easy and accessible.

Thank you to Paula Hines, Bloomsbury USA, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.